Replacing a Word doc's template with another 3

[Sam577]

Dear all,

I have been given a Word document that is in an old template, and I need to re-format it to our new template.

Even if I attach the new template to it (with the Tools menu), the styles have become so corrupt and mixed up with the old styles that I'm sure it'll be much easier just to copy and paste it into Notepad and paste it back into the new template, thereby removing all styles (except Normal).

However, using this method destroys all the tables; does anyone know of a less extreme way (such as a filter) of cleaning up data in Word documents, that retains some of the basic formatting, such as tabular data, but removes styles?

Many thanks
Sam

 

[sawedoff]

I would try just copying and pasting into the new template. Don't use Notepad as an intermediate step, since that is what strips your tables. If you select the whole table, you should able to copy and paste it intact into the new file.

Sawedoff

 

[Madawc]

Word is also good at converting text back to table, provided it has separators like tabs. You find this as an option in the Table menu.

Madawc Williams (East Anglia, UK)

 

[tf1]

If the new template and old template used the same style names, theoretically, you should be able to insert the old document into a new blank based on the new template and run AutoFormat.

However, I have had similar problems before and found that copying using Notepad to strip formatting was the best approach. At least you know it's going to be a long job and you don't have the frustration of trying to out-think Word!

If there are not too many tables, you could convert the tables to text first using a colon or comma as the delimiter, then going through Notepad should retain all the required delimiters and let you convert the text back to a table again without too much hassle.

Regards: tf1

 

[Phaed]

no need to go through Notepad. Word has a style - ClearFormatting - that strips formats. Just Ctrl-A to select all, then apply ClearFormatting. All styles are reverted to Normal, with NO manual formating. You can ten attach your new template. Or best of all, clearformat everything, then copy and paste into a newly created clone of the new template. That way no styles are remptely brought over.

Assuming you are using Table styles for tables (although that is a joke really, as I am willing to bet that you are not); you can loop through all paragraphs in the socument, clearformatting everything except text that have explicit Table styles; thus leaving them alone.

But again, you do NOT have go go through Notepad.

 

[Sam577]

Hi,

Thanks for that. Could you tell me where Clear Formatting option is -- I've checked with Help and on the Format menu and can't find it.

Many thanks
Sam

 

[fumei]

It is the very first Style in the Style drop down - on the Formatting toolbar...just to the left of the Font drop down.

Gerry

 

[Sam577]

Still can't see it -- are you using Word 2000 or 2003?

 

[sawedoff]

I don't have it either (I'm on 2000)

Sawedoff

 

[Sam577]

I'm on 2000 too

 

[tf1]

It was introduced in W2002. As previously recommended, go through Notepad to remove the formatting.

In the next version of Word, you will be able to choose levels of 'unformatting' (i.e. removing a paragraph style, a character style or direct formatting in various comninations).



Regards: tf1

 

[fumei]

Oooops sorry, forgot about that.

In earlier versions you can use the following to remove formatting.

Ctrl-Space: removes character formatting that is not applied by a style (ie. all manual formatting)

Ctrl-Q: removes all paragraph formatting that is not applied by a style(ie. all manual formatting)

On the other hand...yeah, maybe just going through Notepad....

Gerry