Retain the EXACT format when importing
Asked by jtholen:

I *think* I did this once, but cannot replicate. I need to import a Word document into Confluence with exactly the same format so that it can be exported in to a printable copy. Yet the Word content has to be updatable. I have tried importing Word, but I loose header and footer and page references. I have tried View and it doesn't give me an option to page through the document, it just seems to show the first page.

The confluence content can be the primary content but it has be able to printed out in Word format with appropriate headers, footers, etc.

Suggestions? Or was I dreaming?

Thanks!


Answers:
author: Diego
body: Hello [@jtholen](/t5/user/viewprofilepage/user-id/3669264) !

As I understand, you need to keep the Word document formatting as if it never left Word, even after importing it into Confluence. After the import, you need to edit the file and have it in a printable format. Is that correct?

Since printing is part of the workflow. We could try two methods:
> *Use the browser built-in print feature (may yield different results)*
>
> *Export to either PDF or Word and then print from the resulting file*

The second option relies on Confluence export capabilities, which allows us to export to PDF and Word Here is your documentation on how to export pages:
> * ++**[\[Confluence Cloud\] Export content to Word, PDF, HTML and XML](https://confluence.atlassian.com/confcloud/export-content-to-word-pdf-html-and-xml-724764824.html)**++

After exporting to Word or PDF, we could print directly from our machines with whatever program we use to open PDF or Word files.

However, if what you need is to edit a Word file via Confluence, I will go ahead and say that the document has no connection whatsoever with the original Word file. Here is an excerpt from our documentation:
> *Import Word documents*
>
> *You can import Word documents as a single page, or divide the contents up into multiple pages, based on the headings in your document. This is useful if you have a lot of content stored in existing documents, or if you are migrating from another system or platform that allows you to export to Word format.*
>
> *To import a Word document:*
>
> 1. *View an existing page. The page chosen becomes the parent page of the document imported.*
> 2. *From the top right of the page, choose ??? \> Import Word Document.*
> 3. *Choose Select file to import, locate the Word document you want to import, then choose Import. The take you onto the Import configuration step.*
> 4. *Choose the import options you want (see below for more info), and then Import.*
>
> *When the upload has finished, pages will be created with the content of the Word documents. You can then view and edit this page as normal. There's no further connection between the original Word document and this page.*

Here you can check the whole page:
> * ++**[\[Confluence Cloud\] Import content into Confluence](https://confluence.atlassian.com/confcloud/import-content-into-confluence-724765058.html)**++

++*Prior to the release of our new editor*++, we were able to use what we call the Companion App. The companion app allowed users to edit files that reside in Confluence. It relied on the user having the corresponding software to edit the file. Here is the documentation that applies to the legacy editor:
> * ++**[\[Confluence Cloud\] Edit Files](https://confluence.atlassian.com/confcloud/edit-files-724765124.html)**++

I hope this shines some light into your necessities! Looking forward to your reply.


Tags: cloud

confluence-cloud