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Old 06-29-2013, 03:50 AM   #27
gmw
cacoethes scribendi
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gregg Bell View Post
[...]As long as you're careful never to use spaces and tabs to create indented text

But I use the tab to indent every paragraph when I write a novel and all there is to clearing it up is putting ^t in the "find what" box and nothing in the "replace with" box. Presto. 5 seconds. Tabs gone.

So I don't know.Maybe if I was doing more involved things like you it would be worth the effort of changing my writing habits but right now my stuff is so simple I don't think I need to.

Thanks again for the awesome explanation.
All those wasted key strokes. I don't mean the find and replace, I mean all those tab and then start typing. Anyone would think you were still using a typewriter.

There can be lots more to it than simple indent fixes. Styles give you a lot of flexibility whether you're going to epub, pdf or paper. A quick change of style setting and I have my preferred paragraph spacing for paper based review. When producing print-ready PDFs for print on demand I get to fiddle with the styles make the pages fit together as I want them - automatically adjusting the spacing of the chapter titles, margins and so on.

The problem with waiting for things to become more involved is that your habits are all entrenched and it starts to look like hard work to change. To turn a non-styles-consistent document into a styles-consistent document can be fiddly, so you waste time trying to adjust your processing for "just this little thing" and then "oh, just this little bit here too". Training yourself early, while things are simple, can save time later.

Of course there is another way: I once worked with a person who happily reported that he knew everything he needed to know about computers, he would turn to his secretary and say, "Do this for me."
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