Manual or Automatic?

When working electronically, editors often have to decide whether to make certain corrections manually or automatically, using such features as Find and Replace. Some corrections *have* to be made manually, but, in my opinion, editors often make more manual corrections than they should. For example, many editors change restrictive "which" to "that" by hand, making each change separately as it shows up in the manuscript. But how bad would it be, really, to change *every* "which" to "that" throughout the manuscript? You're going to read the manuscript all the way through anyway, right? So if you later come to a few "thats" that actually should be "whiches," you can fix them manually--which is much easier and faster than changing *hundreds* of "whiches" to "thats" by hand.

You have to use some judgment when doing this kind of thing. If a certain automatic correction will just make reading the manuscript too weird for you, don't use it. Or, you might try making the automatic correction with revision tracking turned on and showing--

Tools > Track Changes > Highlight Changes > Track changes while editing + Highlight changes on screen

--so that when you're reading through the document later, you'll know that the odd reading of that problem sentence is something you (rather than the author) introduced. Of course, if an automatic correction will result in *more* manual manipulation later on, you shouldn't use it.

Another possibility is to use wildcards in your Find and Replace corrections. In our "which" to "that" example, you could search for the word "which" whenever it *doesn't* follow a comma and replace it with "that," which would leave nearly all of the nonrestrictive occurrences ("blah blah, which blah blah") intact. Here's how:

1. Click the "Edit" menu.

2. Click "Replace."

3. In the "Find What" box, enter this:

([!,]) which

4. In the "Replace With" box, enter this:

1 that

5. In the "Use Wildcards" or "Use pattern matching" box, put a checkmark (you may need to click the "More" button before you can do this).

6. Click the "Replace All" button.

You can learn more about searching and replacing in past issues of Editorium Update--October 24, 2000, to November 21, 2000, and March 21 to April 25, 2001:

http://editorium.com/euindex.htm

Of course, if the idea of making such sweeping changes scares you, you can use the Find and Replace dialog to "Find Next" and "Replace" items individually, which still beats doing them all by hand.

Don't forget that there are certain corrections you'll almost *always* want to make, such as fixing commonly misspelled words. You'll probably want to make your own list, but here are some of my favorites:

FIND WHAT REPLACE WITH

accomodate accommodate

supercede supersede

independant independent

embarass embarrass

annoint anoint

occurrance occurrence

accidently accidentally

concensus consensus

wierd weird

mischevious mischievous

definate definite

transcendant transcendent

To automate things even further, don't just do these replacements one at a time on job after job; instead, record them in a macro that you can use over and over again. You can learn more about macros in past issues of Editorium Update--May 9 to May 23, 2001:

http://editorium.com/euindex.htm

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READERS WRITE

In a follow-up to her question in last week's Readers Write column about combining chapters into one document before editing, Ann Redmon (ann@gant.org) wrote:

"I'd already flogged myself earlier this year for not having purchased and used your Editor's ToolKit much sooner, but just shoot me for not having used the Add Documents feature much sooner too! I've only received half of this month's issue of the journal I regularly copyedit, so I didn't combine the whole issue into one document, but even doing it in two halves is saving me enormous amounts of time and vastly improving my consistency. Thanks again for a fabulous utility."

After reading last week's article on making separate passes through a document, Pamela Angulo (pamarama@empire.net) wrote:

"Hint for making passes: I have a 'Task' chart (a table, really) that I customize for each job. First, I fill in the details (number of pages, tables, figures, equations, and boxes) for each chapter, so I can track my progress. Below are check boxes for essential tasks: running the spellchecker, cleaning up spaces, checking and marking figure callouts, editing in-chapter headings, cross-checking references, editing references, editing figures and tables, editing boxes and appendices -- all those niggling details that can't be remembered in one pass. I find this chart especially helpful if I have to put a job aside for any time longer than an hour (!); when I come back, I don't try to do things that I have already done.

"And yes, I have a check-box grocery list on the fridge that I find very helpful in streamlining my shopping trips. YMMV! :-)"

Thanks to Ann and Pam for their comments.

Making Passes

No, no, not that kind of passes. I'm talking about making separate passes through a document to catch different kinds of errors. If you can catch them all in one pass, your mind is much more efficient than mine. I work much better and catch more errors by going through a manuscript several times, fixing different kinds of problems each time. This approach to editing works well on paper, but it works even better if you're editing on the computer. This is related to last week's article on editing from the top down, which you can read here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1707878802

Here are some of the passes I make when I'm editing a document:

1. I do a spell check. Laugh if you will, but a spell check catches the most elusive of typographical errors--which means I don't have to. It saves time now and embarrassment later. You can read more on this topic here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1700310413

