Author Archives: Jack Lyon

Getting Help with Macros

By Jack Lyon | Published: November 18, 2022

By Jack Lyon, the Editorium While messing about with macros, I sometimes find myself up against a problem for which I have no solution. Time to get some help! My usual approach is to use Google to search for "microsoft word vba [whatever problem I’m having]". That turns up lots of interesting stuff, but the […]

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How to Add a Macro to Word and Its QAT (Quick Access Toolbar)

By Jack Lyon | Published: November 17, 2022

Microsoft Word’s macro features make it possible to turn Word into a lean, mean editing machine. You’ll find lots of free editing macros online (see below for some excellent sources). But how can you add a macro to Microsoft Word so it will be available when you need it? Here’s the procedure: Copy the text […]

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Writing Down the Chaos

By Jack Lyon | Published: November 11, 2022

By Jack Lyon, the Editorium You can’t do much carpentry with your bare hands, and you can’t do much thinking with your bare brain. —Bo Dahlbom High school English class. Freshman year. The teacher explained how to: Come up with a thesis statement. Create an outline of arguments supporting the thesis statement. Write a paper […]

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Listing Keyboard Shortcuts: Two Methods

By Jack Lyon | Published: November 3, 2022

By Jack Lyon, the Editorium As useful as custom keyboard shortcuts may be in using Microsoft Word, it’s sometimes difficult to remember which keys you’ve assigned to what function. Word itself includes one way to find out: Click File > Print. Under "Settings," select "Key Assignments: List of your custom shortcut keys": Select the printer […]

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Wildcard Secrets Revisited

By Jack Lyon | Published: November 2, 2022

A few weeks ago I sent out an article called "Three Wildcard Secrets." I thought they were pretty good secrets, too! You can see them here. In a nutshell, here are the first two: The wildcard range [A-z], meant to find any uppercase or lowercase letter, will not find accented letters. You have to use […]

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Three Wildcard Secrets

By Jack Lyon | Published: October 25, 2022

So, you’ve been using wildcards with Microsoft Word’s Find and Replace feature to save time and ensure consistency as you edit the plethora of freelance work that’s bombarding your inbox. Excellent. But even if you’re getting pretty good at using wildcards, there are actually a few secrets that even many experts don’t know. Maybe you’ll […]

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Review: Geoff Hart’s Write Faster with Your Word Processor

By Jack Lyon | Published: May 25, 2022

I’ve been a fan of Geoff Hart’s books and articles since 2007, when I reviewed the first edition of his book Effective Onscreen Editing. The beauty of that book is that it applies to any software an editor might use. As Geoff explained then, “The overall goal is to teach editing strategies, not specific software.” However, in his […]

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Review: Geoff Hart’s Effective Onscreen Editing, 3rd Edition

By Jack Lyon | Published: October 6, 2016

Back in 2007, I reviewed the first edition of Geoff Hart’s book Effective Onscreen Editing, which I still keep close at hand on my bookshelf. Why? Because it’s one of the best books ever written about how to edit on a computer, packed with real-world information you’ll find nowhere else. My own books (such as […]

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Wildcard Cookbook for Microsoft Word

By Jack Lyon | Published: October 8, 2015

If you’re editing or writing in Microsoft Word, you need to understand Word’s advanced search features. These features are extremely powerful, but they’re also virtually undocumented; most explanations of their use have been limited to a simple table of wildcards. My new book, Wildcard Cookbook for Microsoft Word, explains in detail how you can use […]

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Better word processing: The Chicago Manual of Style interview

By Jack Lyon | Published: August 18, 2015

The Chicago Manual of Style “Shop Talk” column recently noted: “When it comes to word processing, CMOS users probably represent every level of expertise (or nonexpertise), but regardless of skill level, we all experience frustration at times when we don’t know how to accomplish a task on our computers. Often we do something the way […]

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