Removing duplicate text

  • Thread starter Thread starter danison
  • Start date Start date
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danison

Hi

I am running Word 2000 and am trying to find a way to remove duplicat
text entries in a page of text. I have cut and paste about 2500 word
onto a Word doc page (in a normal column, not in a table or anything a
such). What I need to do is to go through and remove duplicate word
from that list, as there are many. I have tried to find a solutio
however have not been able to in the past and I have had to spend
hours going through trying to find each duplicate separately an
removing them one by one.

Thanks


Bil
 
Place your cursor at the left of the first word and hit Table-Sort. That should make it easier to SEE dupes

<-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-
Hope this helps
Anne Tro
Author: Dreamboat on Wor
Email: Dreamboat*at*Piersontech.co
Web: www.TheOfficeExperts.com
 
If you can't sort your list, you could likely narrow it down a great deal

Copy the first word
Ctrl+H and paste
Don't put anything in the replace with box
Hit replace all
Then paste your word back into the list ('cause you'll have deleted them all)
Then do the next word

<-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-><-*-
Hope this helps
Anne Tro
Author: Dreamboat on Wor
Email: Dreamboat*at*Piersontech.co
Web: www.TheOfficeExperts.com
 
Check the end of line character - CTR:+* - it will either be paragraph mark
or a line feed character.

Select the column and from the table menu sort into alphabetical order.
Use the replace function to replace
(*^13)@
or in the case of a line feed
(*^l)@
that's a lower case L not a figure one
with
\1
See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/General/UsingWildcards.htm

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

Web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>
 
Hi, I am assuming that you have a long list of words and
want to find repeated words. If so, select all the words,
go to Table, convert text to table. Once in table form,
you can click table, sort. Going down the list to find
duplicates will be much easier because the words will be
together.
Hope this helps,
Joan
 
Joan
There is no need to convert to a table in order to sort. Word will sort
paragraphs using the same sort tool as for tables. In fact in order to
automate the process of removing duplicates, you need to keep the list out
of a table.

The wildcard replace function I posted yesterday morning

(*^13)@
with
\1

Will clear the duplicates in a single pass.

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

Web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>
 
Hi Graham

Sorry to seem like a real dummy however I am having trouble locatin
the end line character. I am sure it is something simple. I held dow
the Control key, + key and * key as you said, and nothing happened.
checked out your website and could not find the answer.

Could you please advise how to find the character? To display what I a
trying to do I threw a few words onto a page (attached). What I a
looking to do is to delete multiple occurences of the same word in on
long column with about 2000 entries.

Thanks Graham, appreciate your help

Regards


Bil
 
Hi Graham

Have found the paragraph marks however when I use the replace function
it says that the search item has not been found. Is there some othe
way to make it work?

Thanks

Bil
 
It was CTRLSHIFT and * not CTRL + * (or click the pilcrow key ¶ on the
toolbar)
Unfortunately you have not reproduced the text of the thread in this or your
previous message, so I haven't a clue what we were replacing. Post the
content of the earlier message if you want me to look further into this.

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

Web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>
 
No, Ctrl+* is correct (= Ctrl+Shift+8 on U.S. keyboards). But Ctrl+* = Ctrl
AND * at the same time, not Ctrl AND + AND *.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
Ctrl+* means that you press Ctrl and Shift and the 8 key all at the same
time. You don't press the + (Shift+=) key at all.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
You are right but you cannot get the * without pressing the shift key.
In any case that was not the point I was trying to make, which was that it
was not neecssary to press the + key as described by the OP
"I held down the Control key, + key and * key"
I think between us we got there :)

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP

Web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>
 
Hi Graham & Suzanne

Thanks for that. Sorted out the controlshift* bit so am in busines
there. Only issue is that when I use the Find Replace Graham, and ente
(*^13)@ (have also tried the line feed coding), and enter /1 into th
replace box, I get a message that the search term cannot be found.

I have attached a small list of words as an example of what I am tryin
to achieve. The words 'back' and 'sciatica relief' are repeated. I wan
to be able to clean this list and remove the duplicates in one pass.

Regards

Bil
 
Hi

For some reason the attachment does not appear to be working,eve
though it is correct in preview. To make it easier I have cut and past
the few sample words I had on the Word page to demonstrate what I a
trying to do:

Back
Back
Back pain
Sciatica relief
Sciatica relief
Sciatic pain
Sciatica
Sciatica

Imagine this list is 2500 words long and there are multiples of th
same. The sort part is easy, however when it is such a long list it i
laborious to go through and delete each duplicate manually. What I wan
to do is find a way to do it quickly and easily.

When I do the ControlShift *, and use either of the Wildcards Graha
provided, I get a message saying the search term (being the Wildcard
could not be found.

Hope this clarifies

cheers

Bill
:
 
It works fine here - are you sure that you have checked the wildcard check
box in the search/replace dialog?
If you have, e-mail me the document. You can use the link on the home page
of my web site.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

Web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word
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