Last week's newsletter explained the importance of using styles consistently in Microsoft Word, with a promise that this week I'd share my standard style list. As you look at the list, keep in mind that it was developed for styling books. If you work mostly on journals or magazines, your list will probably look quite different. I'm sharing my list primarily to give you an idea of what a fairly complete standardized list might look like. If you can use it or adapt it for what you do, great.

You'll notice that my style names are long. I've made them that way because I don't like trying to decipher names like HD1NI and BQ2. In some situations, however, that kind of brevity might be important, so do whatever works best for you. Sometimes, I've modified the names of built-in Word styles by adding a comma and then some descriptive text.

I've also modified the drop-down style list on Word's Formatting toolbar so it's nice and wide to accommodate those long style names. You can learn how to do that here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1709196044

I keep my styles in a template that I attach to any document I need to edit, and I've formatted the styles so they're easy on my middle-aged eyes. You can learn more about that here:

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

I'm also fond of using color in heading styles so I know at a glance whether I'm dealing with a first-, second-, or third-level subhead. You can learn more about that here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1710757772

As you review the list, you might wonder why I have so many variations of styles for block quotations, poetry, and a few other items. These are necessary for decent typography, as explained here:

http://www.editorium.com/editkit/TH_49.htm

The style named Normal,Text 1 is the basic body text for any book. It's named Normal,Text 1 rather than Normal for ease in importing documents into QuarkXPress, which uses a style named Normal that isn't always compatible with Word's Normal style. Many editors prefer to use a style named something like "Body Text" for the same reason.

Some of the styles end in "NI," which stands for "no indent." I use these to mark text that should have no paragraph indent. For example, Block Quote Start NI marks the first paragraph of a block quotation that begins somewhere in the middle of the paragraph being quoted. Normal Text 1 NI is used after a block quotation to mark text that does not begin a new paragraph but continues the thought of the text before the block quotation. Using these styles is the equivalent of writing "No paragraph" or "No indent" on a paper manuscript.

The name of each style is followed by a description of its function. The styles marked with an asterisk are the ones I use most often. If you'd like to see an actual Word template that includes such styles, you'll find one (named Typespec.dot) included with our Editor's ToolKit Plus program, which you can download here:

http://www.editorium.com/14857.htm

Feel free to use the template and modify it to suit your needs.

And now, here's the list:

Bib Subhead

Subheading separating different kinds of bibliographic entries. For example, a bibliography might include different entries under the subheadings of "Books," "Periodicals," and "Archival Materials."

Bib Text

The text of a bibliographic entry, such as "Pyle, Howard. *Salt and Pepper.* Harper and Brothers, New York, 1885."

*Block

A block quotation of one paragraph (indented).

*Block NI

A block quotation of one paragraph (not indented).

Block Heading

A heading at the beginning of a block quotation.

Block Subhead

A subheading between paragraphs of a block quotation.

*Block First

First paragraph of a block quotation (indented).

*Block First NI

First paragraph of a block quotation (not indented).

*Block Middle

Middle paragraph of a block quotation. The quotation may include more than one of these.

*Block Last

Last paragraph of a block quotation.

Block Source

Citation following a block quotation (usually someone's name).

Block Poem

A single line of poetry inside a block quotation.

Block Poem Heading

Heading before a poem inside a block quotation (usually the poem's title).

Block Poem Subhead

Subheading between stanzas of a poem inside a block quotation.

Block Poem First

First line of a poem inside a block quotation (possibly indented).

Block Poem First NI

First line of a poem inside a block quotation (possibly not indented).

Block Poem Start

Starting line of any poetry stanza but the first inside a block quotation (possibly indented).

Block Poem Start NI

Starting line of any poetry stanza but the first inside a block quotation (possibly not indented).

Block Poem Middle

Middle line of any poetry stanza inside a block quotation (possibly indented). The stanza may include more than one of these.

Block Poem Middle NI

Middle line of any poetry stanza inside a block quotation (possibly not indented). The stanza may include more than one of these.

Block Poem End

Ending line of any poetry stanza but the last inside a block quotation (possibly indented).

Block Poem End NI

Ending line of any poetry stanza but the last inside a block quotation (possibly not indented).

Block Poem Last

Last line of a poem inside a block quotation (possibly indented).

Block Poem Last NI

Last line of a poem inside a block quotation (possibly not indented).

Block Poem Source

Citation following a poem inside a block quotation (usually someone's name).

*Book Byline 1

A book's author. Used on the book's title page.

*Book Byline 2

A book's second author. Used on the book's title page.

Book Byline3

A book's third author. Used on the book's title page.

Book Byline4

A book's fourth author. Used on the book's title page.

*Book Publisher

A book's publisher (such as Random House or HarperCollins). Used on the book's title page.

Book Puff

A testimonial for the book. Used on the half-title page or jacket.

Book Puff Source

The name of a person giving the testimonial. Used under a book puff.

Book Puff Source Affiliation

The position or affiliation of a person giving the testimonial. Used under a book puff source.

*Book Series

The title of a series to which a book belongs, such as *The Lord of the Rings* (by J.R.R. Tolkien).

*Book Subtitle

A book's subtitle, such as *There and Back Again* (whose title is *The Hobbit*). Used on the book's title page.

