Is there any way to solve Pages' funny behaviour with long footnotes? [more inside]
posted by synecdoche on Nov 2, 2009 - 1 answer

How can I (quickly) globally replace text in word with a footnote (or anything from my clipboard)? [more inside]
posted by kingjoeshmoe on Oct 10, 2009 - 1 answer

Is there a word count program that you can set to measure the number of words typed in a period of time rather than the number of words that appear on the page? [more inside]
posted by carmen on Aug 17, 2009 - 4 answers

Word2007Filter: A MS Word 2007 document has decided that it wants to insert a dotted line marker (small squares across the page) before and after a block quotation...twice, and only twice. What on earth is this? More to the point, how do I get rid of it? Erasing and retyping the quotation doesn't help, so it clearly has something to do with a mysterious local formatting command. No enlightenment from either Google or Help (help!). My book manuscript will thank you.
posted by thomas j wise on Jul 10, 2009 - 5 answers

How do I number individual tables in Word2007? (I don't mean numbering cells, or inserting captions). The numbering on my dissertation is now all screw up! [more inside]
posted by mateuslee on Apr 18, 2009 - 8 answers

I Screwed Up My Wife's Computer and I'm In TROUBLE!! HELP! [more inside]
posted by snsranch on Mar 13, 2009 - 40 answers

MS Word formatting issue: it applies any changes to entire document. How do I make Word only apply formatting changes to the selected text? [more inside]
posted by sulaine on Mar 12, 2009 - 11 answers

Make writing more satisifying with sound effects! *Tahtikkatakkatahtakkatikkatitakkatahtitakkatitatakka-ka-CHUNG* [more inside]
posted by Citizen Premier on Oct 27, 2008 - 4 answers

Name. Tab. Phone number. This creates two columns. One for name and one for phone number, except--when someone has a really long name that goes past the tab setting and impinges on the phone number area. Is there some sort of tab setting that will make that long name wrap around, creating a second line within its own name area? For the record, I know I could use a table to do exactly this, but I'm reformatting a huge amount of text that is already laid out with tabs. Any advice for this poor sap who accepted the job? The text is in an InDesign document, but I can copy it to a word processor or anything that would do the trick. Thanks!
posted by largecorp on Jul 18, 2008 - 13 answers

I don't like Microsoft Word much; it feels really bloated to me, and has so many features I never use. I've been looking for an alternative for some time. What word processor does the hivemind recommend for academic writing? [more inside]
posted by synecdoche on Jul 10, 2008 - 35 answers

Alternatives to SharePoint for multi-user collaboration and version control on Word documents (Word 2004 Mac, 2008 Mac)? [more inside]
posted by Alterscape on Jun 6, 2008 - 10 answers

Is there a program that will help to convert a batch (10 to 100) of WordPerfect files into TXT or RTF or DOC format so that they can then be archived into a text management program? [more inside]
posted by yclipse on May 24, 2008 - 5 answers

I'm fed up of Microsoft Word and Works, what freeware can I use instead? [more inside]
posted by Neonshock on Mar 16, 2008 - 30 answers

Someone gave me iWork '08 as a gift and I already have MS Office for Mac. I have no experience with iWork. Why would I want to use Pages instead of Word? Why would I want to use Keynote instead of PowerPoint? [more inside]
posted by GardnerDB on Dec 3, 2007 - 26 answers

Since I transferred all my data to a new mother board, when I switch from writing emails to writing in Word the 'insert' function changes, that is, if I have been writing an email and something getrs overwritten and I press 'insert' to overcome that, all is good until I switch to Word and the stuff gets overwritten until I press 'insert' and so on, ad infinitum. Is it possible to set the same default for both? I use Windows XP, and am in South Australia.
posted by Nayano on Nov 10, 2007 - 3 answers

Ack! Word has suddenly forgotten my customized bullets-and-numberings settings - but the settings were four years old and I have no idea how to set them right again! [more inside]
posted by AthenaPolias on Sep 27, 2007 - 8 answers

Word Processor formatting screwy filter: I use a few different word processors from time to time and I try to use .rtf since I understand that is a universal format yet when I load a document in a different word processor the formatting always seems to get screwed up. [more inside]
posted by GleepGlop on Sep 22, 2007 - 4 answers

In WordPerfect you had the option when underlining, of underlining all words in a sentence including the spaces in between, or just the words. In Microsoft Word you don't seem to have that option. Is there any way in Word that you can underline a sentence, but have the underlines only appear under the letters and not the spaces? Thanks!
posted by america4 on Jul 16, 2007 - 5 answers

An 80s technology throwback question for you. A paralegal in our office has an IBM Wheelwriter 50 Series II (6788) typewriter that she uses for all her wordprocessing. It's from 1988. It has a little computer monitor attached to it that accepts 3.5" floppies. I'm trying to help her move to a PC, but she doesn't want to lose all the documents she has stored on these floppies. I've tried reading the floppies with MS Word and Wordperfect on a PC, but it comes up as nonsense. I've also tried using a utility called CanOpener and OmniFlop with no success. Any other ideas on a utility/process to move the documents over to a PC-readable format?
posted by banger100 on Jul 13, 2007 - 22 answers

Help me with lists in LaTeX! And I'd like some general advice about whether LaTeX and LyX are worth the hassle. [more inside]
posted by Aloysius Bear on Apr 23, 2007 - 22 answers

I'm looking for a mac word processor with French language support (spelling and grammar) to replace Microsoft Word 2004. [more inside]
posted by Frankieist on Mar 2, 2007 - 8 answers

