Importing a Document

Currently, we cannot import entire Word documents automatically. Microsoft Word documents are quite complex and converting them to HTML is not a simple task. Also, Write.studio 'projects' are made up of sections and it is difficult to properly segment a Word document automatically. However, you can copy-and-paste Word content successfully.

We recommend this procedure if you have a large amount of content for a single document:

1. Set up the macro document outline in Write-studio (i.e., chapter structure) before you begin using the workflow tracking tools
2. Initially, ignore all images and tables, and concentrate on adding text first, progressing 'section-by-section'
3. After the text has been added, then proceed to add any images
4. After images are added, then add tables
5. Next, add your bibliography into the library
6. Add citations into your document
7. Examine your document for terminology to add to definitions, abbreviations, and keywords; as required.
8. Export your document to check if all the section settings are correct

Step 1: Structure the document outline

In the writing editor, go to the workflow tracking:

1. Add dividers for:
   1. front matter
   2. each chapter
   3. back mattter
   4. appendices
   5. notes
2. Use drag-and-drop to amend the order if required
3. Drag any existing sections to the relevant divider
4. When you open a section and then add a new section, it will automatically be added to the same divider. Therefore, you can progress chapter-by-chapter when importing text.

• Add divider to create outline
• Tip: Sections can be duplicated from the Workflow Tracking module, but check to make sure the settings are correct before doing this (to avoid duplicating errors).

Step 2: Add text section-by-section

Open your Word document:

1. Wherever a new heading starts, that is a new section
   1. It's your choice how much text appears in a specific section; we recommend splitting the document into small chunks as it makes managing targets and due dates (i.e., progress monitoring) easier.
2. Copy the content for the section you wish to paste into Write.studio

In Write.studio: 

1. Open the first section you wish to add content to (e.g., a front matter section or a chapter section).
2. Paste the Word content for that section only (ignoring any tables or images if possible; see step 3 and 4).
3. Paste the content into the writing editor and check the message
   1. Retain the Word styles so any bold and italics are not lost
4. Apply typology to pasted content (see image below):
   1. The default paragraph is Paragraph-block. If you require say, first line indent, select all (use ctl A) and then select the paragraph style you require.
   2. Select each heading text and apply the relevant heading style
   3. Select any captions and apply the relevant caption style (e.g., Figure, Table)
   4. Select any indented quotations and apply the 'long quote' style
5. Tap on the section name to personalize the name of the content
6. Click the + button to add a new blank body section after the active one into the current divider (i.e., chapter), and repeat until all text is added
   1. Open the outline on the left-hand side of the editor to check that the section is included in the correct divider (i.e., chapter)
   2. Use drag-and-drop to relocate it; if required.
   3. Tip: Sections can be duplicated from the Workflow Tracking module, but check to make sure the settings are correct before doing this (to avoid duplicating errors)

Add typology

Step 3: Add images

Images (.jpg or .png files) are relatively easy to add into Write.studio. You can:

1. Paste an image from your buffer onto the page in the location you require (where your cursor is situated)
   1. You can copy an image in a Word document into your buffer to quickly paste it.
2. Open the image modal from the annotations menu and use drag-and-drop to add the file (see image below).
3. On the image modal, click upload to find the image in My documents.

Add image modal

1. After you have added your image, hover over the pasted image to see the image editing tools (see image below):
2. Check the alignment (the default is center)
3. Check the size (a page width is around 650 px)
4. Add a caption to insert a note if it isn't part of the original image; and you require one
5. There are also some advanced editing tools for 'fancy' changes
6. Click the 'Preview' button on the navigation bar to see what the PDF looks like. Sometimes the HTML can be deceiving and the PDF is perfect.
7. Check that the caption has been added correctly
8. Replace any pasted cross-reference with a new link
9. Continue to add all the image from your Word document

Image editing tools

Note: if the image is landscape, you will need to adjust the image print settings (e.g., to rotate an image) and place the image in its own section (i.e., only with its caption and no other text). The image print settings can deal with 'big' images. Floating an image means we will relocate it to the top or bottom of the page as required.

