[bksvol-discuss] Re: A search to help find split paragraphs

I usually use a macro I made that completely does with one key stroke sequence the entire step that's in the Volunteer manual, as the other way isn't as comprehensive in some situations. However, other volunteers have told me that they won't use the volunteer manual at all, as it's "too much" to read and others have said that step (#17) really is involved (although it really is easy to use if you follow the step exactly as it's laid out). So that's why I posted this other technique.
Disclaimer: I wrote the section of the volunteer manual on proofing using Word, so I'm not an impartial judge on what's easy and isn't easy to do using that section of the manual. smile. 

Judy

Melissa Smith wrote:
Yes, I think I remember you posting that. Any hints on why you would choose one over the other, or is it just what you feel like at the time? smile 
Thanks,

Melissa


Judy s. wrote:
I usually use an alternative of the 27 step process that I turned into a macro for myself that I think I posted a while ago. But I've used this one also, depending on the book. smile. 

Judy

Melissa Smith wrote:
Judy, do you do this in addition to or in place of the 27 step process described in the manual? 

Thanks,

Melissa


Judy s. wrote:
I'm always frustrated with the split paragraphs, too. Here's a way I've come up with to search for those split paragraphs that can't be distinguished by a " " (double quote space double quote), using Word.
You can't do this search globally. You have to search for each instance one at a time and check it, then go to the next one. This is because there are paragraphs in a scanned book that legitimately begin with a lower case letter. For example, if the text at the top of a page is a continuation of a paragraph that started on the preceding page, that text will correctly start with a lower case letter. Lines of poetry can start with a lower case letter, and so can some sections when an author is using quoted material.
I do this search before I do any formatting clean-up of a book, because sometimes it can biff special paragraph formatting you've added.
First, I replace all paragraph marks with something unique, because I use a wildcard search and you can't use a wildcard search in Word that involves paragraph marks. So: 

In the Find box enter: ^p
In the replace box enter three instances of a character that is not likely to appear in the book. A good choice is $$$, that is dollar dollar.dollar 
Then execute a "replace all."
Now you are going to actually look for paragraphs that are split. To do this, you use a special kind of search, using the "use wildcards" box in the find and replace dialogue. In the Find and Replace dialogue box, click on the button that is marked "More." This will expand the options that are available in the Find and Replace box to include a new list of Search Options. In the list of Search Options, check the box for "use wildcards" (you can also do this while in the Search box by typing alt U, which is alt "capital U)
Click the box that puts wildcards on and enter the following term into the find box: 

Search : $$$([a-z])
Then begin your find by either clicking "find" or use the keyboard (alt f).
Examine each instance it finds. It may be a paragraph that is correctly starting with a lower case letter because it is a continuation of a paragraph from a previous page, or correct because it is the beginning of a indented quotation (sometimes publishers do that). However, other than those circumstances, you will almost always find that it is the start of a split paragraph. In those cases, I then replace the $$$ with a space. If it isn't a split paragraph, I leave it alone and continue my search.
When you've gone through the entire book, and corrected all instances of split paragraphs, you must then put all the paragraph marks back in. To do this:
First, make sure that you have unchecked the option for a wildcard search in the search and replace dialogue box. Then, 
In the find box, enter $$$
In the replace box, enter ^p
Execute "replace all."

That's it!

Judy s.

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