Import options

Last updated on Jun 2, 2026

Learn about managing and customizing file import settings in Adobe InDesign.

When you select Show Import Options in the Place dialog box (File > Place), InDesign displays format-specific settings before importing text or spreadsheet files. These options determine how imported content is formatted, whether styles are preserved or mapped, and how special elements like tables and footnotes are handled.

Microsoft Word and RTF import options

Category	Option	Function
Content import	Table of Contents Text	Imports the table of contents as part of the story text. Entries are included as plain text.
Content import	Index Text	Imports the index into the story text. Entries are included as plain text.
Content import	Footnotes	Imports Word footnotes while preserving references. Footnotes are renumbered based on document settings. Saving as RTF can help if issues occur.
Content import	Endnotes	Imports endnotes as text at the end of the story.
Options	Use Typographer’s Quotes	Converts straight quotation marks and apostrophes into typographic versions.
Formatting	Remove Styles and Formatting from Text and Tables	Removes formatting such as typeface and color. Paragraph styles and inline graphics are not imported.
Formatting	Preserve Local Overrides	Retains character-level formatting like bold or italics when formatting is removed.
Formatting	Convert Tables To	Converts tables into basic tables or tab-delimited text when formatting is removed.
Formatting	Preserve Styles and Formatting from Text and Tables	Retains formatting from the source document.
Formatting	Import Inline Graphics	Preserves inline graphics from the source document.
Formatting	Import Unused Styles	Imports all styles, even if not applied to text.
Formatting	Convert Bullets & Numbers to Text	Imports bullets and numbers as characters. Numbered lists do not update automatically.
Formatting	Track Changes	Imports tracked changes for review in Story Editor.
Formatting	Manual Page Breaks	Controls how page breaks are handled, including whether to preserve or convert them. Select Preserve Page Breaks to use the same page breaks used in Word, or select Convert to Column Breaks or No Breaks.
Style handling	Import Styles Automatically	Imports styles from the source document. Conflicts can be resolved with Use InDesign Style Definition, Redefine InDesign Style, or Auto Rename.
Style handling	Customize Style Import	Maps Word styles to InDesign styles using the Style Mapping dialog box.
Presets	Save Preset	Stores current import settings for reuse and allows setting a default preset.

Note

Paragraph and character styles are converted, but list styles are not.

Text-file import options

Option	Function
Character Set	Defines the encoding format, such as ANSI, Unicode UTF-8, Shift JIS, or Chinese Big 5.
Platform	Indicates whether the file originates from Windows or macOS.
Set Dictionary to	Assigns a dictionary for the imported text.
Extra Carriage Returns	Controls handling of extra paragraph returns. Select between Remove at End of Every Line or Remove Between Paragraphs.
Replace	Substitutes a specified number of spaces with a tab.
Use Typographer’s Quotes	Converts straight quotation marks and apostrophes into typographic versions.

Microsoft Excel import options

Category	Option	Function
Options	Sheet	Specifies the worksheet for import.
Options	View	Determines whether stored views are included.
Options	Cell Range	Defines a range of cells or uses named ranges.
Options	Import Hidden Cells Not Saved in View	Includes hidden cells from the spreadsheet.
Formatting	Table	Specifies how the imported spreadsheet data appears in InDesign. Options include formatted or unformatted tables.
Formatting	Table Style	Applies a selected table style when importing unformatted tables.
Formatting	Cell Alignment	Sets the alignment for cells in the imported table (for example, left, center, or right).
Additional options	Include Inline Graphics	Preserves any inline graphics (images or icons) embedded in the Excel sheet.
Additional options	Number of Decimal Places to Include	Controls numeric precision by specifying the number of decimal places to display in InDesign.
Additional options	Use Typographer’s Quotes	Converts straight quotation marks and apostrophes in Excel text to typographic quotes (“ ”) and apostrophes (’).

Tagged-text import options

Option	Function
Use Typographer’s Quotes	Converts straight quotation marks and apostrophes into typographic versions.
Remove Text Formatting	Removes formatting such as typeface and color.
Resolve Text Style Conflicts Using	Defines how style conflicts are handled: Publication Definition uses existing document styles and Tagged File Definition uses styles from the tagged file.
Show List of Problem Tags Before Place	Displays unrecognized tags before import, so they can be reviewed before proceeding.

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