How to typeset a Google Doc that still has suggestions

Updated 15 September 20262 min read

The three options

On the Connected tab, press Import Options…, open General and choose an option under Google Docs suggestions:

Sync as if all suggestions were accepted

InDesign gets the text as it will read once the editor accepts everything. This is the default, and the right choice when the edit is mostly settled.

Ignore suggestions, sync the original text

InDesign gets only text that’s actually been accepted. Use it when suggestions still need sign-off — from a client, a reviewer or a legal team — and proposed wording mustn’t reach the page.

Sync suggestions inline, as they appear

The original words and the suggested ones both come across, the way they show in suggesting mode, so some passages read twice. It’s useful for gauging how much a round of edits will move the layout, but not for pages going anywhere.

Google works out the text on its side before it reaches DriveSync, so a suggestion never arrives half-applied.

A workflow that keeps layout moving

1. While the edit is open, sync with suggestions accepted, so you set pages the way the copy will probably end up.
2. On the Settings tab, set Watch Google for changes every.Edited files are marked changed in Google, and nothing reaches your layout until you press Sync.
3. If several people work on the document, turn on Confirm before syncing so nobody syncs by accident.
4. When the editor has accepted or rejected everything in Google Docs, press Sync once more for the final text.

DriveSync matches paragraphs by content and never changes your styling, so each of these syncs moves only the words.

What about comments?

Comments stay in Google Docs. They aren’t brought into InDesign, so a note to the writer never ends up on the page.