Author Archives: Jack Lyon

A hundred years ago when I switched from WordPerfect to Microsoft Word, there was one thing I just didn’t understand. That thing was templates. What the heck were they, anyway? How was I supposed to use them? And what did they have to do with editing? Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines “template” as a “pattern […]

Here’s the scenario: You open a giant document from a client and start looking through it. But what’s this? The same odd character at the beginning of every paragraph. Must be some kind of file translation error. Odder still, Microsoft Word won’t let you paste the character into its Find and Replace dialog, so how […]

Our last newsletter explained how to search for special characters (such as carriage returns and section breaks) using character codes. You can read the newsletter here: http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?sort=d&mid=1703875043 Why should you, as an editor, writer, or publisher, care about something as “technical” as searching with codes? Because they make it possible to find and replace things […]

In our last newsletter, I explained how to find Microsoft Word footnote numbers using the character code ^02. You can read the newsletter here: http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1703696660 There are other character codes you can use to find certain items: * For a carriage return, you can use ^013. * For a section break, you can use ^012. […]

In our last newsletter, I explained how to use the “Find What Text” code to change formatted text in Microsoft Word. You can read that newsletter here: http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?sort=d&mid=1703525514 (If that address breaks, you may have to put it back together again in your browser’s address window.) This week, I’ll show you how to use the […]

If you’re faced with a complex task using Microsoft Word’s Find and Replace feature, the “Find What Text” replacement code may come in handy. For example, let’s say you need to add the HTML italic tags and around anything formatted with italic. (If you don’t understand HTML, don’t worry. You’ll soon see the point of […]

Last week we talked about using style “aliases,” which make it easy to apply styles in Microsoft Word. Even easier is using keyboard shortcuts. I don’t like the inconsistency of Word’s standard ones, so mine are set up like this: CTRL + SHIFT + 1 applies the Heading 1 style (Macintosh users would use OPTION […]

As I edit in Microsoft Word, I mark the various typesetting spec levels with styles, which will later be converted by our QuarkConverter program so they can be used as style sheets in QuarkXPress. However, I hate reaching for my mouse to apply styles. So, to make applying styles easy, I sometimes rename the styles […]

Conditional text is text that you want to appear only in a certain situation. For example, let’s say you’re using Microsoft Word to write two brochures for the new WidgetMaster 2000. One brochure is a sales piece; the other explains the product’s technical specifications. However, certain sections of both brochures contain exactly the same information. […]