Book Subsubtitle

A book's subsubtitle (yes, these do show up from time to time). Used on the book's title page.

Book Teaser

A line of marketing or explanatory copy. Used on the book's title page.

*Book Title

A book's title, such as *Fellowship of the Ring* (by J.R.R. Tolkien). Used on the book's title page.

*Caption

The caption under a photograph or other graphic.

*Chapter Number

The number of a chapter. See "Heading 1,Chapter Title."

Chapter Quote

A quotation at the beginning of a chapter.

Chapter Quote Source

A citation for a chapter quote. This is usually someone's name.

Chapter Subtitle

A subtitle after a chapter title (Heading 2,Chapter Title).

Chapter Subsubtitle

A subtitle after a chapter subtitle.

Colophon

A statement, usually on the last page of a book, describing elements of the book's production.

*Copyright

A book's copyright notice.

*Dedication

A book's dedication.

*Endnote Reference

A superscript reference number that refers to an endnote.

*Endnote Heading

A heading that introduces some endnotes, either at the end of a chapter or in a notes section at the back of the book. An example is "Notes to Chapter 12."

Endnote Subheading

A subheading between sections of endnotes.

*Endnote Text

The text of an endnote.

Epigraph

A saying or quotation that introduces a book ("Caveat lector").

Epigraph Source

The source of an epigraph, usually someone's name.

*Folio

A book's page number.

*Footnote Reference

A superscript reference number that refers to a footnote.

*Footnote Text

The text of a footnote.

Glossary Subhead

A subheading in a glossary.

Glossary Text

The text of a glossary entry.

*Heading 1,Part Title

Heading for a major section of a book. Using this level for part titles makes it possible to browse a book's sections in Microsoft Word's Outline View or Document Map.

*Heading 2,Chapter Title

Heading for a chapter title. Using this level for chapter titles makes it possible to browse a book's chapters in Microsoft Word's Outline View or Document Map.

*Heading 3,Subhead A

Subheading level A.

Heading 4,Subhead B

Subheading level B.

Heading 5,Subhead C

Subheading level C.

Heading 6,Subhead D

Subheading level D.

Heading 7,Subhead E

Subheading level E.

Heading 8,Subhead F

Subheading level F.

Heading 9,Subhead G

Subheading level G.

*Index 1 (Subject)

Text of an entry in a subject index.

Index 2 (Scripture)

Text of an entry in a scripture index.

Index 3 (Custom)

Text of an entry in some other kind of index.

Index Subhead

Subheading indicating a grouping of index entries. For example, an index to a biography of Mark Twain might include such subheadings as "Mark Twain, early life of" and "Mark Twain, writings of."

Jacket Blurb Book

Text of marketing copy (blurb) on a book jacket.

Jacket Blurb Author

Text of "about the author" copy on a book jacket.

Jacket Continued

Line of text explaining that the jacket blurb is continued on the back flap.

Letter Date

Date of a letter quoted in the text of a book ("June 10, 1900").

Letter Place

Place of a letter ("Boston").

Letter Salutation

Salutation of a letter ("Dear Ella").

Letter First

First paragraph of a letter.

Letter Middle

Middle paragraph of a letter. There may be more than one of these.

Letter Last

Last paragraph of a letter.

Letter Signature

Signature of the person writing a letter ("Your affectionate husband, William").

List

An item in a "list" consisting of a single item.

*List First

The first item in a list of items.

*List Middle

A middle item in a list of items. There may be more than one of these.

*List Last

The last item in a list of items.

*List Bullet

An item in a bulleted "list" consisting of a single item.

*List Bullet First

The first item in a list of bulleted items.

*List Bullet Middle

A middle item in a list of bulleted items. There may be more than one of these.

*List Bullet Last

The last item in a list of bulleted items.

List Number

An item in a numbered "list" consisting of a single item.

*List Number First

The first item in a list of numbered items.

*List Number Middle

A middle item in a list of numbered items. There may be more than one of these.

*List Number Last

The last item in a list of numbered items.

*Normal,Text 1

The normal text level of the body of a book.

*Normal Text 1 First

The first paragraph in a chapter or following a subheading. Used when the paragraph requires special formatting, such as extra leading.

*Normal Text 1 NI

Normal text, not indented. Usually used after a block quotation when the subject of the paragraph has not changed.

Normal Text 2

The second text level of the body of a book. Usually used to designate long passages from a second author.

Normal Text 2 First

The first paragraph in a chapter or following a subheading in a second text level. Used when the paragraph requires special formatting, such as extra leading.

Normal Text 2 NI

Second text level, not indented. Usually used after a block quotation when the subject of the paragraph has not changed.

Normal Text 3

The third text level of the body of a book. Usually used to designate long passages from a third author.

Normal Text 3 First

The first paragraph in a chapter or following a subheading in a third text level. Used when the paragraph requires special formatting, such as extra leading.

Normal Text 3 NI

Third text level, not indented. Usually used after a block quotation when the subject of the paragraph has not changed.

Note Text

The text of an "author's note" at the end of a book or chapter; not to be confused with endnote or footnote text.

Note Subhead

A subheading in a note.

Note Subsubhead

A subsubheading in a note.

*Part Number

The number of a major section of a book. See "Heading 1,Part Title."

