Importing .docx File
If your .docx file is not importing as you expected it to, there may be something in the file that Atticus can’t recognize.
This post will walk you step-by-step through some simple procedures to ensure your file imports as efficiently as possible.
Start Here
We do have a tutorial to help you prepare your .docx file to import into Atticus, but let’s start by making sure all our best practices have been put into action.
Save as .docx
The first think you’ll want to do is confirm that your file is a .docx—the x at the end is very important!
Remove Front Matter
Atticus will automatically create a Title page, Copyrights page, and Table of Contents, so if you have any of these in book—especially a TOC—you’ll want to delete these so they can be formatted directly in Atticus itself.
Set Chapter Titles
The easiest way to ensure Atticus detects all your new chapters and breaks them out properly is to set your chapter title in Word default Heading 1 style.
If you’re not using chapter titles, you can instead simply add a Page break between each chapter.
Still Not Importing?
If you’ve made sure to adjust for the above preparation steps, something inside the content may be causing Atticus to reject the import. The following sections will help you Identify the Issue and work around it.
Remove Your Hyperlinks
If you have URLs in your document, they may not be properly formatted to allow Atticus to imoprt them safely. The best option is to clear all hyperlinks and reset them after you’ve imported your book into Atticus. Here is a really simple way to clear all hyperlinks at once:
- Windows/Chromebook:
- Press CTRL A to highlight your entire book
- Press CTRL SHIFT F9 to remove all links (repeat twice, just to be sure)
- Resave your file
- Mac:
- Press CMD A to highlight your entire book
- Press CMD Fn SHIFT F9 to remove all links (repeat twice, just to be sure)
- Resave your file
Images
If you have large images or a lot of images in your manuscript, we recommend saving them as individual files in a separate folder and removing them from the .docx file itself. This will help import your file faster, making it less likely your internet will time out in the process. You’ll be able to insert the images into the content where it belongs from inside Atticus as part of the formatting process.
Endnotes or Footnotes
If you’ve used notes anywhere in your book, you’ll need to be sure they’re formatted as Footnotes in Word, not Endnotes. Once imported into Atticus, you’ll be able to choose where in your book you want your notes displayed.
Fortunately, if you have used Endnotes in Word, it’s easy to convert them to Footnotes.
- Make a copy of your Word document (if you don’t want to alter the original).
- Open this file in Word and click the References Tab. Click the expand menu icon in the Footnote/Endnote Section.
- Click Convert, then select “Convert all endnotes to footnotes” and click OK.
When you upload this version to Atticus, all notes will be recognized and you can then select their location when you customize your theme in the Formatting Tab.
Subheadings
You can set up to 5 levels of subheadings to set as unique fonts and styles within Atticus, but you will need to identify them as Word default Heading 2 – 6.
Atticus will not be able to recognize special font styles.
To be sure you have used the Word default settings, follow these steps:
- Open your manuscript in Word
- Click Design from the top menu
- Select one of the default theme options
- Re-save your file
Don’t worry about how it looks in Word, you’ll set all the formatting inside Atticus to ensure it looks just how you want it.
Special Characters
Are there any special characters or accented letters in your manuscript? Examples include:
- Emojis (e.g., 😀)
- Symbols (e.g., ⍟)
Some fonts may not support all special characters, so please remove any symbols or emojis before importing.
Hopefully one of these solutions has help to ensure your docx file imports nicely into Atticus, but if you continue to have trouble, please feel welcome to reach out to our Support team for additional help. Be sure to include as much detail as possible, including the steps you’ve taken based on the advice on this page.
Last Updated: 02/02/2026
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