Convert DOC to Textile

Why Convert DOC to Textile?

Converting DOC documents to Textile format is ideal for users of Redmine, Basecamp, and other platforms that use Textile as their native markup language. Textile offers a clean, readable syntax that generates well-formed HTML, making it perfect for web content creation and project management documentation.

Textile was created by Dean Allen in 2002 as a "humane web text generator." Its design philosophy emphasizes readability and simplicity while still providing powerful formatting options. Unlike more complex markup languages, Textile uses intuitive patterns that are easy to remember, like *bold* for bold and _italic_ for italic.

One of Textile's strengths is its ability to generate clean, semantic HTML. When you write Textile, you're essentially writing in a simplified HTML syntax that gets converted to proper markup. This makes Textile ideal for web content that needs to be both human-readable in source form and properly formatted when displayed.

For Redmine users, Textile is particularly important as it's the primary markup format for wiki pages, issue descriptions, and comments. Converting your Word documents to Textile allows you to easily import content into your Redmine instance while maintaining formatting and structure.

Key Benefits of Converting DOC to Textile:

• Redmine Compatible: Native format for Redmine wikis and issues
• Clean HTML: Generates well-formed, semantic HTML
• Readable Source: Plain text that's easy to read and edit
• CSS Support: Apply classes and IDs for styling
• Version Control: Plain text works with Git
• Web Ready: Output ready for web publishing
• Easy Syntax: Intuitive formatting rules

Practical Examples

Example 1: Project Documentation

Input DOC file (project.doc):

Project Overview

Introduction
This document describes the project goals
and requirements.

Features:
- User authentication
- Data management
- Reporting dashboard

Timeline: January - March 2024

Contact: [email protected]

Output Textile file (project.textile):

h1. Project Overview

h2. Introduction

This document describes the project goals
and requirements.

h2. Features

* User authentication
* Data management
* Reporting dashboard

p. *Timeline:* January - March 2024

p. *Contact:* "[email protected]":mailto:[email protected]

Example 2: Issue Description

Input DOC file (bug.doc):

Bug Report

Summary: Login fails with special characters

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Go to login page
2. Enter username with @ symbol
3. Click submit

Expected: Login success
Actual: Error message appears

Error code:
AUTH_FAILED_SPECIAL_CHAR

Priority: High

Output Textile file (bug.textile):

h1. Bug Report

p(summary). *Summary:* Login fails with special characters

h2. Steps to Reproduce

# Go to login page
# Enter username with @ symbol
# Click submit

p. *Expected:* Login success
*Actual:* Error message appears

h2. Error Code

bc. AUTH_FAILED_SPECIAL_CHAR

p(priority). *Priority:* High

Example 3: Wiki Article

Input DOC file (wiki.doc):

API Reference

Authentication

All API calls require authentication using
an API key in the header.

Endpoints:
| Method | Path        | Description      |
|--------|-------------|------------------|
| GET    | /users      | List all users   |
| POST   | /users      | Create user      |
| DELETE | /users/{id} | Delete user      |

See: Getting Started Guide

Output Textile file (wiki.textile):

h1. API Reference

h2. Authentication

All API calls require authentication using
an API key in the header.

h2. Endpoints

|_. Method |_. Path |_. Description |
| GET | @/users@ | List all users |
| POST | @/users@ | Create user |
| DELETE | @/users/{id}@ | Delete user |

p. See: [[Getting Started Guide]]

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What is Textile?

A: Textile is a lightweight markup language created in 2002 by Dean Allen. It converts human-readable text into valid HTML. Known for its intuitive syntax, Textile is used in platforms like Redmine, Basecamp, and various content management systems.

Q: How is Textile different from Markdown?

A: While both are lightweight markup languages, they have different syntax. Textile uses *bold* and _italic_, while Markdown uses **bold** and *italic*. Textile has more consistent HTML class/ID support and generates cleaner HTML. Markdown is more popular today, but Textile is still widely used in specific platforms.

Q: Where is Textile used?

A: Textile is the native format for Redmine (project management), was used in Basecamp, and is supported by various CMS platforms. It's popular in Ruby on Rails applications via the RedCloth library. Some wikis and forums also support Textile markup.

Q: Will my DOC formatting be preserved?

A: Basic formatting like headings, bold, italic, lists, and tables will be converted to Textile equivalents. Complex Word-specific features will be simplified. The result is clean Textile markup ready for use in Textile-enabled platforms.

Q: How do I preview Textile output?

A: You can preview Textile in Redmine's wiki editor, use online Textile converters, or install browser extensions. For development, Ruby's RedCloth library or PHP's php-textile can convert Textile to HTML for preview.

Q: Can I add CSS classes in Textile?

A: Yes! Textile supports CSS classes and IDs. Use p(classname). for paragraph classes, h1(#id). for heading IDs, or combine them like p(classname#id). This allows fine-grained styling control when the Textile is converted to HTML.

Q: Does Textile support code blocks?

A: Yes! Use bc. (block code) for code blocks. For inline code, wrap text in @code@. Extended code blocks can use bc.. (note the double period) which continues until a different block type is encountered.

Q: Can I convert Textile to other formats?

A: Yes! Pandoc can convert Textile to Markdown, HTML, DOCX, PDF, and many other formats. This makes Textile a viable source format for multi-format publishing workflows.