Migration from Microsoft Word

Move, manage, and convert your documentation created in Microsoft® Word.

Microsoft Word Files Management in Heretto CCMS

Heretto CCMS enables you to upload, store, and manage native Microsoft® Word files. You cannot edit the DOCX files in the Content Editor or append them to your DITA maps.

You can, however, manage your DOCX files in the following ways:

Version files
Search for files
Apply metadata

Microsoft Word Files Conversion to DITA

Converting your Microsoft® Word documentation to the DITA format enables you to fully migrate your existing DOCX files to Heretto CCMS. You can automate the migration process by using the Convert to DITA option in the content library.

Remember: The DOCX files are much less structured and semantically labeled than DITA files. Depending on the Word document structure and text formatting, the conversion results may be different. You can pre-format your DOCX files to exercise more control over the conversion process.

For more information on the converter behavior, see DOCX to DITA Conversion Overview. We recommend reviewing and applying any necessary improvements to the DITA files converted from the DOCX format.

Important: Downloading a Google Docs™ file as a DOCX document and then converting the file to DITA may cause unexpected results. Heretto CCMS fully supports conversion of the DOCX files created in Microsoft® Word.

DOCX to DITA Conversion Overview

Use the Convert to DITA option to turn your DOCX files into valid and well-formed DITA files.

Tip: You can pre-format your Microsoft® Word documentation before converting it to DITA to exercise control over the conversion process.

Conversion Matrices

Table 1. Structural Elements Conversion Matrix
Important: The ignored structural elements are not included in the converted DITA files. For example, the DOCX subtitles are not visible in the DITA files after conversion.
DOCX	DITA
Document Title	Map title element
Heading 1	New DITA topic with the title element corresponding to the Heading 1
Headings 2, 3, etc.	title element for subsequent sections in the same topic
Paragraph	paragraph element
Document Subtitle	Ignored
Page Break	Ignored

Table 2. Formatted Text Conversion Matrix
Important: The ignored text formatting is not visible in the converted DITA files. For example, highlighted text in a DOCX file is converted to DITA as plain text.
DOCX	DITA
Bold	bold element
Bulleted List	unordered list element
Footnote	footnote element
Image	image element
Italics	italics element
Ordered List	ordered list element
Subscript	subscript element
Superscript	superscript element
Symbols	Plain text symbols
Table	table element
Underline	underline element
Highlight	Ignored
Strikethrough	Ignored
Text Alignment	Ignored
Text Coloring	Ignored

Table 3. Metadata Conversion Matrix
DOCX	DITA
DOCX metadata	DITA metadata

DOCX to DITA Conversion Example

The following example illustrates how a DOCX file converts to DITA.

Table 4. Resources Converted from the Sample DOCX Document
Resources	Description
DITA map	The DITA map file name corresponds to the DOCX file name. The converted DITA topics are automatically appended to the DITA map.
DITA topics	The DITA topics file names correspond to their IDs. The IDs are assigned automatically during the conversion.
Files folder	The media files included in the DOCX file are gathered in this folder.

Note: If the DITA structure looks accurate, DITA maps converted from DOCX documents can be published right after the conversion completes.

Migrate from Microsoft Word to Heretto CCMS

Migrating your Microsoft® Word documentation enables you to centralize your documentation development process and use the full potential of Heretto CCMS.

Important: You can only convert DOCX files to DITA. You cannot convert DOC files to DITA. You can save DOC files as DOCX files by using Microsoft® Word.

Optional: Using Microsoft® Word, pre-format your DOCX files to ensure that the converter properly interprets their structure and text formatting. For more information on the converter behavior, see DOCX to DITA Conversion Overview.
To prevent creating nested DITA topics, make every DOCX heading “Heading 1”.

Important: Custom heading styles may cause unexpected conversion results. Ensure that your DOCX files use the default Microsoft® Word styles. For example, “Heading 1”, “Heading 2”, etc. If you want to bulk edit headings in a DOCX file, in the FAQs, see How to Bulk Edit Microsoft Word Heading Styles.
Upload your documentation created in Microsoft® Word to Heretto CCMS. See Upload Files to the Content Library.
Convert the DOCX files to the DITA format by doing the following:
1. In the content library, navigate to the directory that contains the DOCX files.
2. Right-click the DOCX file and select Convert to DITA.
After a moment, a folder with converted files appear in the DOCX file directory.
Organize the converted DITA files in your content library.
Review and make any necessary changes to the converted DITA files.

How to Bulk Edit Microsoft Word Heading Styles

Heretto CCMS enables you to convert your DOCX files to DITA. For the best conversion results, we recommend using the standard Microsoft® Word heading styles.

Before you begin, obtain the DOCX files that you want to convert.

In Microsoft® Word, open the DOCX file.
Place your cursor in a custom heading that you want to change to a default heading.
In the Home tab, in the Styles group, right-click the highlighted style and click Select all highlighted_style instances.
You selected every instance of a given custom heading style in the document.
In the Home tab, in the Styles group, select a default Microsoft® Word style.
For example, select Heading 1.
You changed every instance of a given custom heading style in the document to a default style.
For every custom heading, repeat 2 through 4.
Save the DOCX file.

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Heretto Help

Migration from Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word Files Management in Heretto CCMS

Microsoft Word Files Conversion to DITA

DOCX to DITA Conversion Overview

Conversion Matrices

DOCX to DITA Conversion Example

Migrate from Microsoft Word to Heretto CCMS

How to Bulk Edit Microsoft Word Heading Styles

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