Styles, templates, multiple docs, multiple versions

[jg70124]

I am working on a text book written by two older academics who are not
really computer literate. One is using Mac Word X, the other some older
version of Windows Word. I am using Windows Word 2002. They send chapters
they've written, and I'm trying to clean up the formatting, add real
graphics, and do the page layout/design work.

One problem is that these guys don't create styles to apply formating - they
just click on the whatever format buttons happen to be visible in their tool
bars. So the documents (there are 25 so far) are coming to me with hundreds
of automatically created styles of mysterious provenance and with uncertain
linking, often applied to only one sentence or one word; and multiple
incompatible numbered and bulleted lists.

I am trying to figure out a way to apply my styles and bullet lists to all
these documents, and to get rid of all the bad formatting. I've tried
attaching my customized template, but that only adds my formating to any
styles in their documents that happen to have the same names as styles in my
template. I've tried using the organizer to delete all their styles and
copy my styles in, but it has unpredictable results. I've even tried
clearing and re-formatting entire documents, but that is incredibly time
consuming, and very difficult to get right.

One other problem - even as I am reformatting these documents, the
professors continue to work on them, and since they're really bad at
revision control, I will have to make the changes to the same documents many
times.

I thought I was pretty good with Word, having used it since version 2, but I
am totally out of my league on this.

Can anyone suggest a solution?

Thanks,
j

PS: Unfortunately, it's not possible to change the behavior of the authors.
I've tried, believe me, but it's taken them so long to learn how to make
text bold using the little icons that they're totally resistant to any
further change.

 

[Mark Jerde]

Some random thoughts...

- Maybe you could make some style buttons for them. ;-)

- Use a multiple monitor system. It's really handy to be able to see both
docs at the same time while you're cleaning up.

- I use PureText, a utility that converts rich text on the clipboard to
plain text. I select the text in one document, copy it, mash the hotkey,
and paste it in the other document as unformatted text. Very handy.
http://www.stevemiller.net/

- You could probably make some macros to recognize the formatting and make
them into styles, but the details of how to do that are beyond my
experience.

HTH.

-- Mark

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Make sure you have hard copy so that you know what their original formatting
intentions were. Then do the following:

1. For each chunk of text you get, select all but the last paragraph mark
and paste it into a new document based on your template.

2. Ctrl+A, Ctrl+Q, Ctrl+Spacebar, Ctrl+Shift+N (probably just the last will
do, actually).

3. Now that you have a clean slate, go through and tag the text with your
styles.

Yes, it's tedious, but it's the only way. I prepare camera-ready copy for
books, and when I get electronic manuscript files, I follow exactly this
process to sanitize the text (and keep myself sane).

As for the later revisions, either just don't start until editing is
complete, or ask them to mark all revisions so that you can transfer them
manually (or at least copy/paste individual revised paragraphs into your
formatted document.

After reading your lament, I guess I should count myself lucky that the last
time I worked with professors, they were such troglodytes that they wouldn't
go near a computer. I either started from scratch, with hard copy prepared
by their secretaries/wives or at least was able to give simple instructions
to the secretaries/wives for preparing a "clean" manuscript!

 

[jg70124]

Suzanne (and et al):

So, now I'm coverting everything to plain text, and will then re-apply my
styles.

One gotcha - these documents are filled with end-notes (85-100 per
document). When I converted to plain text, I lost the superscripting for
the end-note reference numbers, and the links to the actual end-note text.
Is there anyway to get that back? Or is there some method I should be using
to preserve them when I 'm converting to text?

Thanks,
j

PS: I've spent some time in your neck of the woods - used to stop there on
my way from Nola to the panhandle. Sure do miss it now that I'm up in the
cold northeast.

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Finding all endnote marks and Replacing them with nothing but the Format set
to Endnote Reference Style should fix the appearance--the links should still
exist, are you sure they don't?

DM

 

[jg70124]

Yeah, I'm sure.

The document formats were so messed up that I converted to a text document
then back to Word.

If I can't reestablish the links, I'll go back to the original documents and
start again from there.

J

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Converting to plain text would definitely make a hash of the endnotes.
That's a bit more drastic than I would advise.

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Right, I misunderstood. Sorry. Perhaps someone else will know for sure
whether there's a way to keep notes in such a conversion, my suspicion is
plain text formats don't support notes at all.

Were the commands Suzanne suggested not drastic enough in removing applied
formatting?

DM

 

[jg70124]

No, the commands worked fine. I thought it would be easier to just batch
convert the whole mess to text, but I guess not.

Thanks.

 

[Chip Orange]

Would you mind explaining what you're achieving with:

2. Ctrl+A, Ctrl+Q, Ctrl+Spacebar, Ctrl+Shift+N (probably just the last will
do, actually).

I'm new to Word and so don't recognize these keystrokes.

thanks.

Chip

 

[Klaus Linke]

Hi Chip,

It's a bit weird to answer a question about keystrokes with another
keystroke (especially if that keystroke is a bit obscure), but there you go:

Use Alt + Ctrl + Num+
(Hold down Alt, hold down Ctrl at the same time, type the "+" on the numeric
keypad on the right of your keyboard)

The cursor should turn into a cloverleaf (= control symbol).
Now use any keyboard shortcut, and a dialog will show you the name of the
command, a description of what it does, and other keyboard shortcuts
currently assigned to that command.
It also works for keyboard shortcuts to macros or styles or symbols or
AutoText.
If you click with the cloverleaf on any menu item or toolbar button, it will
tell you about the commands that are run by these menu items and buttons,
too.

Greetings,
Klaus

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Klaus has given you good advice for fishing, but here's the fish:

Ctrl+A selects the entire document.

Ctrl+Q removes direct paragraph formatting (resetting paragraph formatting
to the default for the style).

Ctrl+Spacebar does the same for direct font formatting.

Ctrl+Shift+N applies Normal style.

 

[Chip Orange]

thank you, very unusual and I think it will be quite helpful.

Chip

 

[Chip Orange]

thank you, I can see this would be very helpful when someone has made a
complete hash out of their doc.

Chip