Part Quote

A quotation at the beginning of a section.

Part Quote Source

A citation for a part quotation. This is usually someone's name.

Part Subsubtitle

A subtitle after a part title (Heading 1, Part Title).

Part Subtitle

A subtitle after a part subtitle.

Poem

A single line of poetry ("April is the cruelest month").

Poem Heading

Heading before a poem; usually the poem's title ("The Waste Land").

Poem Subhead

Subheading between stanzas of a poem ("What the Thunder Said").

*Poem First

First line of a poem (possibly indented).

*Poem First NI

First line of a poem (possibly not indented).

*Poem Start

Starting line of any poetry stanza but the first (possibly indented).

*Poem Start NI

Starting line of any poetry stanza but the first (possibly not indented).

*Poem Middle

Middle line of any poetry stanza (possibly indented). The stanza may include more than one of these.

*Poem Middle NI

Middle line of any poetry stanza (possibly not indented). The stanza may include more than one of these.

*Poem End

Ending line of any poetry stanza but the last (possibly indented).

*Poem End NI

Ending line of any poetry stanza but the last (possibly not indented).

*Poem Last

Last line of a poem (possibly indented).

*Poem Last NI

Last line of a poem (possibly not indented).

Poem Source

Citation following a poem (usually someone's name).

Pull Quote

A quotation set apart from the body text for emphasis.

Running Head First

First running head in a chapter, where such a running head needs different formatting from the other running heads (it may be centered, for example, while the others are left- and right-justified).

*Running Head Even

Running head on a left-hand (verso), even-numbered page.

*Running Head Odd

Running head on a right-hand (recto), odd-numbered page.

Sidebar Text

Text in a separate text box used as a direction, additional information, or tip.

Sidebar Head

Heading for sidebar text.

Table Heading

Heading that introduces a table.

Table Subhead

Subheading in a table.

Table Subsubhead

Subsubheading in a table.

Table Text

Text of a table.

_________________________________________

RESOURCES

Want to look at many more styles and templates? Check out the Microsoft Office Templates Gallery:

http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/templategallery/

Also, don't forget that Microsoft Word comes with a variety of useful templates. To see what these are:

1. Click "File."

2. Click "New."

3. Click the various tabs ("Publications," "Reports," etc.).

In the early days of printing, the "source" for the words on a printed page was the metal type used in the press. Once the pages had been printed, the type was removed from the printing forms and resorted into bins, completely destroying the source text. Producing a new edition of the book meant setting, proofreading, and correcting the type all over again--an enormous investment of time and money.

Too often people still do essentially the same thing today, even though we now have the technology (and the necessity!) to preserve source text (which is now electronic) and create new editions from it in a variety of forms:

* Printed books.

* Web pages.

* Electronic reference libraries.

* PDF (Adobe Acrobat) documents.

* Palm and PocketPC documents.

* Dedicated e-book reader documents.

And so on.

FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION

Because people often need to produce a document (or parts of a document) in a variety of forms, a document's structure is far more important than its appearance--and in fact, its appearance should be derived from its structure. This is true because a document's appearance will change depending on the form in which it is presented. For example, a document presented on the printed page may look very different from the same document presented on a Web site.

In traditional typesetting, a chapter heading might be designed and typeset as 24-point Palatino. However beautiful that may be, it gives us no clue that the type is a chapter heading--information that would be crucial on a Web page or in an electronic reference library, where chapter headings might be used for linking, navigation, and so on. In other words, the heading's *function* is much more important than its *form.* Even in a particular printed book, if one chapter heading is set in 24-point Palatino, *all* of the book's chapter headings should be set in 24-point Palatino, because that signals the reader that any type so displayed *is,* in fact, a chapter heading. In type design, as in all other kinds of design, form should *follow* function.

Now consider what would happen if you had to put 300 different books together for an electronic reference library or Web site and needed to display all of the chapter headings for navigational purposes in a single table of contents. If chapter headings were electronically marked *as* chapter headings, it would be a piece of cake. If not, it would be a nightmare.

That's why it's no longer adequate to simply set type as 24-point Palatino. Instead, the type's *function* needs to be designated in a consistent, standardized way. Fortunately, that is not hard to do. In Microsoft Word, it's done with styles.

USING STYLES

Paragraph styles are a way to specify the function of a block of type and then assign a form (the type's appearance) to that function. As an example, consider the subheading above, "Using Styles." In a book, it might be formatted with a paragraph style named Heading 3, designating the line as a subheading. Heading 3 might format the line as 16-point Verdana type. However, it would be easy to redefine Heading 3 as 28-point Garamond, which would completely change its look. Nevertheless, it would *still* be styled as Heading 3--a subhead--and that can be useful in many ways.

For one thing, it would allow you to *change your mind* about a document's appearance. Let's say you've directly formatted (without styles) all of your main headings--102 of them, to be exact--as 24-point Arial, but the managing editor now thinks they should be bigger--28 points instead of 24. Let's also say you've used 24-point Arial elsewhere in your document, so you can't just find and replace the formatting you need to change. What does that mean? It means you now have the painful task of selecting and reformatting every single one of those 102 headings--unless, of course, you've used styles, in which case you can adjust the heading style with a few clicks of the mouse, *automatically* changing all 102 headings at once.

