Scribus Forums

Scribus => Beginner Talk => Topic started by: Chasqg on January 06, 2013, 04:34:54 PM

Title: Importing a Word 2010 book
Post by: Chasqg on January 06, 2013, 04:34:54 PM
Hello All...

These might be stupid questions, but they are mine own! My apologies if they've been answered elsewhere...

I've written a book in Word 2010, which is currently available as a free e-read PDF/A
on Scribd (http://www.scribd.com/chas_griffin_1 ).

The book has been quite well received, and I would now like to print some POD copies.

*Can I import the book to Scribus, retaining all the Word 2010 formatting? And if so, how? I find Scribus pretty challengiing....
*POD printers seem to be obsessed with receiving files as PDF/X-1a:2001. Scribus does not mention this particular PDF format by name, but instead lists various Acrobat numbers, which I don't understand. Do any of them equate with PDF/X-1a:2001?

My hope is that I will be able to simply drop the Word text into Scribd, tidy up odd corners, and then export it as a POD-friendly PDF/X-1a. Can it be done?!

Many thanks for your time and attention, 'Scribes'. And thanks too to all the people who have worked so hard and have so generously made Scribus available to us all for free.
Title: Re: Importing a Word 2010 book
Post by: utnik on January 06, 2013, 06:05:16 PM
hello chasqg

Quote from: Chasqg on January 06, 2013, 04:34:54 PMCan I import the book to Scribus, retaining all the Word 2010 formatting?

i don't work with ms word. but afaik a complete import of a formatted text including the style definitions only works with openoffice and libreoffice.
you'll have to redefine your paragraph styles after importing in scribus.

Quote...Scribus ... lists various Acrobat numbers, which I don't understand. Do any of them equate with PDF/X-1a:2001?

in the current stable version of scribus there is no pdf/x-1a export. if you install scribus 1.5 (unstable) only for the pdf output, you'll be able to generate pdf/x-1a. (i use 1.5 only for this purpose...)
if you use scribus 1.5, you should always work with a copy of your .sla file. if you save any changes in 1.5, there is no way to edit the file with scribus 1.4.1!

utnik
Title: Re: Importing a Word 2010 book
Post by: Chasqg on January 07, 2013, 11:25:31 AM
Thanks Utnik. It's all looking pretty complicated...!
Title: Re: Importing a Word 2010 book
Post by: Nermander on January 07, 2013, 11:42:46 AM
No it's not that complicated.

1. Install Scribus 1.4.1 (that's the version you will use for work)
2. Install Scribus 1.5 (that version will only be used to create the final PDF)
3. Install OpenOffice or LibreOffice (it will be used to convert your Word document)
4. Open your Word document with Open/LibreOffice
5. Save your book as an Open/LibreOffice document (I would suggest saving it one file per chapter, if possible)
6. Import the Open/LibreOffice document into your book using Scribus 1.4.1
7. When you are satisified with the book, save it, and save a copy in another folder (this is precaution to prevent accidentally overwriting the 1.4.1 file)
8. Open the copy with Scribus 1.5, export as a PDF/X-1a


Now, I have excluded the part about "designing the book in Scribus" because that is a whole separate issue. I think you should start with learning Scribus first before you start trying to import your book text into Scribus.

You should NOT expect to be able to use Scribus as a plain "converter to PDF", if that is what you want I'd suggest buying Adobe Acrobat and "printing" to a PDF/X-1a directly from Word (not sure if there are any free tools that can do it, Acrobat is the safest way).
Title: Re: Importing a Word 2010 book
Post by: Chasqg on January 07, 2013, 12:09:46 PM
Thanks very much, Nermander. Much appreciated.
The reason I'm interested in Scribus is that the book will be a one-off and I can't afford to buy Acrobat for just one job.

Title: Re: Importing a Word 2010 book
Post by: Nermander on January 07, 2013, 07:44:40 PM
Well, how much is your work time worth? Redoing the book in Scribus will most likely take 20-30 hours of work... With my salary it would be cheaper to buy Acrobat.
Title: Re: Importing a Word 2010 book
Post by: Chasqg on January 08, 2013, 10:10:08 AM
Good point!
Serif PagePlus might be a cheaper option too.
Thanks again
Chas
Title: Re: Importing a Word 2010 book
Post by: Nermander on January 08, 2013, 10:27:14 AM
Can it export to PDF/X-1a??

Because if it can't you will still need Adobe Acrobat.

If you buy Adobe Acrobat you can use Word to create a PDF/X-1a. That was the point I was trying to make.

Redesigning the book in a page layout program will take time, no matter if the program is Scribus, Indesign or PagePlus.

If all you need is the ability to create a PDF/X-1a from a Word document Adobe Acrobat is by far the easiest way to go. (Provided you already have Word.)
Title: Re: Importing a Word 2010 book
Post by: Chasqg on January 08, 2013, 01:06:50 PM
Thanks a lot, Nermader. Your words of wisdom are noted.

The book is pretty heavily formatted (see http://www.scribd.com/chas_griffin_1) but converts straightforwarly to a PDF/A via Word 2010.

I've tried using the free version of PagePlus, (which seems to  import Word properly) and The Man told me that the paid-for version would do the PDF/X business.

Thanks again for your time and help    Chas