Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with doc

Help me move email to word

RajahKing — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:29:38 -0800

How can one take a bunch of emails and easily move them in to a word document? What I would like to do is take a bunch of email correspondence (between myself and a friend) and move all the emails to a readable word document. I would say there are about 200 separate emails. Is there a way to do this that is less tedious than copy and pasting?

Thank you so much.

MS Word - Compare and Merge Documents

thewalrusispaul — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:26:05 -0800

My company has decided to change our style guidelines to use straight quotes rather than smart quotes. We frequently run document comparisons of revised documents. Is there a way to stop the quotes from showing up as a revision when we compare versions of a document? I turned off the setting for tracking formatting changes but that didn't work.

Batch convert Word docs to text files?

yarrow — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:29:40 -0800

Batch convert Word docs to text files? Does anyone know of a utility to convert a large number of Word documents (hundreds) to text files in Windows XP? They are in Word 2003 (.doc) format. The Word docs are about a 1MB each because they have images, but the text files they turn into are only about 4KB. I want to run a text processing script I wrote in perl on them, but I'm not sure how to get them in text format in the first place without opening each and converting it by hand. Looking for free solutions if possible, just because it's a pain for me to pay for software at work.

Two Problems with Word 2008

interrobang — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 08:21:06 -0800

Two questions about Word 2008, on a Mac. 1. How do I get Word to skip, say, the first eight pages when creating page numbers? I want the page numbers to start on the eighth page; all I can find is a way to make Word call page one page eight.

2. I followed basically these instructions to make an index, but every time I get to the last step, Word puts the index on the very first page, instead of at the end, where I want it. Where did I go wrong?

Thank you very much for your time.

Where O where has my little file gone?

mcarthey — Tue, 27 May 2008 11:26:55 -0800

Where did the file go after it was opened from a website and edited it in Microsoft Word? A friend of mine downloaded a Word .doc from a website and instead of choosing the option to save the file, opened it. It opened in Word and she made numerous modifications, each time being careful to save it (note: not 'save as'). She closed Word and is now unable to find the file. I had her search the %LOCALAPPDATA% directory and also the autosave directory for Word, but she was unable to find it. I performed a similar test by downloading a file from Google Docs and opening it. I had the same problem and was unable to find the file. This is Microsoft Vista. I also tried Vista's find utility and chose the option to include the search in non-indexed and hidden/system files. So the question is where does the file get temporarily stored when opening a file directly from a website?

what kind of doc shall I see about a knee injury and how does the UK med system work?

krautland — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 06:17:06 -0800

what kind of doc shall I see about a knee injury and how does the UK med system work? short version:

this is a two-folded question:
1. my knee is hurting and I'm wondering what kind of doc to see about it.
2. I'm new to the UK and have no idea how the whole insurance/billing stuff works here when I go and see one. all I know is the american system. I don't even know where to look for the right md here.

long version:

I started working out in earnest about three years ago. quite soon into my sessions I discovered that lounges were uncomfortable for me. every time I got up from them, my left knee made a slight popping sound. it was as if it went past a little resistance. it didn't hurt, it just sounded odd. I noticed the same phenomenon happening when I climbed stairs - with every single step I took - or while riding a bike. after a couple weeks of running I decided to see a doc in nyc. they did an MRI. the verdict was that I had just taken it a bit too far, that nothing major was wrong, that something was just a bit inflamed. (my apologies, I forgot the exact terminology.) go easy for a bit, no big deal. only now it is a big deal.

I pretty much stopped running last december because of it but it has only gotten worse since. taking a flight of stairs now hurts on the upper outside of my knee. this has become problematic since I've moved to london - the tube is littered with stairs. riding a bike is pretty much impossible. I don't think the running caused it but it might have made it worse. jumping down a flight of stairs is making me cringe. the impact produces a painful sensation on the upper left part or my left knee. imagine it like the feeling of being very sore only not in a muscle but a joint or bone. this is reproducible - it happens every single time I take a flight of stairs, ride a bike, tale a leap even.

clearly I need to see a professional about this. the question is just what kind or doc do I seek out? also: I've only just moved to the UK and am currently doing freelance work, so I am not covered by a health plan yet, although I am a EU citizen and have a new british NI number. I am not sure if I can see a doc here without being hit with a massive bill like I would be in the US, so any knowledge on that would be much appreciated as well.

anyone wanna point me into a direction here?

Help! Convert my docx to pdf!

lemonfridge — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 15:15:31 -0800

Is there anyone out there who can convert a .docx file into a PDF for me within the next few hours? I am trying to help my mother submit some coursework that was created in Word 2007, but they are unable to open it with an earlier version.

Saving it as a 2003 .doc file loses a lot of the formatting and becomes unreadable in a lot of places.

The deadline is looming and I'm running out of ideas. Can anyone help? Email is in my profile.

Help me find my future doctors.

Amizu — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 06:50:57 -0800

DC doctors - your personal recommendations? Please give me suggestions for DC area doctors. I have seen this question (http://ask.metafilter.com/20846/Washington-DC-doctor-recommendations) but I'm really looking for DC mefites' personal recommendations.

Especially looking for primary care, dentists, gyn, dermatologist, hematologist.

These boots WEREN'T made for walking

chrisbucks — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 22:53:58 -0800

I just got some second hand Doc Marten boots, but the previous owner seems to have had some weird way of wearing them which was put them out of shape, how do I get the leather to behave? I thought I was getting them at a bargin since they cost about $250 a pair new (locally anyway), the tread is alright and the rest of the boot is fine, but when I tried to wear them the tongues on both boots pull themselves to the left and right (respective of each boot) and sit down around the outside of my ankle. This makes them uncomfortable to wear, I guess the previous owner must have worn them like this for a long time to make them do this.

