Importing documents

The importing of documents in Affinity Publisher is a one-way process. You cannot overwrite the original file once it has been imported. Imported documents must be saved as an .afpub file.

Importing Microsoft Word documents

Microsoft Word documents saved in DOCX file format can be imported into Publisher.

Importing InDesign documents

Affinity Publisher can import InDesign files that have been saved in IDML (InDesign Markup Language) format, which is available in InDesign CS4 and later. With earlier versions of InDesign, you can export documents to PDF and then import that format directly into Affinity Publisher.

The dpi (dots per inch) setting of the resulting Affinity Publisher document is decided as follows:

• If the imported IDML file does not contain linked or embedded raster resources with their own dpi settings, the document is set to 300 dpi if it's a CMYK document or 72 dpi if it's an RGB document.
• If the imported IDML file contains linked or embedded raster resources, the document is set to whichever of 72, 96, 144, 192, 300, 400 and 600 dpi is closest to the highest dpi setting of all those resources.

A document's dpi setting can be changed at any time in File>Document Setup.

Supported IDML features

The following features of IDML files are honored upon import into Affinity Publisher:

• Facing two-page spreads
• Master pages
• Automatic page numbering
• Bleed settings
• Document grid and guides
• Text frame and picture frame properties
• Text styles
• Missing resource warnings (fonts and placed content)
• Tables
• Blend modes

Text variables, aside from page numbering, are converted to text.