Word is turning on AI by default and claims the right to use your “data” to train it. If you have an NDA or other contractual or ethical need to protect the content in the files you are working on, turn off Connected Experiences. If you don’t see this option right now, check back frequently until you do; features are rolled out to users over time.
Tag Archives: troubleshooting
Q&A: Fixing lists in bulk?
QJust a few chapters in this book I’m editing have used a 1)a)i) structure for nested lists. Is there an easier way to make them match the other •o– lists without restyling them line by line?!
AYes! It involves the multilevel list button on the Home ribbon and (at best) Styles for each level in the list.
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Reduce Word File Size
Word files get bloated because they’re long, have big/many photos, and because they store a whole lot of data about changes that have been made. These are several ways to reduce the bloat. Use them independently or in any combination for maximum results!
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Q&A: Why is my file locked for editing?
QI moved a file to another computer and Word says it’s locked for editing and won’t let me do anything with it!
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Using ChatGPT to Write Wildcard Searches
Over on the Right Angels and Polo Bears blog, I’ve been testing the hot new AI out for editing. While it’s true that generative pretrained translators (GPTs) are advancing so fast that my post may be out of date by the time I edit it, the verdict remains that AI isn’t ready to take over copyediting jobs. In this post I find it can’t even write a useful Find & Replace sequence using wildcards. I’m sad about that, because writing those can be a brain twister!
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Q&A: Can I make a list of in-text citations without a macro?
QIs there a way to make a list of all in-text citations without using a macro?
AYes, with a wildcard search!
Great question. Many editing checks could be done with such a list, and creating one is easy:
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Q&A: How can I tell what section of a document I’m in?
QI’m working in a document with dozens of headings and subheadings. I want to check which section I’m working in without having to scroll back up to find the heading. Is that possible?
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Q&A: Detect Changes to Styles
QI think the author made subtle changes to the Styles when they were revising. Things like the space above the Style and its exact colour. How can check?!
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Delete Resolved Comments Only
Resolved Comments go quiet in Word, but they don’t go away. It’s important to delete them when finalizing a document so they don’t inadvertently travel into the wild with the document, or get (much worse!) printed!
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Launch Classic Spellcheck
With the introduction of the Editor pane, Word changed the look of Spellcheck. But you can still access the classic Spellcheck interface by adding it to the Quick Access Toolbar! You can see that at the very top of the image above.
Here’s how:
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