How do I re-train the leather to sit how I want it? Do I just need to make them damp and then shape them how I want and dry them in that position?

These are the pre-2003 English manufactured ones if this has any bearing on the answer...

Help me find a great neurologist.

sneakin — Fri, 15 Jun 2007 18:33:15 -0800

Can you please recommend a great neurologist in the New Haven County (Connecticut) area? I need to see a neurologist for a follow-up after an MRI. I really want someone who is whip smart and will pay close attention to me. Having a nice/friendly/warm bedside manner is important, too, but not imperative since I know neurologists aren't known for their cuddliness. Yale affiliation is a plus.

It's my noggin, so, it's pretty important.

What does Doc Brown really mean in this back to the future II scene?

allthewhile — Mon, 04 Dec 2006 15:04:10 -0800

What exactly did Doc Brown mean in this Back to the Future II clip? For those of you who can't connect to the clip below, here's the dialog from the original script (slightly different from how it appeared in the movie).

DOC: First you're gonna have to get out and change clothes.
MARTY: Doc, it's pouring rain.
DOC: Oh, right... (Checks his watch) Wait 3 more seconds.
(Rain stops, sun comes out)
DOC: Right on the tick. Too bad the Post Office isn't as efficient as the weather service.
< !-- #i9ix4n2urd6lu5g5o3nkskee7p91v1scnvn5v3edu{width:320px;height:256px;border:none;margin:0px;} -->Dailymotion blogged video

Does he mean

1. In the future the weather is predicted down to the minute...

or

2. Is he implying that the national weather service can control the weather?

I always believed it was #2, however, wikipedia and all the other sites take it for granted that it's #1.

If its #1, I don't know how you can reconcile his use of the word "efficient" as a description of a prediction. Wouldn't accurate make more sense?

Making PDFs out of Word Docs and Preserving Embedded Links

hwickline — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 11:01:14 -0800

How can I make a .pdf of a .doc file that maintains the copious hyperlinks in the original MS Word doc on Mac OS 10.4? So I've got a Word document with a TON of links in it (created using Insert/ Hyperlink...), and OS X's built-in PDF maker (through the Print dialog box) doesn't create those as clickable links.

I've tried a couple things mentioned in similar AskMe threads, including Jaws PDF Maker, Adobe's online service, and pdfonline.com. Jaws won't even create an openable file, and the two online services work great, so long as I don't mind all my fonts being replaced with Courier, which I kind of do.

I've got Acrobat 5.0, and know I can create them manually with that, but Good God there's a lot of 'em, and I'd like to avoid going down that road.

Web publishing and paper publishing the same resume without double work?

sdis — Sat, 18 Mar 2006 15:47:37 -0800

I have a resume in Microsoft Word that I use to print and an HTML resume online. Every time I update my resume, I have to do it by hand twice. How do I cut my work in half? Right now I have a resume in Microsoft Word, and am thinking of moving it to Indesign to have better control over the formatting.

I also have hand copied that resume's formatting and content over to my website using a layout grid in Golive (looking at the html generated, it seems to be a bunch of tables, rather than CSS or anything).

Is there any way to just work on this resume in one program? I realize I can export to pdf and link that, but I hate looking at PDFs in a browser, and it just introduces too many problems for potential clients.

I've looked around the MeFi threads about pdf-->html converters or .doc-->html converters that don't cause problems, but haven't found any good options.

I'm on a mac.

Why can't robot servants help with this?

ducksauce — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 13:09:21 -0800

Help with re-formatting a word document? I had a perfectly formatted document in 8.5 x 11. I just found out it has to be in 6 x 9 instead. This is an enormous, enormous headache. First, are there any applications out there that could convert this for me, appropriate shrinking fonts and mathematically changing margins to just "shrink" the page? I have access to MS Word, OpenOffice, and Adobe Acrobat.

If not, I've run into a problem while doing it manually. If I use Word, Word will not let me change an indent on a pre-loaded style from 3.25" to 2.25". Word says that the indent is too large (even though I'm making it smaller). Why must Word judge me so?! When I do the same thing in OpenOffice of course it lets me change the indent, but then the style does not automatically update, which baffles me.

Help?

Convert pdf > doc

teem — Sun, 14 Aug 2005 17:39:47 -0800

I need a way to convert a pdf file to a Microsoft Word (.doc) file. It has to be free, preferably online if possible, and if there is no suitable online version it should be compatible with OS X. Any suggestions?

converting .doc files to .pdf on Mac 10.3.9?

Dr. Wu — Thu, 07 Jul 2005 13:07:13 -0800

I am having a helluva time converting Microsoft Word documents to PDF files. It's beginning to drive me mad. I am running Mac OS 10.3.9. Please to hope me! When I select "Print to PDF" within Word, the pages come out in reverse order. Selecting "reverse page order" does NOT correct this problem.

I just downloaded this little piece of PDF conversion freeware, and it works, except for the fact that the formatting gets all screwed up in about ten different ways.

I've Googled all over the place but can't seem to find either a clean-functioning piece of freeware or a solution (on a discussion board, eg) to this problem, which seems to lie with Word (Word 2004, v11.1, BTW). Can anyone suggest a way to make Word order the pages properly, or suggest another (free) program which will make a clean .doc-to-.pdf conversion? Muchas gracias!