Using styles has other advantages, too:

* You can easily find one style and replace it with another. This is much simpler than having to search for directly applied formatting, such as 24-point Arial bold no indent.

* You can see and change the structure of your document in Outline view and Document Map.

* You can use the styles to automatically generate (or--after the author has added a new chapter--regenerate) a table of contents.

* You can use the styles to create automatic headers, footers, and cross-references.

If you're not using styles, you're spending a lot more time on formatting than you need to, and you're missing much of the power of Microsoft Word. In addition, you're making it difficult to reuse electronic text for other purposes--something we will all increasingly need to do.

STANDARD STYLE LIST

Because of this problem, you should consider marking type levels using a standard list of styles that will work well in your publishing environment. That doesn't mean every publication needs to *look* the same, since designers can *define* the styles any way they want. It does mean:

* Every publication should use styles from a standard list.

* No other styles should be used. In other words, don't just make up new ones as you go along. If you *need* a new one for a certain function not covered by the standard list, consult with others in your organization (such as typesetters and designers) so that everyone can be consistent.

* Styles should be used consistently from document to document. For example, you might always have Heading 1 be a part title, no matter what publication you are working on. Heading 2 could always be a chapter title. Heading 3 could always be a first-level subhead. And so on. If you then used the Heading 1 style for a chapter title or the Heading 2 style for a subhead, you would be at variance with the standard list, and that could cause problems in the future. Try not to think of a book as a single publication. Each book may eventually be part of a larger electronic *library* of books; if so, those books will need to be consistently produced.

* Text should not have directly applied formatting. For example, don't just select a heading and format it as 20-point Helvetica. Instead, apply the correct style for that heading and then *define* the style as 20-point Helvetica. In the short run, this may be a pain. In the long run, it will save enormous amounts of time, money, and frustration.

Stand by; next week I'll share my standard list of styles.

_________________________________________

READERS WRITE

David O. Taber wrote:

I'm looking for a MSWord add-in that supplements the spell/grammar checker functionality, to add extra rules of style. The idea is to catch hackneyed/overused words, expressions, or constructions automatically. For example, it would be cool to automatically flag the passive voice, incorrect capitalization, split infinitives. The usage mode is for a writer (me) to copy edit his own work for his own peculiar foibles.

I responded:

You might be interested in our MegaReplacer program, which allows you to customize your own list of such things. It also comes with some (free) lists of common corrections. You can learn more here:

http://www.editorium.com/14843.htm

In addition, you might want to make an "exclude dictionary" to take care of such things. You can learn more here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1709082320

Word's grammar checker will, to some extent, check passive voice, incorrect capitalization, and split infinitives, as well as overused words, etc. You may already know this, but you can set many such options under Tools/Options/Spelling & Grammar/Settings.

If those options aren't enough, you might be interested in Grammar Expert Plus, which looks more sophisticated than Microsoft's offering. You can learn more here:

http://www.wintertree-software.com/app/gramxp/index.html

Thanks to David for his message.

_________________________________________

RESOURCES

You'll find helpful tutorials on using styles at the following places:

Microsoft Word Legal User's Guide

http://officeupdate.microsoft.com/legal/styles.asp

Computer Tutor of San Francisco

http://www.geocities.com/w2css/styles/

Charles Kenyon's ADD Balance site

http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm

If you've been reading Editorium Update for a while, you know about wildcard searches and some of the neat things you can do with them. If you don't know about them, you can learn by reading these past issues of the newsletter:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1705963026

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706069286

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706167662

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706267069

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706365638

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706458823

Even though I use wildcard searches all the time, I don't do a very good job of saving my wildcard entries so I can use them again. But that's going to change when I make my wildcard dictionary. The dictionary will include entries in the following format:

* A description of what the Find and Replace wildcard strings do.

* The wildcard Find and Replace strings themselves.

* Some keywords I can search for if I'm looking for wildcard strings for a certain purpose.

* Before-and-after examples of what the wildcard strings do.

* Other comments.

Here's an example, with a wildcard string you may be able to use:

DESCRIPTION: Find parenthetical publishing information in source citations and replace it with nothing to help in changing citations to short form.

FIND WHAT: ([A-z ,.]@:[!)]@[0-9]{4})

RELACE WITH: [nothing]

KEY WORDS: publishing information, source, citation, footnotes, endnotes, books, parentheses, long, short, delete

BEFORE: Jack M. Lyon, Total Word Domination (Edina, Minn.: PocketPCPress, 2001), p. 237.

AFTER: Jack M. Lyon, Total Word Domination, p. 237.

COMMENTS: Won't find or delete other parenthetical text. *Note that the Find string includes a space in front of it, and that space is necessary.*

I'll save this kind of information for all of my wildcard strings henceforth and forever. Maybe you'd like to do something similar with yours.

I'll tell you what: If you'll send me your favorite wildcard strings with brief descriptions of what they do, I'll compile them into one big dictionary and publish it in a future issue of the newsletter for all to share. Please send your entries here:

mailto:editor [at symbol] editorium.com

If you don't have any, it's time to read those newsletter articles I mentioned above. You'll be glad you did!