Step 4: Add Tables

Tables are also easy to paste from Word. 

1. Copy the table only (i.e., not any independent caption)
2. Paste the table in the location you require and 'clean' the format so that the preset style can be used
   1. The only time you might not use the preset style is if the table has some special formatting
3. Hover over the table to see the table editing tools (see image below)
   1. Click the 'Table style' and activate 'Preset' from the drop list to ensure the table is formatted to the style guide you are using
   2. Add a header and include the text (i.e., the first line might need to be deleted after you add it to a nominated header). It is important to use the 'header' button so that it gets styled correctly.
   3. Add a footer with any note or legend required. Again, the last row might need to be removed. It is important to use the 'footer' button so that it gets styled correctly.
   4. There are various other tools to check through to see if the table is as you require.  
4. Click the 'Preview' button on the navigation bar to see what the PDF looks like. Sometimes the HTML can be deceiving and the PDF is perfect. 
5. Check that the caption has been added correctly
6. Replace any pasted cross-reference with a new link
7. Continue to add all the tables from your Word document

Table editing tools

Note: if the image is landscape, you will need to adjust the image print settings (e.g., to rotate an image) and place the image in its own section (i.e., only with its caption and no other text). The image print settings can deal with 'big' images. Floating an image means we will relocate it to the top or bottom of the page as required.

Step 5: Add Bibliography

A bibliography can be imported from an existing reference tool by following these steps:

1. Export a .ris file with your bibliography entries (e.g., from Mendeley, Zotero, Endnote, or any other tool)
2. From the Write.studio library:
   1. click on import
   2. add the .ris file
   3. nominate the project name
   4. click the import button
3. We recommend you always go to the export page and export the bibliography to check the metadata. Most of the reference tools are a bit sloppy with the way they store data, so errors can occur frequently. Also, write-studio pays particular attention to style guide requirements for gray literature; which most reference managers do not. 
   1. Check that the resource type and format are correct; these settings can easily be changed
   2. Check that all mandatory data has been added and reflects in the exported bibliography (different style guides have different mandatory data)
4. In the back matter of your project, add a 'References' section from the templates. This already has a heading and a smart list to automatically export your full bibliography formatted to your projects nominated style guide. 

Step 6: Add Citations

1. Inserting a citation is a simple matter of creating a link to your bibliography entries (see image below).
2. Citations can be customized by:
   1. nominating parenthetical (brackets) or narrative (in-line text)
   2. adding a prefix
   3. pinpointing exact page numbers
   4. adding a suffix
3. If the style guide you use changes from, say, in-text to endnotes, citations will automatically have the note marker added. Any change to the citation style will automatically adjust citations. Use manual footnotes and endnotes when there is no bibliography entry (i.e., it is in fact a note only). The numbering for manual notes will automatically integrate with citations if required.
4. Multiple citations can be added by hovering over an existing citation and clicking the + icon. 

Insert and edit citation

Step 7: Add terminology

There are 8 different types of terminology or reusable content (se image below). In particular, examine your document to add:

• Definitions to include in a glossary
• Abbreviations to add to a list
• Keywords, to make sure words are spelled consistently
• Organization names, if you need them in a list (i.e., index) or simply want to ensure they are spelled consistently
• Person names, if you need them in a list (i.e., index) or simply want to ensure they are spelled consistently
• Place names, if you need them in a list (i.e., index) or simply want to ensure they are spelled consistently
• Quotes or paraphrases you might consider reusing
• Saved text, if you want to ensure reusable text is spelled consistently,

Add or edit terminologyStep 8: Export to review Section Settings

Inside the document, for each section check the settings (see image below):

• General settings: 
  • Review the section name and section descriptions added to see if they make sense to you
  • Label 1 and label 2 (custom), section type, page orientation
• Print settings: whether each section should be exported and start on a new page (e.g., a chapter)
  • Most of the default settings will be correct for printing a thesis or dissertation
  • Print settings are very important when publishing a book because of back-to-back page printingSection settings

See Also

How to Avoid Common APA Formatting Errors, by APA Support Desk

Common Report Writing Mistakes, by Linda Glassop