How To Convert Publisher Files to InDesign

MARKZWARE PUB2ID v1.5.1
by Michael Shaw

In past issues of the DoubleClick we have looked at a lot of scathingly brilliant software from Markzware. (In fact, when my mother asks me about a lot of stuff she sees me doing on the computer I tell her that its magic. Markzware stuff qualifies. As Arthur C. Clarke put it, any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic).

Markzware is famous for their FlightCheck software and their PM2Q, ID2Q and Q2ID plug-ins for QuarkXPress and Adobe InDesign. As such, many of you may not be familiar with their products but in the world of desktop publishing Markzware is a name associated with a long history of wonderful document conversion utilities that make it possible to radically reduce the time it takes to import and use text and pictures from documents created in other desktop publishing applications.

For people who use InDesign, Quark and PageMaker, Markzware makes plug-ins that make it possible to easily import content and convert entire documents between creator applications without losing the appearence of the original document. The magic part is that Markzware plug-ins do it quickly, accurately, and elegantly. Microsoft Publisher, a Windows only application, has historically been less well-liked among professional designers and high end commercial print shops when compared with other desktop publishing applications like PageMaker, InDesign & QuarkXPress but its very ubiquity in the corporate environment ensures its wide usage. Recent versions of the program have greater capabilities concerning color separations and proper process coloring output.

Publisher 2007 also includes the capability to output commercial press quality PDF with embedded fonts as an optional download from the Microsoft website. Publisher is included in high-end editions of Microsoft Office. This reflects Microsoft’s emphasis on Publisher as an easy-to-use and less expensive alternative to the “heavyweights” and also its focus on the small business market where firms do not have dedicated design professionals available to make marketing materials and other documents. Publisher’s proprietary file format is, unfortunately, unsupported by most other applications. This means that documents created with Microsoft Publisher can not generally be imported into more popular applications like Adobe InDesign.

When it’s time to go beyond what Microsoft Publisher can offer in the way of professional document design, it has typically been necessary to rebuild such publications from scratch in InDesign, a process that’s both slow and fraught with the possibility of introducing errors. The latest offering from Markzware, called Microsoft Publisher to InDesign, or PUB2ID, is a plug-in for Adobe InDesign that can convert all of your Microsoft Publisher into Adobe InDesign documents so you can update and work with them.

In order to use it you will need a Mac running Tiger or better or a PC running Windows 2000, XP or Vista and 250 Megs of hard drive space. PUB2ID works with InDesign v4.x or 5.x (CS2 or CS3). It provides a quick, easy and affordable method for you to migrate all your Microsoft Publisher content into new Adobe InDesign documents. The conversion is enabled with a single click using the InDesign File-> Open menu. No more re-creating documents from scratch; PUB2ID gives you a big head-start. PUB2ID translates the intricate details of the content within the Microsoft Publisher document and instantly re-creates it within InDesign. Items converted from Publisher include: page size, positioning, color models, fonts and styles, text attributes and tables, layers, word wrap, linked text boxes as well as automatic extraction of images embedded in the Publisher file. If you need to work with documents originally created in Publisher the PUB2ID document conversion technology will save you countless hours of scanning, re-keying and formatting.

This product converts and transforms files created with Microsoft Publisher into an Adobe InDesign file on either Macintosh or Windows platforms. Because of the different ways that the various publishing programs handle the same tasks, like text flow, fonts and runaround, there is a distinct possibility that the converted document will need to be tweaked a bit in order to get it looking exactly as you want it, but the minor adjustments will be far less arduous than totally re-creating the document. In common with the other Markzware conversion tools I have used, (which includes InDesign to Quark, Quark to InDesign, and PageMaker to Quark), this newly released PUB2ID v1.5 comes with the warning from Markzware that the document conversion will not be exact but the time saved will be considerable, especially if there is a large document or a large number of small documents to convert. My own experience is that this warning is more an expression of modesty that a serious disclaimer. Markzware software has a reputation for working better than expected.

Its a good idea to take a snap of the Microsoft Publisher document you intend to convert before you begin the process of importing it into InDesign. This will serve as a reminder of what the original document looked like and help you to quickly re-position and re-size text boxes and pictures if they do not automatically appear exactly as you expect. It is important to note that even though PUB2ID provides many benefits, conversion is not perfect. This is because all manufacturers of desktop publishing applications have their own unique methods of text rendering and graphical representation. Therefore, text flow and certain graphical elements will not be 100%. Depending on the use of custom kerning, tracking, leading, graphic formatting and effects, etc., more or less rework may be required, but some rework will always be required.

To use PUB2ID:
• 1. Launch InDesign. Use the InDesign -> File -> Open menu to navigate
through your files to locate your Microsoft Publisher file and click “Open”.
• 2. You will see a conversion progress bar.
• 3. The Publisher file will open on your Desktop rebuilt in InDesign.
• 4. Save this new InDesign file.
• 5. Close then re-open the new InDesign file
• 6. Re-map any missing fonts using the InDesign dialog
• 7. Images are extracted to a folder with the the Publisher file name and linked
in the new InDesign document.
• 8. Re-save the new InDesign document.