_________________________________________

READERS WRITE

Continuing our Dvorak keyboard discussion, Rich Shattenberg wrote:

If you can find an old copy of Mavis Beacon, version 5, it has instructions for the Dvorak keyboard. I tried to convert once a year ago but something happened along the way and I reverted back to the old Qwerty system. It may have helped me if I had been using an actual Dvorak keyboard instead of a Qwerty keyboard.

Thanks to Rich for the useful information.

_________________________________________

RESOURCES

About.com has a valuable list of free software and other resources for word processing and desktop publishing:

http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/freebiesmisc/

If you work with tables, you've probably wished for a way to automatically swap the contents of two adjacent cells. If so, here's a macro that will do the trick. Just put your cursor in the first of the two cells you want to transpose and then run the macro.

If you don't know how to use macros like this, you can learn how here.

'THE MACRO STARTS HERE
Sub SWAPCELLS()
WordBasic.ScreenUpdating 0  'So you don't have to watch gyrations
WordBasic.SelType 1 'Get off any selected text
'In first cell
WordBasic.NextCell  'So you can select cell contents
WordBasic.PrevCell  'Select cell contents
If Asc(WordBasic.[Selection$]()) = 13 Then  'Cell is empty
WordBasic.MsgBox "This cell contains no text to invert.", "Cell Empty"
GoTo Endmacro
Else
WordBasic.WW7_EditAutoText Name:="IMCell1IM", Context:=0, InsertAs:=0, Add:=1
WordBasic.WW6_EditClear
End If
WordBasic.NextCell
'In second cell
If Asc(WordBasic.[Selection$]()) = 13 Then  'Cell is empty
WordBasic.MsgBox "The next cell contains no text to invert.", "Next Cell Empty"
WordBasic.EditUndo  'Put the text back into the first cell
WordBasic.SelType 1 'Get off selected text
GoTo Endmacro
Else
WordBasic.WW7_EditAutoText Name:="IMCell2IM", Context:=0, InsertAs:=0, Add:=1
WordBasic.WW6_EditClear
WordBasic.WW7_EditAutoText Name:="IMCell1IM", Context:=0, InsertAs:=0, Insert:=1
WordBasic.WW7_EditAutoText Name:="IMCell1IM", Context:=0, InsertAs:=0, Delete:=1
End If
WordBasic.PrevCell
'Back in first cell
WordBasic.WW7_EditAutoText Name:="IMCell2IM", Context:=0, InsertAs:=0, Insert:=1
WordBasic.WW7_EditAutoText Name:="IMCell2IM", Context:=0, InsertAs:=0, Delete:=1
Endmacro:
WordBasic.ScreenUpdating 1
WordBasic.ScreenRefresh
End Sub
'THE MACRO ENDS HERE

____________________________________________________

DVORAK KEYBOARD UPDATE

After practicing about half an hour a day for the past three weeks, I'm almost at the point where I can stand to work exclusively in Dvorak, which for me is about 25 words a minute. I still can't get my fingers to automatically go where they should all the time, especially if I try to type quickly. Here are my recommendations for any who are seriously considering making the switch:

1. If you're a beginning typist or don't type very quickly anyway, learn the Dvorak keyboard.

2. If you suffer from repetitive stress injuries but must continue to type (have you considered speech recognition?), learn the Dvorak keyboard.

3. If you're an accomplished QWERTY typist, think twice about taking on the challenge. In the end, the effort may be worth it (I've decided to stick with it), but getting proficient will cost you in time, effort, and exasperation.

4. Take it slow. You won't get fast overnight, so don't try. Initially, aim for accuracy. Speed will come with practice.

5. Use a good typing tutor program to help you learn. Don't use Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing, which no longer supports Dvorak. There's a pretty good free program (KP Typing Tutor) here:

http://www.fonlow.com/zijianhuang/kp/

A program with more thorough instruction and fancier features is TypingMaster, which you can try and buy here:

http://www.typingmaster.com/

6. Practice at least half an hour every day. If you do more than that, take breaks frequently.

7. After your speed reaches about 25 words a minute, avoid working in QWERTY. Otherwise, your fingers will get confused. At least mine do.

8. Try to learn during a time when your workload is light. If deadlines are looming, your reduced typing speed will drive you crazy.

Good luck!

_________________________________________

READERS WRITE

Last week's newsletter explained how to select text vertically using the mouse. Hilary Powers responded:

For the mouse-phobic, there's an easier way: Press and release Shft-Ctrl-F8. The insertion point changes to a long thin line, after which you can select your rectangle with the arrow keys - much more comfortable.

Katie Lewis sent the same tip with some additional information:

You know F8 is an alternative to holding down the Shift key for selecting text? It works well with the cursor keys, so is much more controlled than using the mouse. Ctrl+Shift+F8 does the same thing for vertical selection. (Esc to turn off.)

Thanks to Hilary and Katie for the useful tips.

_________________________________________

RESOURCES

Last week's newsletter listed some document comparison programs to replace the "retired" CompareRite. Both Donna Payne and Bill Rubidge wrote to recommend DeltaView, which you can learn about here:

http://www.workshare.net

Bill noted:

The only downside is that DeltaView is focused on enterprise users (particularly law firms), so they don't offer single-user licenses. They've considered this, but have not accepted it so far because they feel the customer support would cost them too much. Perhaps if enough of us asked about single-user licenses...

