How to convert quotes

[Iconoclast]

I have to convert a long document with many quotation marks, to HTML. Since
my smart quotes create problems with html, I would like to convert all the
smart quotes (from autocorrect) to straight quotes, retroactively, before I
convert the .doc to html

Can this be done with "search and replace" or any other method ?

Thanks

 

[Jezebel]

Smart quotes is only an insertion method. Once the character is in the text,
it's just a character. So you can search for and replace it like any other.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Go to Tools | AutoCorrect | AutoFormat As You Type and disable the "Straight
quotes with smart quotes" option (temporarily). Then use Find and Replace to
replace " with " and ' with ' (both characters are just ordinary straight
quotes). Amazingly, this works because when Word reinserts the straight
quote, AutoFormat doesn't change it.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Iconoclast]

Great!

Now, if I can only figure out how to change the other "auto-corrected" back
to their originals. Like ordinals, fractions and hyphens.

Any ideas? Thanks very much in advance.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You can still use Find and Replace, but you'll have to copy/paste the actual
characters in the "Find what" box and then type the plain text in the
"Replace with" box.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Iconoclast]

Thank you, Suzanne.

 

[Guest]

Yes, you can easily do this using search and replace

First, turn of smart quotes - Select Tools > AutoCorrect from the menu, click the AutoFormat As You Type tab, and clear the Straight Quotes with Smart Quotes checkbox

Then, in the replace dialog, replace character 0147 (hold down Alt, type 0147 on the number keypad, release the Alt key) -- this is the left curly quote -- with a quote character (you can just type the quote)

Repeat for character 0148 (Alt+0148 on the number keypad) -- this is the right curly quote

 

[Guest]

You can replace any "autocorrect" character using Alt + the character code to type it into the search dialog. To find the character code, use the Windows Character Map. It's not a part of the default installation, so you may need to go back to your Windows system CD -- they hide it in Accessories.