2. I scan for repeated errors, inconsistencies, and idiosyncrasies in punctuation (especially in citations), capitalization, and spelling. When I find something I don't like, I fix it globally with Microsoft Word's Find and Replace feature. This is much faster than doing all of this work by hand, and when I'm done, I'm not left wondering if I've missed an occurrence of one of the problems somewhere. You can learn more about searching in past issues of Editorium Update--October 24, 2000, to November 21, 2000, and March 21 to April 25, 2001:

http://editorium.com/euindex.htm

3. I edit different kinds of items in separate passes. For example, I edit all of the chapter headings at one time, which ensures consistency and parallelism and all of that other good stuff. (If you use Word's built-in heading styles for chapter headings, you can see and edit them all at once in Outline View.) Then I edit the body text. Then I edit the sidebars. Then I edit the footnotes. Then I edit the bibliography entries. You get the idea. As I work, I make liberal use of Word's Find and Replace and macro features. You can learn more about macros in past issues of Editorium Update--May 9 to May 23, 2001:

http://editorium.com/euindex.htm

And you can learn more about editing notes here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1701016860

By the way, it's important to consider the order in which to make your passes. Can you really understand the sidebars if you haven't read the body text? If not, you'd better edit the body text first. Also, there's usually some going back and forth between items. For example, changes in the footnotes may require additional editing in the bibliography. So even if you're making passes, don't feel like you can't be a bit flexible. Editing on the computer, just as on paper, is as much an art as it is a science. And while the computer is a wonderful tool, don't forget that you're the one in charge.

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READERS WRITE

In last week's newsletter I wrote:

"If each chapter of a book is a separate document, I pull all of the chapters together using the Add Documents feature of our Editor's ToolKit program. I like having all of the chapters in one document so I can see and work on the whole book at once."

Subscriber Ann Redmon (ann@gant.org) responded:

"I've been using and enjoying many of your Editor's ToolKit features, but haven't tried the Add Documents feature for fear that the resulting document would just be huge and unwieldy. Is this not the case?"

I replied:

"It's true that the document is sometimes huge, but I think that having all of the book in one document is less unwieldy than messing around with, say, twenty different documents ("Let's see, where was that paragraph about . . . ?"). My computer has plenty of memory, so the hugeness doesn't bother me or crash my machine. I like being able to see the whole structure of a book in Outline View, and I like being able to do a quick Find and Replace that I know will standardize something throughout the book without having to go from chapter to chapter. All of this may just be a matter of personal preference, and you should probably do whatever works best for you."

Thanks to Ann for her question.

Editing from the Top Down

When I'm editing on the computer (which is most of the time), I'm most effective when I edit from the "top down." What that means is that I don't start changing commas and semicolons until I've done some other, more comprehensive tasks:

1. If each chapter of a book is a separate document, I pull all of the chapters together using the Add Documents feature of our Editor's ToolKit program. I like having all of the chapters in one document so I can see and work on the whole book at once. Later, if I need to split the document apart again, I use the program's Split Documents feature. You can learn more about Editor's ToolKit here:

http://www.editorium.com/14842.htm

2. I apply my own document template. This template uses a font that's easy on the eyes and includes all of the styles I'm likely to need. You can read more about this here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1700934923

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1704544112

3. I replace directly applied formatting with paragraph styles. (Why more authors don't use styles to format their documents is beyond me, but that's the way it is.) If the author has been consistent, I can do this with Word's Replace feature, replacing 16-point Arial bold (for example) with Word's Heading 1 paragraph style (for example). If the author hasn't been consistent (which is usually the case), then I have to go through the document and apply at least some of the paragraph styles manually. The effort is worth it, however, because it means that the styles can be passed on to QuarkXPress when it's typesetting time or reformatted quickly and easily in Microsoft Word as needed. You can read more about this here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1705536230

4. After applying the heading styles (Heading 1 through Heading 9) in particular, I use Word's Outline View or Document Map to look at the structure of the document. Does it make sense? Are the different sections in some kind of logical order? If they're not, I can easily move them around in Outline View. You can read more about this here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1700396609

5. I run the document through our FileCleaner program to clean up double spaces, eliminate multiple carriage returns, remove any remaining directly applied formatting (but leave italic intact), and fix a host of other annoying (but common) errors. You can learn more about FileCleaner here:

http://www.editorium.com/14845.htm

6. Finally, I start editing the actual text of the document. As I do this, I watch for recurring errors. If an error shows up more than twice, I stop fixing it manually and take care of all of its occurrences in one fell swoop, using a macro or Word's Replace feature. I save my macros and find-and-replace strings for use on future projects, and I now have a large collection of these useful tools. You can learn more about macros and Find and Replace in past issues of Editorium Update--October 24, 2000, to November 21, 2000, and March 21, 2001, to June 6, 2001:

http://editorium.com/euindex.htm

You may not want to follow my procedures exactly, but you might think about the steps you take in editing and see if there are some "top-down" procedures you could follow that would improve your speed, efficiency, and comfort.