As an alternative, examdiff is okay, I also recommend that your readers visit http://www.componentsoftware.com/products/ and take a look at CSdiff and HTMLdiff.

And then again, you can always just stick with your current version of Word. I'm a big fan of downgrading instead of upgrading.

Thanks to Donna and Bill for this helpful information.

You probably use your mouse to select text in Word all the time, but did you know you can select vertically as well as horizontally? For example, let's take the following text as an example:

Circumstance does not make the man;

it reveals him to himself."

(James Allen, As a Man Thinketh)

You can easily select just the first few words of each line down through the whole quotation, something like this:

Circumstance does

it reveals him to

(James Allen, As

To do so, just hold down the ALT key (PC) or OPTION key (Macintosh) as you select your text with the mouse. After you've made your selection, you can cut, copy, format, and so on.

Please note that if you're going to cut or copy and then *paste* the text somewhere else in your document, you must make enough room for the multiple lines to fit. They won't just go in at the insertion point the way regular text does. If you don't make enough room (by inserting carriage returns), the text will get mixed up with existing lines of text. This is difficult to explain, but if you try it you'll see what I mean.

Selecting text vertically is especially handy if you need to copy or format the first part of a list. I hope you find it useful.

____________________________________________________

DVORAK KEYBOARD UPDATE

Last week's newsletter discussed the Dvorak keyboard (a more efficient layout than the traditional QWERTY keyboard). I've been practicing about half an hour a day for a week now and thought some readers might be interested in my experience. Here's what I've learned so far:

1. Practicing on my own the first couple of days produced uneven results, so I decided I needed a more structured approach. Since then I've been practicing with the MasterMind Typing Tutor, available at no charge from DvortyBoards (check out their keyboards!):

http://www.dvortyboards.com/index.html

A program with more thorough instruction and fancier features is TypingMaster, which you can try and buy here:

http://www.typingmaster.com/

2. At first I had to consciously think about what finger to use on each key, with a fingering chart to help me. After about three days, though, my fingers *mostly* knew where to go on their own, although sometimes I'd have to think about it. At the end of the week, this is still true.

3. I've had trouble learning particular keys, especially I, D, X, and B, all of which require stretching the index fingers outside the home position.

4. I now have considerable accuracy on the Dvorak keyboard if I type *slowly* (about 15 words a minute). As soon as I try to speed up, my fingers revert to their 35 years of QWERTY training.

5. Typing whole words is much more difficult than typing individual letters, because my brain is accustomed to instantly converting words into keystrokes in QWERTY. I'm still on the letter-by-letter level with Dvorak.

6. The Dvorak keyboard is exceedingly easy on the fingers since it doesn't require the constant stretching and moving needed with QWERTY.

Next week, I'll give you a final report with some recommendations about learning the Dvorak keyboard.

_________________________________________

READERS WRITE

David Stacey wrote, "The general public react to the use of different colors when marking their documents. Do you have any recommendations about the choice of colors? (Too much red seems to cause them stress.) I'm now using red for strikethrough and blue for insertions."

I think this is a good question, and I like the idea of using blue for insertions. How about using 25% gray for strikethrough? (You have to scroll down in the list of colors to see this one.) That would help communicate the idea that the text has been deleted because it would be lighter than the surrounding text.

Here's an exchange between subscriber Miriam Bloom and me:

MIRIAM: When comparing (merging) documents in MS Word for Windows XP, is there a way to format different font colors for the "delete" vs. the "add" function? I used to be able to do it in older versions of both Word and WordPerfect, but now I can't figure out how to do it in either.

JACK: As far as I can tell, Microsoft has removed this feature from Word 2002, which makes me very grumpy indeed. In fact, I'm unhappy with nearly all of their "enhancements" having to do with merged documents and tracked changes. If you like, you can read my rant on the subject here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1710381892

MIRIAM: Moreover, I can't figure out how to do it after the fact because find-and-replace doesn't seem to work on merged documents.

JACK: That's because "red underlined" (for example) for revision tracking is a different kind of formatting. If you simply format some text as red underlined using the Font dialog, you should be able to find and replace it, even in a merged document.

MIRIAM: Is there an alternative way of searching it--or any way at all of getting around the color problem short of going through documents and redlining them manually?

JACK: You can use Word's Reviewing toolbar to go to each new change, but this won't alter appearance. You could go back to Word 2000, which allows you to use separate colors for insertions and deletions. That's what I've done. 🙂

Thanks to David and Miriam for their questions.

_________________________________________

RESOURCES

Many editors have used the popular CompareRite program to identify and display document revisions. Unfortunately, CompareRite has been "retired" by LexisNexis. You can read about this here:

http://www.lexisnexis.com/custserv/compare.asp

Fortunately, alternatives are available. You can learn more here:

http://www.dqsnet.com/documentcontrol.html

http://www.prestosoft.com/examdiff/examdiff.htm

In our shop, we have several editors (who edit books, natch) and a few editorial assistants (who proofread, check corrections, and so on). We edit in Microsoft Word, and most electronic manuscripts require a lot of cleanup. The editors do much of this themselves--turning multiple spaces into single spaces, changing double hyphens into em dashes, and so on. But I keep thinking that many such tasks could be relegated to someone less expensive than a full-fledged editor--sort of a "pre-editor," or, just for fun, "preditor."