Included with the plug-in is a terrific fully-illustrated .PDF Users Guide that explains in just ten pages how the PUB2ID plug-in works. Besides the expected basics like system requirements, installation, registration and invocation there are chapters on workflow, fonts and styles, text flow, text wrap and formatting, importing images, image effects and special effects, drawing and inserting objects. The Microsoft Publisher features that are most unique to the program, like its handling of clip art, shadow styles, Design Gallery objects, auto-shapes, importing bitmap image border effects and word-art all receive special attention in the PUB2ID Users Guide.

If you simply must work with older Microsoft Publisher you need to know that there is a tool that converts files created with Microsoft Publisher into Adobe InDesign files on either Macintosh or Windows platforms. Visit the Markzware website to find out more about PUB2ID and their other programs, utilities, and plug-ins designed to make life a lot easier for those of us who simply must
yield to the urge to publish documents on our computers.

As with most large—and, often, geographically dispersed—corporations and businesses, the creative team at Weight Watchers Group found that it needed an effective way to bridge the gap between content creation and production for its numerous publications.

Markzware spoke with Donna DeMarco—the integrated marketing and publications manager for Weight Watchers Group, who oversees a diverse mix print and electronic media—about some of the challenges she faces with disparate workflows that cross over platforms (PC to Mac) and content-creation applications, like those that make up the Microsoft Office suite and Adobe’s Creative Suite.

Q: Can you tell our readers about your position with Weight Watchers Group, and about your day-to-day responsibilities in your current role?
A: The WWGroup, Inc., located in Farmington Hills, MI, is a franchise of Weight Watchers International. Our franchise areas encompass southeast Michigan, northern Michigan, and Ontario, Canada. My responsibilities include coordinating special events—both in house and at outside venues—creating and managing content, designing marketing, communications, and advertising collateral. I’m also responsible for implementation of marketing campaigns, and act as a Web editor.

Q: Tell us about some of the publications for which you’re responsible.
A: We publish THINLINE, a quarterly magazine with a circulation of 250,000. The readership comprises Weight Watchers members and the health-conscious public from around the southeast and northern regions of Michigan, and Ontario, Canada. We also publish FIT TO PRINT, a staff newsletter that is produced monthly and has a circulation of approximately 1,250. It provides corporate information—things like, promotions and specials, training updates, and advertising and marketing initiatives that our staff needs to be aware of to conduct our business and best serve our members.

We also publish MEETING GUIDES, a weekly staff publication, and host three Web sites, including a site founded by the CEO and President of Weight Watchers Group, Florine Mark (www.florineonline.com); a Weight Watchers staff intranet site, and the official site for the Weight Watchers Group franchise.

Q: Does your department work in a PC- or Mac-platform environment?
A: Except for me, the department is PC-based, and most of the office as a whole works in the PC environment. And then we have field staff—approximately 1,200—who work mostly with PCs, with the balance on Macs.

Q: What creative solutions make up your workflow?
A: Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop and GoLive, as well as the OpenOffice suite.

Q: Does content for the publications and Web sites come in from other departments within the organization? If so, can you give us an idea of the type of content you may be receiving?
A: We have four area managers and two regional managers and a host of managerial assistants who create and prepare their own newsletters for insertion in our monthly staff mailing. Their individual, area-specific newsletters usually come to me electronically as Microsoft Publisher files. As editor, it’s my job to review, edit, tweak, and ensure company continuity before posting content to a Web site, sending it to a printer, or distributing it among the staff. Managers appreciate that I can achieve this—while working on a Mac platform—without changing the “look and feel” of their newsletters. The same workflow is in play when managers create other materials, like fliers.

Q: Did you have any creative or production challenges with the workflow?
A: The Mac platform is so robust and versatile, that it’s easy to work with PC-based files and programs. But the one challenge I encountered was working with—or, rather, not being able to work at all—Microsoft Publisher files.

Q: You needed a tool that would allow you to pull Microsoft Publisher files into the workflow, ultimately bringing that content into InDesign, correct? How did you discover Markzware’s PUB2ID plug-in?
A: Until PUB2ID, there wasn’t a plug-in or program that allowed me to read the Microsoft Publisher files our managers sent to us—let alone to edit and format the files. We discovered PUB2ID through some online searches, and we found information about Markzware’s solution thanks to several search engines, blogs, and message boards. I took advantage of the free, online demo. I was impressed with how it performed. I ran it by our IT department, and they were equally satisfied. Our company licensed me immediately.

Q: How does it work? More specifically, how does it complement your creative and production workflow now?
A: I just download the Microsoft Publisher file sent to me. I open it in Adobe InDesign, and I do my thing. Then, I have the ability to export it as a PDF file and distribute it, so the contributors—the managers—are able to review the content and sign off on it with final approval.

Q: What about the actual conversion? Does it successfully and reliably pull content into Adobe InDesign?
A: We’ve been very pleased. The software is reliable, and I haven’t run into any quirks or experienced any growing pains. It’s proven to be a strong, viable solution for my needs.

Q: PUB2ID is relatively inexpensive, yes? So, was it a good investment for your organization, and would you recommend it to others who need to bridge the gap between Microsoft Publisher and Adobe InDesign?
A: Based on my experience, PUB2ID is worth its weight in platinum. It has saved me countless hours that would have otherwise been spent reinventing the wheel. It saves the company from having to purchase Adobe InDesign for each manager, and we don’t have the associated costs, such as training and downtime. It is a very small investment—less than three tanks of gasoline, in today’s market—for a dependable, user-friendly solution. The price is right, and it works with me, rather than against me.