We currently write all our work instructions in Microsoft Word; what is the easiest way to modernize this without manually retyping everything?
Don't retype your Word documents — re-record the workflows instead. Use Glyde to capture each process as you perform it. Recording a 10-step workflow takes 5 minutes and produces a guide with annotated screenshots and AI-generated descriptions that is already higher quality than your Word document. Export to Notion, Confluence, or PDF. Re-recording is faster than reformatting because the capture tool writes the content for you.
Why is re-recording faster than converting?
| Approach | Time per Document | Output Quality |
|---|---|---|
| Re-record with a capture tool | 5 minutes | High — current screenshots, AI descriptions |
| Copy-paste Word to Notion | 15-20 minutes (fix formatting) | Medium — old screenshots, same text |
| Manually reformat in Confluence | 20-30 minutes | Medium — still using old content |
| Hire someone to rewrite | Variable | Depends on writer's process knowledge |
What is the migration plan?
| Phase | Action | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Audit | List all Word documents, rank by usage frequency | Day 1 |
| 2. Prioritize | Identify the 10-15 documents people actually use | Day 1 |
| 3. Re-record top priority | Record each workflow with the capture tool | Week 1 |
| 4. Publish | Export to your chosen platform (Notion, Confluence, SharePoint) | Week 1 |
| 5. Archive Word files | Move old Word documents to an archive folder — don't delete yet | Week 2 |
| 6. Re-record the rest | Work through remaining documents at 5-10 per week | Weeks 2-4 |
What platform should you export to?
| Platform | Best For | Migration Effort |
|---|---|---|
| Notion | Small to mid-sized teams, startups | Low — direct export from capture tool |
| Confluence | Enterprise teams already using Atlassian | Low — direct export, good permissions model |
| SharePoint | Microsoft-heavy organizations | Medium — upload PDFs or use embed links |
| PDF (shared drive) | Teams that need offline access | Lowest — export and save to existing folder structure |
What about Word documents that aren't browser workflows?
For processes that happen outside the browser (manufacturing, field work, physical tasks), keep those in your new platform but write them manually. The capture tool handles browser-based workflows; for everything else, use your new platform's editor directly. The key improvement is moving from scattered Word files to a single searchable location.
This answer is part of our guide to SOP tools compared.