What format is the file you open in TextEdit?

If it’s something like RTF, you can simply place the .rtf file into an InDesign document. It will preserve (as well as it can) formatting.

Hi Psachyah,

yes, you can save your file as a Word Document (.doc) in TextEdit. That should do the trick.
Make sure to check the import options when placing your text in InDesign (‘keep formatting’ etc).
F

Is their a way to have it create style sheets based on the imported formatting?

Yes, via scripts.
Check out Peter Kahrel’s CharStyle, Dave Saunders’ PreserveLocalFormatting.jsx or something similar.

Preserve Local Formatting: Dave Saunders wrote this cross-platform Javascript that can run through a selection of text (or the whole document, if nothing is selected) and replace locally-formatted bolds and italics (among others) with equivalent Character styles. The script adds the styles to the Character Styles palettes on its own,no need to create them yourself. Works in CS1 (change extension to .js), CS2, and CS3. — InDesign Secrets.com