Footnotes support in IDML import

[Pedrober]

I can't use Apub 2.0 in my Mojave machine (an i7!) but I have downloaded the Windows trial version and it works in my very old Windows machine. I have discovered that footnotes are not supported in IDML import when Apub 2.0 has that feature (at last!). Please update the IDML support with the new features.

[Trevor A]

Pedrober

Thank you for flagging this up.

Trevor

[hum3]

I don't know if there is a better way to 'bump' this request for IDML support importing footnotes, but its a +1 from me. I have ten days left on my InDesign subscription, so if you could do it by then I can be free of the tyranny of Adobe. Hurrah!

[Rory Mole]

After buying Affinity suite the other day I was happy that footnotes etc was added to version2.  I cannot use Adobe InDesign anymore and my CS6 version does not work on the Mac OS Big Sur upgrade I did to enable me to purchase Affinity.  I was able to import all footnotes through MS Word no problem, but all update were made in Adobe InDesign, so spelling and grammar adjustments are lost and have to be done in the word file. Layouts done in past projects I did for clients and brought into Affinity by importing the IDML files has left me with a sour taste in my mouth.  Footnotes do not come along with the rest of the text and text styles into Affinity Publisher at all.  This is bad.  This is the very reason we are making the transition away from Adobe and being able to bring projects into Affinity if there are future updates to books etc that need us to open the original layouts within Affinity.

Please, please, please Affinity, update the IDML import ability to enable footnotes, endnotes etc to be intact and into Affinity and bring it up to scratch.  This is very important.

[A_B_C]

+1 😀

[Pedrober]

Currently, the only way would be to import the IDML in Apub to get the format; then, to export the text with footnotes from ID to Word; then, to import the Word file in Apub with footontes.

Anyhow, Affinity must support footnotes/endnotes (and, later, index entries) in IDML import.

[Pedrober]

Apparently, the 2.1 version is not going to support footnotes/endnotes in IDML import.

[derekpadula]

Footnote importing is not arriving in the 2.2 version either. I hope they are working on it for future versions in 2.

I installed the trial version of Publisher two days ago after having font problems in InDesign. I had heard good things and was excited to try it and potentially buy it. I then followed the Affinity Publisher Essentials video course on LinkedIn Learning and was impressed by how Publisher 2.1 handled certain things compared to InDesign. I thought, 'Of course! Affinity got it right!'

But then I tried importing my IDML file and none of the footnotes were included. This was a shock. I'm a non-fiction author with hundreds of InDesign files that are filled with thousands of footnotes. Prior to this, I was mentally prepared to export each IDML file and switch over to Publisher, but now there's no way I'm adding those footnotes back in by hand. Same for index entries.

I also tried adjusting font styles, and each time I did so, the program froze for 10 to 30 seconds. That's even with having a brand-new gaming laptop with an RTX 4070, a Ryzen 9 CPU, and 64 GB of ram. Turns out that this is a bug reported on this forum in at least 2018, and is still an issue, despite supposed fixes. Some users say it's due to different versions of the .net framework. Maybe in my case it's because I have video games installed via Steam that install different .net versions as a matter of course for being able to run the games? I tried a suggested workaround, but to no avail. In any case, it's frustrating and put a blemish on my experience. It raised concerns about the current and future quality of the app.

The second deal-breaker was no epub export. This is a must-have feature for an indie publisher. Flowable text 3.0 epubs would be fine for now. Fixed are far less important.

Publisher does so many things right, but as it stands, I won't be buying Publisher until they announce that they are adding better import features and an epub export feature.

[Pedrober]

I hope the 2.3 version supports footnotes in IDML import, together with index markers.

[Pedrober]

The first appearance of 2.3 version doesn't include footnotes support in IDML import. I hope it will be added very soon, because the footnotes support of version 2 (a major feature!) is incomplete as long as it doesn't include import capabilities from the standard format for desktop publishing file sharing.

[derekpadula]

I feel the same disappointment. I hoped that they would add this feature in the 2.3 update, so I would then buy it during the Cyber Monday sale in November. But this is missing, as is epub export, which are the two features I need in order to abandon InDesign.

Now it's a question of whether I should buy software that I can't use, in the hope that I'll be able to use it some day? It'd be nice if they would at least say they're working on it, so I could have more faith in my potential purchase.

On the bright side, they announced that their future updates will arrive sooner than before, at every 4 to 6 weeks. So, we'll see.

[Old Bruce]

7 hours ago, derekpadula said:

Now it's a question of whether I should buy software that I can't use, in the hope that I'll be able to use it some day?

No, do not purchase it. "Some day" may never come.

[Pedrober]

Serif hears the users, then hope remains. Anyhow, that take times, for sure.

[Pedrober]

I hope the 2.4 version supports, at last!, footnotes in IDML import.

[Pedrober]

It's discouraging, but first news about the 2.4 version don't mention this long awaited feature.

[derekpadula]

Agreed. I was disappointed by today's 2.4 release notes, as I don't have an interest in any of those features or enhancements, and will likely never use them. But when reading each update, I saw a lot of people who are glad those updates are coming.

It'll probably be another two to three months until the 2.5 beta is announced and we'll see if they provide the features we're looking for here.

[Pedrober]

I hope the 2.5 version inlcudes at last this feature!

[Pedrober]

Unfortunately, the new 2.5 beta doesn't include footnotes support in IDML import. When?

[NigelM]

This is a big issue for me as I am hoping to convert a number of InDesign projects to AfPub and the work involved in the various work arounds is too great.

[MikeTO]

43 minutes ago, NigelM said:

This is a big issue for me as I am hoping to convert a number of InDesign projects to AfPub and the work involved in the various work arounds is too great.

Hi and welcome to the forums. The best workaround for now is to:

1. Export the story text with footnotes from InDesign to Word
2. Open the IDML in Publisher. Delete the story text and replace it with the Word version. That will bring in the footnotes.

You'll have a mess of text styles to clean up so this would only be worth it if you have a lot of footnotes.

[Pedrober]

Please, include footnotes support in IDML import in the 2.6 version!

[Pedrober]

No hope!

[Pedrober]

The 2.6 version ignores this feature again. What a pity!

[Meliora spero]

The above-mentioned shortcomings, the lack of style mapping during import (for me specifically with Word import), as well as the absence of a story editor, make Affinity an unusable alternative for me. Let's guess that the same applies to the commercial segment of potential customers.

Money, by the way, is not the ultimate scarce resource. Time is.

[Pedrober]

I hope APub 2.7 includes footnotes support in IDML import. Am i a fool?