Hidden Features in Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word comes with lots of features, many of which do not appear on menus or toolbars unless you put them there. Some of these features aren't even documented. Nevertheless, some of them are very useful for editing, writing, typesetting, and other publishing tasks. From time to time I'll write about these features in Editorium Update. For now, I just want to show you where the features are so you can start exploring them and putting the ones you like on menus, toolbars, and keyboard combinations for easy access.

In Word 6 and 95, you can see (and run) *any* of Word's features like this:

1. Click the "Tools" menu.

2. Click "Macro."

3. In the "Macros Available In" box, find and click "Word Commands."

4. In the "Macro Name" list, you'll see all of Word's features.

5. Click a feature that looks interesting. You'll see a brief description of the feature in the "Description" box.

6. Click the "Run" button to run the feature.

In Word 97 and above, you can see (and run) *any* of Word's features like this:

1. Click the "Tools" menu.

2. Click "Macro."

3. Click "Macros."

4. In the "Macros in" box, find and click "Word commands."

5. In the "Macro name" list, you'll see all of Word's features.

6. Click a feature that looks interesting. You'll see a brief description of the feature in the "Description" box.

7. Click the "Run" button to run the feature.

If you want to add a feature to a menu, toolbar, or keyboard combination, follow the procedures for adding a macro as explained in past issues of Editorium Update:

Adding menu items: http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1707444986

Adding toolbar buttons: http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1707286867

Adding keyboard shortcuts (Readers Write column): http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1707100224

The only difference in the procedures is that in the "Categories" list, you should click "All Commands" instead of "Macros."

One caution: Please don't try any of these features on a document with any importance. Just use a test document with some junk text until you understand exactly what a feature does and feel comfortable using it. Have fun spelunking!

Creating Menus

Last week I explained how to create your own toolbars in Microsoft Word. You can create your own menus, too, as a place to activate macros or Word commands. Here's how:

In Word 97 or later:

1. Click the "Tools" menu.

2. Click "Customize."

3. Click the "Commands" tab.

4. In the "Categories" box (on the left), click "Menu" (you'll probably have to scroll down to find it).

5. In the "Commands" box (on the right), click "New Menu" and hold down your mouse button.

6. Drag your new menu (represented by a gray rectangle) up to Word's menu bar and drop it (by releasing the mouse button) where you want it to go. It will be displayed on the menu bar with the name "New Menu."

7. Back down in the "Customize" dialog, click the "Modify Selection" button. The customization menu will appear.

8. In the box labeled "Name," type the name for your menu, such as "Macros," and press your "Enter" key to make the change.

9. In the box labeled "Save in," select the template or document where you want your new menu to live. This will probably be your Normal template (Normal.dot), which will make the menu available to any document. You could also select another template or document, however.

10. Click the "Close" button.

In Word 6 or 95:

1. Click the "Tools" menu.

2. Click "Customize."

3. Click the "Menus" tab.

4. Click the "Menu Bar" button (on the lower right).

5. In the box labeled "Name on Menu bar," type the name for your menu, such as "Macros."

6. In the box labeled "Position on Menu Bar," click the menu (such as "Edit" or "View") after which you want your new menu to appear. (You can also click "First" or "Last.")

7. Click the "Add" or "Add After" button. (You can also remove or rename menus while you're here, but if you do so, use extreme caution. It's not easy to get things back the way they were.)

8. Click the "Close" button.

9. In the box labeled "Save changes in," select the template or document where you want your new menu to live. This will probably be your Normal template (Normal.dot), which will make the menu available to any document. You could also select another template or document, however.

10. Click the "Close" button for the "Customize" dialog.

Once you've created your menu, you can add macros to it as described in the July 11, 2001, issue of Editorium Update, which you can read here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1707444986

I've assumed that you're probably going to keep your new menus (and toolbars) in your Normal template, but that's not the best place to keep them, since the Normal template can become corrupted (you should back it up frequently, just in case). It's better to keep your menus and toolbars (and keyboard shortcuts and macros) in your own add-in template, as explained in the June 20, 2001, Editorium Update:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1707194086

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READERS WRITE

April Karys wrote:

Our authors frequently write "the Java programing language," and just as frequently leave out the "the." I'm looking for a wildcard that will identify only the instances of this phrase that occur without the "the" and then insert it. That way I won't have to go through manually for this one correction item, but can include a wildcard with the macro that's cleaning everything *else* up. Whew. Anyway, is this possible to achieve with wildcards? Is nothing impossible to achieve with wildcards? (Will one of them make me dinner tonight?)

I responded:

As far as I know, there's no elegant (wildcard) way to do what you're describing. You just have to grit your teeth and do a two-step find-and-replace. You *can* record it in a macro, however.

To achieve what you want:

Find: Java programming language

Replace with: the Java programming language.

And then:

Find: the the Java programming language

Replace with: the Java programming language

In other words, you'll be putting an extra "the" in front of some of your "Javas" but then removing them. That will leave *all* of the occurrences looking like this:

the Java programming language

That should do the job.

In the meantime, I'll be working on some wildcards that will make duck ? l'orange. 🙂