# Linking and Importing Word and FrameMaker Docs

Linking provides a "synchronization" workflow between Subject Matter Experts (SME) who retain authorship of the FrameMaker or Word document and authors who need that content in their project.
Importing allows content to be created from existing documents but with no ongoing link. The workflow is otherwise very similar.

## Link or Import?

Many authors choose to Import content from Microsoft Word or Adobe FrameMaker into their RoboHelp projects. This is perfect for workflows where the original document is no longer necessary and importing is a one-time action.

However, there are scenarios where SMEs retain "ownership" of the original document and because it changes frequently, it would help the RoboHelp author to "Link" rather than Import the document.

- If you are using the Adobe Technical Communication Suite, you can Link FrameMaker documents to your RoboHelp projects as described below under Linking.

- If you have RoboHelp as a standalone application you still have the Import workflow available. With that, you can take advantage of the same style mapping and topic-splitting features as the FrameMaker file is imported and converted. Read more below in this topic.

## Linking

The "live linking" process is the same for both Microsoft Word or Adobe FrameMaker documents. Below, you can see both Word and FrameMaker documents have been linked to the project. The originals may be on a network share, SharePoint, or other location that can be shared between SME and author.

The green icon in the first screenshot shows the two documents are up to date. The next image shows a yellow "caution" icon which tells the RoboHelp author that the SME has made a change and the project needs to be updated to remain "in sync".

## Try it yourself, with the linked Microsoft Word document in this project

1. Right-click the New Employee Checklist.docx file in the Project Manager pod and choose Edit.

2. RoboHelp will open the document in Word.

3. Make some changes to the document, then close and save.

4. Once Microsoft Word closes you should notice the icon representing this document changes to yellow.

5. Then right-click the icon and choose Update. This will cause the associated topics in RoboHelp to update with the latest content.

To map the Microsoft Word or Adobe FrameMaker files to Adobe RoboHelp

In brief, on the Project ribbon click Settings in the Link group and then click Edit for Word or FrameMaker.

- Here you see how the Word Style for Heading 1 is being mapped to the RoboHelp CSS style sheet Heading 1.

- As many styles as you like can be mapped in this way, saving a lot of repetitive time.

- The Pagination checkbox means that the author can split a long Word document into separate topic files "in one go" - all based on styles.