So we know that OpenOffice.org is a better value than MSWord...but is it really BETTER? [more inside]
posted by sarahkeebs on Feb 15, 2007 - 41 answers

Do you have feelings about the Zoho suite of web apps? [more inside]
posted by Karmakaze on Feb 7, 2007 - 4 answers

A watermark to add lines in a word processing template? [more inside]
posted by yclipse on Oct 18, 2006 - 1 answer

Easy Spanish-language typing with a U.S. computer keyboard? [more inside]
posted by killdevil on Sep 24, 2006 - 9 answers

Does anyone know where to find or buy the software WriterTools for the Alphasmart 3000 or enable a word count feature? [more inside]
posted by zymurgy on Aug 8, 2006 - 1 answer

WordPerfect help: I can't make it default to a regular tab instead of a hard indent tab when I hit the tab key in a manual outline (you know, typing 1. &c--there is a reason I'm doing the outline this way, and yes, I know how to set the automatic outline to use the tab and not hanging indent). Suggestions for how to change this setting? The help entries for hard tabs and tab set and the like have not helped.
posted by crush-onastick on Jun 15, 2006 - 1 answer

I am looking for word processing software that will do very specific accented-character-related tasks. [more inside]
posted by anjamu on May 9, 2006 - 5 answers

Help me find a piece of software that makes it easy to create parallel texts. [more inside]
posted by anjamu on Apr 29, 2006 - 6 answers

Is there software available that lets me use tagging (a la del.icio.us and Flickr) to tag Word (or other) files on my local computer? Here's the scenario. I am new to a job where I write a lot of reports. Although these aren't cookie cutter reports, it is often helpful to look at old reports when writing new ones. I would love to be able to organize them by overlapping themes so the collection of files is more useful to me. Instead of reinventing the wheel, I'd like to be able to plug in a few tag words and find just what I need. Can you help?
posted by abbyladybug on Dec 22, 2005 - 15 answers

Is emacs worth learning? [more inside]
posted by bonaldi on Oct 3, 2005 - 47 answers

How many pages are too many in a word-processing document? [more inside]
posted by showmethecalvino on Sep 8, 2005 - 15 answers

How can I get the cells in my MS Word table to "stick together"? It keeps putting page breaks in weird places, leaving a single cell stranded at the top of a page. [more inside]
posted by exceptinsects on Jul 15, 2005 - 7 answers

My dissertation consists of about 320 pages, split up over seven chapters; each chapter is a separate document. I'd like to combine the seven chapters into one single megadocument, which is easy enough. But I'm having some trouble getting the numbering of the footnotes the way I want ... [more inside]
posted by Dr. Wu on May 24, 2005 - 3 answers

How do I convert a word pro file (*.lwp) to something that MS-word understands? [more inside]
posted by Thug on Apr 29, 2005 - 3 answers

I have 100 separate documents in MS Word which have to be turned into one document for various reasons. How can I do this?
posted by chaz on Apr 7, 2005 - 13 answers

Some of my MS Word docs (Microsoft Word 2003, Windows XP) have been through many hands and have many styles defined. Lots of these styles are garbage. Other than doing it manually (stepping through all of the styles one by one, checking whether each style is in use, and then deleting the styles I don't need), is there a way to remove all styles that are not used in a document?
posted by pracowity on Mar 17, 2005 - 7 answers

I'm looking for something small, simple and cheap to use for basic word-processing on the road. Something like the Alphasmart Neo, or some kind of bare-bones laptop. Suggestions/advice?
posted by gottabefunky on Mar 3, 2005 - 8 answers

Tabbed word processing -- is it out there? I'm working on a very long writing project and need some way to keep track of notes, sections of the document, timelines, etc. I've been using a simple index card system next to my computer, but I find it disruptive to go from pencil to keyboard and back as I move along. So, is there anything available (cheaper the better) that is better than Word for this kind of thing? I'm on a Windows system.
posted by _sirmissalot_ on Mar 2, 2005 - 25 answers

Small, cheap, comfortable text entry/recording? I'm traveling for a month in August, and I'd like to keep a journal. Handwriting is pretty much out of the question, so I'm looking for the best way to be able to type it. [more] [more inside]
posted by whatnotever on Jul 1, 2004 - 11 answers

How can I get Microsoft word to paste things as plain text by default? Why would I want the formatting of the website I'm copying my homework from anyway?
posted by Orange Goblin on Jun 22, 2004 - 15 answers

Bah! I'm working on a Word doc and this program is driving me just batty. It's too clever by half all over the place -- wanting to add hyperlinks, format this way and that-- all kinds of stupidity that are keeping me from controlling the layout the way I want. Any suggestions for a nice, simple word processing program that will just give me the basics of font and tab control and without all of these M$ bloaty gewgaws that get in my way? Stop me before I fire up Illustrator!
posted by mimi on Apr 2, 2004 - 24 answers

Does anyone know of an easy, free way to take a plain text document and automatically adjust the font, font size, leading, etc. to match a predetermined number of pages, when the page size and margins are specified? I ask because I am currently required to purchase specific copies of works in the public domain. This way the whole class is on the same page. I'd rather save the $15 bucks and download from Gutenberg, if possible.
posted by Grod on Jan 27, 2004 - 13 answers

Academics and scholars: anyone familiar with the text processing product on Windows called Nota Bene? A friend is switching to Macintosh and it's an application area I don't have a lot of experience with. In particular, he likes the fact that Nota Bene stores citation information separate from the formatting, so switching from MLA to APA (?) is easy to do... Any suggestions welcomed.
posted by JollyWanker on Jan 27, 2004 - 14 answers