So I write stories, a lot.
I always change my stories, constantly especially the character's names.
And i'm so sick of going through my 18 chapter book reading through finding that person's name and changing it.
I was wondering if there is a writing program that you could just highlight the name and change it, and it changes every word that is the name.
Say the character's name is Danny, and i want to change it to Harry.
So I find the name danny, highlight and type in Harry, and it goes through the story and every time it sees a Danny it changes it.
Does anyone know if there's such a program?
It would be SO helpful, don't ya think?
Is there a writing program that does this?
Microsoft Word can do that.
Just go to Edit --%26gt; Replace (or click CTRL+H),
put the word that you want to replace on %26quot;Find what%26quot;,
put the word that you want to replace it with on %26quot;Replace with%26quot;,
then click %26quot;Replace All%26quot;.
Is there a writing program that does this?
Most word processing programs have a Find: Replace function that would allow you to do this. You can do it manually: Find, Replace then Find Next, Replace and so on. But you can also set up a Find: Replace All. There would be a box or field to enter what you wanted found, and then another box or field to enter what you want to replace it with.
I am sure that Microsoft Word includes this function, and most likely the free Open Office, which you can download from OpenOffice.org, would have such a function in its OpenOffice Writer word processor. You're not the only one who needs such a function! =)
Every word processor worth the name has a Find and Replace function. In Microsoft Word, CTRL/H will get you to the right dialog box, but here are some tips about using it.
1. The More button opens a Search Options extension to the dialog box that's very useful. Most of these tips relate to it.
2. Generally, select All from the listbox on the Search Options extension.
3. To reduce the chance of making corrections where you don't expect or want to (as in partial matches within words), select the option “Find Whole Words Only”. I guarantee this will save you much teeth-gnashing.
4. Similarly, when changing a word that has a guaranteed capital letter, such as a proper name, select the option %26quot;Match Case%26quot;.
5. Be wary of accidental Formatting constraints. You can select a multitude of formatting attributes to match, but if you leave them set the next time, you're not likely to find all your targets, if any. You can clear Formatting with the No Formatting button.
Find and Replace is a powerful tool. Enjoy.
