15 Import a Word Document

We understand that some authors prefer to work in the familiar environment of a Word document. Other times, when a group of authors is contributing to a book in Pressbooks, it makes sense for each writer to compose in Word and then allow the lead author to import the final drafts into Pressbooks. This approach allows for better control of a book’s content as only one person has control of styling. Finally, there are cases where people may wish to add existing openly-licensed content into Pressbooks from a Word file.

The Word import routine recognizes standard markup language for lists (bullets and numbers), headings, and textboxes. However, the Word import routine built into Pressbooks cannot include all markup language used in a Word document because there’s just too much of it. Formatting and layout created in a Word document that uses proprietary markup language (vs. standard markup language) is unlikely to make it through intact from the Word document into Pressbooks. This includes images added to a Word document using Smart Art.

A few details to keep in mind when importing a Word file:

• All standard styles, including basic text formatting and bulleted lists will be retained by the import feature.
• Subheads will be included as long as they are identified using Word styles (use Heading 2 or greater).
• Heading 1 will identify chapter titles. The Pressbooks import will use the first appearance of Heading 1 as a chapter title, with subsequent appearances of Heading 1 as the beginning of new chapters.

Some further details can be found in this import template.

For more information, see Import from a Word Document in the Pressbooks User Guide.