Formatting text copied from internet or pdfs

A simple query from a newbie! Basically: I occasionally buy or download
"E books" in pdf format..... or I copy and paste text from emails or
the internet. There are often large spaces and gaps in the text so that
when printed they take up loads of paper! So to remedy this I try to
"tighten them up" by copying and pasting the text into Notepad or a
Word document. However.... I note that sometimes the formatting does
not allow the text to go to the margin (I have chosen narrow margins to
use less paper).

Not being a Word jockey I usually fix it by - laboriously - hitting
"delete" at the end of each line and which brings the next line of text
up... However I now have a 134 page document to do and this is not an
option!

Is there a quick and easy way to ensure the line breaks at the end of
every line are removed in an entire document so the text will fill the
line to the margin? I am using Home and Student Office 2007.




--
triniscot

Usually, the lines are ended with a line feed or sometimes a paragraph
break. If you toggle on the non-breaking characters (by clicking on the
backwards P character or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shft+*) and look to
see if line feeds or paragraph breaks have been inserted and whether they
are preceded by a space character of not.

Then the procedure is to use the Replace dialog (Ctrl+H) and enter in the
Find box ^l (for line feed) or ^p (for paragraph break). In the replace box
enter either nothing or a space character if it is needed. Note that those
are lowercase L or P: capitals will not work.

That is the basics, but you will find that you need to enhance this
procedure because the problem with the simple solution is that you will
probably lose the 'real' end of paragraphs and end up with one long
continuous page of text that needs more editing.

Invariably, the real end of paragraphs will be either two consecutive
paragraph breaks or line feeds. So to preserve these, before you do the
above replace action, search for either ^p^p or ^l^l and replace them with a
unique character string such as X$C%. Once you have done that, replace all
the single ^p or ^l characters. Finally, replace the unique string you
used - X$C% - with ^p^p to restore the real end of paragraphs.

--
Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

"triniscot" wrote in message
...

A simple query from a newbie! Basically: I occasionally buy or download
"E books" in pdf format..... or I copy and paste text from emails or
the internet. There are often large spaces and gaps in the text so that
when printed they take up loads of paper! So to remedy this I try to
"tighten them up" by copying and pasting the text into Notepad or a
Word document. However.... I note that sometimes the formatting does
not allow the text to go to the margin (I have chosen narrow margins to
use less paper).

Not being a Word jockey I usually fix it by - laboriously - hitting
"delete" at the end of each line and which brings the next line of text
up... However I now have a 134 page document to do and this is not an
option!

Is there a quick and easy way to ensure the line breaks at the end of
every line are removed in an entire document so the text will fill the
line to the margin? I am using Home and Student Office 2007.




--
triniscot

Wow! Problem sorted - my 134 page document is now 33 pages! Thanks for
taking the time and trouble - and patience - to post such a useful and
easily understood reply - Terry you're a star!

Terry Farrell;399845 Wrote:
Usually, the lines are ended with a line feed or sometimes a paragraph
break. If you toggle on the non-breaking characters (by clicking on the

backwards P character or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shft+*) and
look to
see if line feeds or paragraph breaks have been inserted and whether
they
are preceded by a space character of not.

Then the procedure is to use the Replace dialog (Ctrl+H) and enter in
the
Find box ^l (for line feed) or ^p (for paragraph break). In the replace
box
enter either nothing or a space character if it is needed. Note that
those
are lowercase L or P: capitals will not work.

That is the basics, but you will find that you need to enhance this
procedure because the problem with the simple solution is that you will

probably lose the 'real' end of paragraphs and end up with one long
continuous page of text that needs more editing.

Invariably, the real end of paragraphs will be either two consecutive
paragraph breaks or line feeds. So to preserve these, before you do the

above replace action, search for either ^p^p or ^l^l and replace them
with a
unique character string such as X$C%. Once you have done that, replace
all
the single ^p or ^l characters. Finally, replace the unique string you

used - X$C% - with ^p^p to restore the real end of paragraphs.

--
Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

"triniscot" DTHIS wrote in message
...-

A simple query from a newbie! Basically: I occasionally buy or
download
"E books" in pdf format..... or I copy and paste text from emails or
the internet. There are often large spaces and gaps in the text so
that
when printed they take up loads of paper! So to remedy this I try to
"tighten them up" by copying and pasting the text into Notepad or a
Word document. However.... I note that sometimes the formatting does
not allow the text to go to the margin (I have chosen narrow margins
to
use less paper).

Not being a Word jockey I usually fix it by - laboriously - hitting
"delete" at the end of each line and which brings the next line of
text
up... However I now have a 134 page document to do and this is not an
option!

Is there a quick and easy way to ensure the line breaks at the end of
every line are removed in an entire document so the text will fill
the
line to the margin? I am using Home and Student Office 2007.




--
triniscot -




--
triniscot

Flattery will get you anywhere. g Thanks

Terry

"triniscot" wrote in message
...

Wow! Problem sorted - my 134 page document is now 33 pages! Thanks for
taking the time and trouble - and patience - to post such a useful and
easily understood reply - Terry you're a star!

Terry Farrell;399845 Wrote:
Usually, the lines are ended with a line feed or sometimes a paragraph
break. If you toggle on the non-breaking characters (by clicking on the

backwards P character or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Shft+*) and
look to
see if line feeds or paragraph breaks have been inserted and whether
they
are preceded by a space character of not.

Then the procedure is to use the Replace dialog (Ctrl+H) and enter in
the
Find box ^l (for line feed) or ^p (for paragraph break). In the replace
box
enter either nothing or a space character if it is needed. Note that
those
are lowercase L or P: capitals will not work.

That is the basics, but you will find that you need to enhance this
procedure because the problem with the simple solution is that you will

probably lose the 'real' end of paragraphs and end up with one long
continuous page of text that needs more editing.

Invariably, the real end of paragraphs will be either two consecutive
paragraph breaks or line feeds. So to preserve these, before you do the

above replace action, search for either ^p^p or ^l^l and replace them
with a
unique character string such as X$C%. Once you have done that, replace
all
the single ^p or ^l characters. Finally, replace the unique string you

used - X$C% - with ^p^p to restore the real end of paragraphs.

--
Terry Farrell - MSWord MVP

"triniscot" DTHIS wrote in message
...-

A simple query from a newbie! Basically: I occasionally buy or
download
"E books" in pdf format..... or I copy and paste text from emails or
the internet. There are often large spaces and gaps in the text so
that
when printed they take up loads of paper! So to remedy this I try to
"tighten them up" by copying and pasting the text into Notepad or a
Word document. However.... I note that sometimes the formatting does
not allow the text to go to the margin (I have chosen narrow margins
to
use less paper).

Not being a Word jockey I usually fix it by - laboriously - hitting
"delete" at the end of each line and which brings the next line of
text
up... However I now have a 134 page document to do and this is not an
option!

Is there a quick and easy way to ensure the line breaks at the end of
every line are removed in an entire document so the text will fill
the
line to the margin? I am using Home and Student Office 2007.




--
triniscot -




--
triniscot