Problems importing tagged text

Question

IDD CS5.5, 7.5.2
what I do
prepare IDD tagged text file, using DOS/Windows line ends and ANSII encoding
open IDD CS5.5 file with formatted content
select all content
File > Place InDesign tagged text file, using "show list of problem tags" option
what I get
no angle brackets imported, no errors in the list of problem tags …
74 paragraphs, all using the first paragraph style specified in the tagged text
I wish IDD tagged text were as easy to get on with as FrameMaker's MML … that would also make it easier for me to start with one tagged source file and use the content in different applications with a minimum of effort. Any tips on _exactly_ what has to be done to placate the IDD Import goblins welcome!

Answer 1

Give this script a try:
// DESCRIPTION: This InDesign script reads the tags of an imported MML file and applies their corresponding paragraph styles.
// USAGE: Place the MML file in InDesign. Using the Text tool, select all or part of the imported text. Run this script.
var myDocument = app.activeDocument;
if (app.documents.length != 0){
//If the selection contains more than one item, the selection
//is not text selected with the Type tool.
if (app.selection.length == 1){
//Evaluate the selection based on its type.
  switch (app.selection[0].constructor.name){
   case "Character":
   case "Word":
   case "TextStyleRange":
   case "Line":
   case "Paragraph":
   case "TextColumn":
   case "Text":
    convertMML(app.selection[0]);
   break;
   default:
    alert("Please select all or part of the text using the Text Tool.");
   break;
} else {
  alert("No valid selection.");
function convertMML(theSelection) {
// this sequence collects the names of the paragraph styles in the MML file
var theContent = theSelection.contents;
  var theParagraphs = theContent.split("\r");
  var theParagraphStyles = [];
  for (var i = 0; i < theParagraphs.length; i++) {
    if (theTag = theSelection.paragraphs[i].contents.match(/<!DefineTag (.+?)>/)) {
      theParagraphStyles.push(theTag[1]);
// ********* this sequence adds dummy paragraph styles in the document, if necessary
for (var i = 0; i < theParagraphStyles.length; i++) {
  var currentStyle = theParagraphStyles[i];
        try { myDocument.paragraphStyles.add({ name: currentStyle }) } catch(err){};
// ********* This sequence set the preferences of the Grep queries
app.findChangeGrepOptions.includeFootnotes = true;
app.findChangeGrepOptions.includeHiddenLayers = false;
app.findChangeGrepOptions.includeLockedLayersForFind = false;
app.findChangeGrepOptions.includeLockedStoriesForFind = true;
app.findChangeGrepOptions.includeMasterPages = true;
app.findGrepPreferences = NothingEnum.nothing;
app.changeGrepPreferences = NothingEnum.nothing;
// ********* The action begins here
// ********* This sequence removes spaces and/or TABs in the beginning of the lines
app.findGrepPreferences.findWhat = '^\\s+';
app.changeGrepPreferences.changeTo = '';
myDocument.changeGrep();
// ********* This sequence consolidates multiple paragraph returns into one
app.findGrepPreferences.findWhat = '\\r\\r+';
app.changeGrepPreferences.changeTo = '\\r';
myDocument.changeGrep();
// ********* This sequence removes the header and the paragraph declarations
app.findGrepPreferences.findWhat = '((^<MML>\\r)|(^<!DefineTag .+?>\\r))';
app.changeGrepPreferences.changeTo = '';
myDocument.changeGrep();
// ********* Now that everything is cleared up and in place, we can make the required changes
for (var i = 0; i < theParagraphStyles.length; i++) {
  app.findGrepPreferences = NothingEnum.nothing;
  app.changeGrepPreferences = NothingEnum.nothing;
  var currentStyle = theParagraphStyles[i];
  var theGrepString = '^<' + currentStyle + '>';
  app.findGrepPreferences.findWhat = theGrepString;
  app.changeGrepPreferences.appliedParagraphStyle = myDocument.paragraphStyles.itemByName(currentStyle);
  myDocument.changeGrep();
  app.findGrepPreferences = NothingEnum.nothing;
  app.changeGrepPreferences = NothingEnum.nothing;
  app.findGrepPreferences.findWhat = theGrepString;
  app.changeGrepPreferences.changeTo = '';
  myDocument.changeGrep();
It worked in your sample. To install it, select the text between the multi-hyphens lines, copy it to a text editor, save it with the ".js" or ".jsx" extension and put it on your Scripts Panel folder.
To run it, place the MML in InDesign as unformatted text, select everything with the Text tool and double click the script in the Scripts panel. All the tags will be eliminated and the paragraphs will be formatted according with the MML tags. Be aware that this script doesn't contemplate character styles and any other formatting; only paragraph tags, like your sample.
Hope it helps.