The preditor's job would be to get electronic manuscripts ready for the editors, who could then focus more fully on editing. The preditor could do such things as:

1. Convert files (WordPerfect to Word) as needed. I recommend using a dedicated file-conversion program, such as MacLinkPlus or Conversions Plus:

http://www.dataviz.com/products/maclinkplus/

http://www.dataviz.com/products/conversionsplus/index.html

2. Combine chapter files into one book file or split a book file into chapters, depending on how your editors like to work. Editor's ToolKit can automate this for you:

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

3. Rename files to fit your house standard, such as job number_chapter number (3298_0001.doc). If you don't have such a standard, you should create one. It will help streamline the publishing process and simplify archiving.

4. Apply to the files a document template formatted especially for editing:

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

5. Apply styles (or codes) to specify document structure and typesetting levels:

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

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1711132842

6. Fix messed-up notes:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1710307842

7. Find and replace common editorial and typographical problems. FileCleaner can automate much of this:

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

8. Use wildcard and other searches to fix inconsistencies in editorial style, consulting with the project editor as needed. MegaReplacer makes this a snap and even includes scripts to fix common editorial problems:

http://www.editorium.com/14843.htm

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1705963026

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706069286

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706167662

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706267069

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706365638

9. Run a spell check; it won't catch misused words, but it will catch the most elusive of typos:

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

At this point, those files should be squeaky clean--except for the actual editing, which editors can now do without worrying about such picayune problems as whether or not commas are inside or outside of quotation marks. Yes, I know that editors can't ignore such things, but a preditor can help free up editors' time so they can focus mainly on clarity, meaning, and communication.

_________________________________________

READERS WRITE

Last week I explained how to overstrike characters by condensing character spacing. Karen L. Bojda sent an alternative method:

To overstrike two or more characters (say, the / and e of your example), you can also use an "equation" field with the overstrike switch, O:

{EQ O(/,e)}

which can be inserted with the Insert > Fields... command (at least in my old Word 98 for the Mac). The overstrike field does have the advantage that its formatting can't be accidentally removed, but the overstruck (overstricken?) characters produced this way are more or less centered. Your condensed-text method allows finer control over the extent of overlap. Plus your method allows overstriking a backslash, which mucks up a field.

Karen L. Bojda

Bojda Editorial & Writing Services

kbojda [at symbol] insightbb.com

http://www.bojda.com

Yehuda Yoel Zimmerman also suggested using this method.

Thanks to Karen and Yehuda for the helpful tip.

_________________________________________

RESOURCES

Last week, I mentioned the Microsoft Word Legal User's Guide for Word 97 and 2000, but there's also a version for Word 2002! Donna Payne wrote:

On the Legal User Guide, the link for Office XP/Word 2002 is:

http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2002/wdLegalG.aspx

Our company was a member of the Microsoft Legal Advisory Council and authored both the Word 97/2000 and Word 2002 versions of the Legal User guide for Microsoft. Your readers may want to take a look at our books, Word 97 for Law Firms, Word 2000 for Law Firms, and Word 2002 for Law Firms for more detailed information.

Sincerely,

Donna Payne

President

Payne Consulting Group, Inc.

www.payneconsulting.com

Thanks to Donna for this valuable information.

In many of the manuscripts I edit, the author has used superscript for ordinal numbers, entering 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th (and so on) as 1^st^, 2^nd^, 3^rd^, and 4^th^ (the carets represent superscript here). Why? Because Microsoft Word by default inserts ordinal numbers using superscript--one of its many "helpful" features, which I explain how to turn off here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1700237543

But if the superscript ordinals are already in the manuscript, you can't just turn them off. You have to figure out another way to get rid of that superscript. One way is to find and replace it (Edit > Replace) with "not superscript" (as Word phrases it). That will work fine unless the manuscript has superscript formatting you want to keep, in which case you have to find and replace each superscript item individually. Even that isn't so bad--unless the manuscript has footnotes or endnotes, in which case you might have to check hundreds of superscript reference numbers during your search. Ugh.

Faced with that very problem in the past few weeks, I figured out a simple way around it:

1. Make a backup copy of your document (always, always, always).

2. Click "Edit > Replace" to display the Replace dialog.

3. In the "Find What" box, enter the following wildcard string:

[!^02]

4. Format the "Find What" box as Superscript. The easy way to do this is to press CTRL + SHIFT + = (on a Macintosh, click the "Format" button, then "Font," and put a check in the "Superscript" checkbox; you may first need to click the "More" button).

5. Format the "Replace With" box as Not Superscript/Subscript. The easy way to do this is to press CTRL + SHIFT + = two times in a row (on a Macintosh, click the "Format" button, then "Font," and clear the "Superscript" checkbox).

6. Put a check in the "Use Wildcards" checkbox. (You may need to click the "More" button to make the checkbox available.)

