Word Style Maps

If you regularly import files from Word for Windows, you will find that the more a Word document is formatted using proper Word styles, the less you have to do in DBT towards the layout of the document. Indeed in many cases, you may be able to simply import and translate.

When you import a document from Word, DBT uses a special file called "dbt.mws" to map Word styles to DBT styles. For example, text in the Word "Heading 1" style will become the "h1." style in DBT.

Note that dbt.mws only recognizes the standard Word styles. New styles that the Word user creates are usually ignored. However, you can create custom mapping files of your own.

For example, you might create a style in Word called "French" and apply this Word style to any text which you have typed in the French language. (If you are an expert Word user, you can even tell Word that the language is French, and that the French dictionary should be used when spell checking.) To map this new style to a DBT style, you need to create your own style map.

There are two ways to create or modify style maps.

1) Use the SWIFT add-on to Word.

2) Manually copy and edit the .mws files.

SWIFT is probably the easier option for anyone who is uncomfortable editing system files, however it is worth studying both topics for general information.