how to avoid adding the same items to a lengthy document

[Beth]

I'm trying to find a way to avoid adding the same items to a lengthy document more than once. I am creating a bibliography and adding new sources to it on a regular basis. I know I can use the "find" option to see if the article I'm adding today is already in the first page of the document, for example. However, this is a time-consuming process, and so I'm wondering if there's a way to alert myself when I duplicate a source in the bibliography.

 

[Cindy M -WordMVP-]

Hi =?Utf-8?B?QmV0aA==?=,

I'm trying to find a way to avoid adding the same items to a lengthy document more than once. I am creating a bibliography and adding new sources to it on a regular basis. I know I can use the "find" option to see if the article I'm adding today is already in the first page of the document, for example. However, this is a time-consuming process, and so I'm wondering if there's a way to alert myself when I duplicate a source in the bibliography.

I don't know of anything of this nature that's built into Word. You might be able to do somethign with a macro.

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Sep 30 2003)
http://www.mvps.org/word

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[Jay Freedman]

Hi =?Utf-8?B?QmV0aA==?=,

I don't know of anything of this nature that's built into Word. You might
be able to do somethign with a macro.

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Sep 30 2003)
http://www.mvps.org/word

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow question or
reply in the newsgroup and not by e-mail

Hi, Beth,

Try this macro to see whether it helps. (Instructions for putting the
macro into your template and assigning a shortcut key are at
http://www.gmayor.dsl.pipex.com/installing_macro.htm and
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/AsgnCmdOrMacroToHotkey.htm.)

Sub CheckRef()
Dim oRg As Range
Set oRg = ActiveDocument.Range
oRg.End = Selection.Start - 1
With oRg.Find
.ClearFormatting
.Format = False
.Forward = True
.Wrap = wdFindStop
.MatchCase = False
.Text = Selection.Text
If .Execute Then
StatusBar = "Already exists."
Else
StatusBar = "New citation."
End If
End With
End Sub

This turns the Find that you mentioned into a one-key operation. To
use it, select the portion of the new item that you want to check, and
press the shortcut key you've assigned to the macro. One of the two
messages will appear on the status bar at the bottom of the Word
window.