7. Click "Replace All" (or "Find Next" and "Replace" if you want to try a few manually).

That will get rid of all superscript *except* on note reference numbers. The secret, of course, is that [!^02] code, which tells Word not to include note reference numbers in its search. You can learn more about searching with codes and wildcards here:

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1704081834 http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1705963026

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706069286

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706167662

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706267069

http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706365638

_________________________________________

READERS WRITE

Code Clarification

Amanda Lucas wrote to ask about using raw codes in Microsoft Word (as discussed in last week's newsletter) as opposed to the Reveal Codes feature in WordPerfect. Thinking that others might also be wondering about this, I offer the following clarification:

Working with raw codes in Word is a completely different thing than working with Reveal Codes in WordPerfect. You might think of them as equivalents, as in this diagram:

Codes in Microsoft Word <---> WordPerfect Reveal Codes

But they're not. A better way to think about using codes in Microsoft Word is like this:

Coding systems (XML, XPressTags, TeX tags, Ventura tags, etc.)

|
|

v
Rendering systems (Web browsers, QuarkXPress, TeX, Ventura, etc.)

Quite a few publishers, especially in academic and technical settings, work directly with codes (using basic text editors such as emacs) and then render their files into presentation documents (typeset docs, PDFs, etc.) using a separate program. I was trying to explain that Microsoft Word, too, could be used in that way. WordPerfect's Reveal Codes feature merely shows the coding underneath the program's WYSIWYG text. Working with raw codes, on the other hand, is a way to get specific about document levels and structure. It's not a substitute for Reveal Codes, which Word doesn't need if used correctly (in other words, if formatting is done with styles rather than applied directly to text).

Overstriking Characters

David M Varner wrote:

"In the course of organizing some recent revisions, some text in one of the documents required a strikethrough. It occurred to me that strikethroughs other than a horizontal line would be handy, slashes perhaps, depending on the situation. My question is this: Is there a way in MS Word to overstrike any character with any other character? This is one thing you can do using a typewriter that you can't, as far as I know, do on a computer."

There is a way to overstrike characters. You can condense the spacing between the characters to the point that the characters overlap. Here's how:

1. Type the two characters, such as "/e".

2. Select the two characters.

3. Click "Format > Font."

4. Click the "Character Spacing" tab.

5. In the "Spacing" list, select "Condensed."

6. In the "By" list, click the arrows until you've got the characters the way you want them. You can see a preview at the bottom of the dialog box.

7. Click the "OK" button.

Thanks to Amanda and David for their questions.

_________________________________________

RESOURCES

The Microsoft Word Legal User's Guide contains "step-by-step instructions to help legal users accomplish the tasks necessary to build robust legal documents in Microsoft Word 97 or Microsoft Word 2000," but much of the information here will be useful for other Word users as well:

http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/

@Body:You probably think my email program has gone wacko, inserting codes rather than applying formatting. But it hasn't. I'm just trying the technique described in this article--marking formatting with raw codes. Why would anyone want to do that? Consider this:

@ListFirst:1.Text formatting is misleading. It may look nice, but it comes with a price--the sacrifice of structure and control to appearance. Is your heading formatted with Heading 2 paragraph style, or is it formatted directly as Arial 14-point bold? The difference may not be immediately apparent. With codes, you know.

@ListMiddle:2.Using codes forces you to resist the "easy fix" of directly applied formatting. Come on, admit it: You sometimes center a heading with CTRL + e rather than modifying the paragraph style as you should. I know I do. But if I use raw codes, I don't even have to think about it. I just enter "@Heading 3:" and start typing away. My guilty feelings are gone (sob!).

3.Using codes is just plain easier than mucking about with styles and fonts and formats all the time. It's a simpler way to live. Try it! You might be surprised at how much you like it. If you're really going to make the attempt, you might want to record macros that insert your most common codes and then assign those macros to toolbar buttons or keyboard combinations.

4.Using codes for special characters means there's no more worrying about conversion problems from platform to platform.

5.Using codes ensures greater consistency from document to document--at least it does if you keep using the same codes. Ensuring consistency of styles is more difficult. Which ones are yours? Which ones did Word sneak in when you weren't looking? BodyTextUgly? Where did that come from?

6.Using codes makes it easy to tag your text by function and structure rather than by appearance. For example, instead of using a Heading 1 style, you can tag your text as @ChapterHead:, which actually says what your text is being used for.

7.Using codes means you can work in a simple text processor when you don't have access to Microsoft Word.

8.Using codes makes your formatting human readable! That's pretty remarkable, when you consider all of the hidden, proprietary formatting systems in the world.

@ListLast:9.Using codes makes it easy to translate your formatting into a variety of other formats: HTML. XML. Even Microsoft Word.

@Body:"And how," you ask, "can I turn codes into Microsoft Word formatting?" With our RazzmaTag program, which you can learn more about here:

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

One of the most popular academic typesetting programs, TeX, is built around the concept of working directly with codes and then applying formatting based on those codes. Other programs, too, can import coded documents, including QuarkXPress, PageMaker, and FrameMaker, and many publishers take advantage of that fact, asking their editors to work directly with codes. If you've never considered this possibility, now you can add it to your bag of tricks.

_________________________________________

RESOURCES

Allin Cottrell provides an excellent and informative rant on the whole subject of separating content from presentation. You'll find it here:

http://ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu/~cottrell/wp.html

A good place to learn more about TeX (which, by the way, is *free*) is the TeX User Group Home Page:

http://www.tug.org/

Yes, it is possible to "reveal codes" in Microsoft Word. Interested? Check out CrossEyes, from Levit & James:

http://www.levitjames.com/crosseyes/crosseyes3.htm?lid=google