Nameswapper

Do you ever work with lists of personal names--authors, meeting lists, and so on? If so, you could probably use NameSwapper, our new add-in program that swaps last names and first names (or vice versa, if that makes sense) in a list of names. For example, if you've got a list of names like this--

Cather, Willa

Harrison, G. B., Ph.D.

Lewis, C. S.

Tolkien, J.R.R.

--but you want them to look like this--

Willa Cather

G. B. Harrison, Ph.D.

C. S. Lewis

J.R.R. Tolkien

--NameSwapper will do the job.

I'm giving this program away! Subscribers to Editorium Update will be the first to have it, but please feel free to share it with friends and colleagues who might find it useful.

To download NameSwapper for Word 97, 98, 2000, 2001, or 2002, click here:

http://www.editorium.com/ftp/nameswapper8.zip

To download NameSwapper for Word 6 or 7 (95), click here:

http://www.editorium.com/ftp/nameswapper6.zip

The program will work on PC and Macintosh.

Once you've downloaded and unzipped (or unstuffed) the proper version of the program, you'll see the documentation, which is named NameSwapper.doc. (Open it in Word to read it.) You'll also see the NameSwapper program template, which is named NameSwapper.dot. (If you need software to unzip or unstuff the program, you can download it from http://www.winzip.com or http://www.aladdinsys.com.)

To use the template (NameSwapper.dot), follow this procedure:

1. Open it in Microsoft Word by clicking File > Open. Don't just double-click the template to open it. If you do, you'll run into problems later.

2. Double-click the large button that says "Double-Click here to install."

3. Follow the prompts on your screen.

If you have trouble with the installation, just copy the program template to Word's Templates or Startup folder. You can learn more about this here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1707012536

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1707100224

After the program is installed, you'll see the NameSwapper menu at the top of your Microsoft Word window. To use the program, open your list of names in Microsoft Word. The list should look something like this (if last names are first):

Cather, Willa

Harrison, G. B., Ph.D.

Lewis, C. S.

Tolkien, J.R.R.

Or, it can look like this (if first names are first):

Willa Cather

G. B. Harrison, Ph.D.

C. S. Lewis

J.R.R. Tolkien

Each name, including the last one, should be followed by a carriage return.

To swap the names in your list, click the NameSwapper menu. Then click "Put First Names First" or "Put Last Names First," depending on your list. After NameSwapper is finished, you can use Word's Sort feature (Table > Sort) to sort your names alphabetically.

NameSwapper knows how to deal with the following name "suffixes": Jr., Jr, JR, Sr., Sr, SR, I, I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, Esq., Esq, Esquire, Ph.D., Ph.D, PhD., PhD, M.D., MD., MD, D.D.S., DDS., DDS., J.D., JD., JD, Ed.D., Ed.D, EdD., and EdD.

Be sure to use NameSwapper only on lists of names--with no other text in the document. *Please* don't use it on, say, your master's thesis. Also, be sure to keep backup copies of your lists in case you need something to go back to.

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READERS WRITE

My longtime friend Richard O'Regan (raor@bluewin.ch) wrote:

I have another of my long legal books to do. In this one the author, preparing his work in Word for Windows, has been inconsistent about how he punctuates at the footnote reference numbers. Sometimes he puts his comma or the period after the footnote reference number and sometimes he puts it before.

I want the comma or period to precede the reference number. I can't do it with search and replace because you can't put the footnote reference (^f) in the replace box.

I replied:

You can do it with a not-so-simple find-and-replace.

In the Find What box, put this:

(^02)([.!?])

The ^02 will find the note reference numbers. The characters in square brackets will find the closing punctuation you want to transpose. If you like, you can add other punctuation, such as commas, colons, and semicolons:

(^02)([.!?,:;])

The backslash on the ! and ? are necessary to tell Word that you're using them as characters and not as wildcards. The parentheses group the items so that you can switch them around in the Replace With box, which should have this in it:

21

That tells Word to put the second group (the punctuation) first, and the first group (the footnote number) last. Doesn't the Bible say something about that. 🙂

Finally, you'll need to put a checkmark in the box labeled "Use Wildcards" (you may need to click the "More" button before it's available).

If you'd like to know about searching with wildcards, see Editorium Update for March 25 through April 25, 2001:

http://editorium.com/EUIndex.htm

If you'd like to know more about searching with numeric codes (such as ^02), see the November 21, 2000 issue of Editorium Update:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1704081834

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RESOURCES

This week, another Microsoft resource: Microsoft Office newsgroups. The Web site says you can "ask questions, share information, or exchange ideas with others who use Office products, including more than 750 Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) worldwide." To use the newsgroups, go here:

http://communities.microsoft.com/newsgroups/default.asp?icp=Prod_Office

Then select a newsgroup from the list on the left.