Conversion of quotes

pepak · 11-02-2008, 03:47 AM

Hi!

Does anyone know of a program or an online tool which I could use to convert quotes? I am particularly interested in converting texts which use one of the following formats:

Code:

&quot; text &quot; (1)
' text ' (2)

Into:

Code:

&ldquo; text &rdquo;

While I can to (1) reasonably well using a sequence of regexp, I am at a loss with (2) since the apostrophes can appear inside sentences and words (words such as don't). I would rather use something which does most of the work automatically.

AZed · 11-02-2008, 03:58 AM

Text::Typography combined with HTML::Entities?

pepak · 11-02-2008, 04:11 AM

I am no expert at Perl, but it seems to me that this will convert all apostrophes, not just those that mark speech of the book's characters'.

AZed · 11-02-2008, 04:17 AM

Ah, you mean you want to completely ignore apostrophes inside words, not just make sure that the apostrophes inside words end up facing the right way.

Probably you want Text::Balanced, then.

pepak · 11-02-2008, 04:46 AM

I did a quick job using regexps meanwhile. They were heavily dependent on the very simple structure of the document, but they seemed to work well enough. I'll see for sure when I get to proofreading.

Jellby · 11-02-2008, 04:59 AM

For single quotes, since you can have apostrophes at every position ("don't", "teachers'", "'em"), I usually do the following:

1. Replace every ' in the middle of a word with & #8217; (remove the space between & and #, this is a synonym of ’)

2. Check every instance of a ' at the beginning of a word and replace it with ‘ if it's a quote mark, or & #8217; if it's an apostrophe.

3. For every ‘, find the corresponding closing mark (if any) and replace it with ’

4. Replace every remaning ' with & #8217;.

Unfortunatelly, steps 2 and 3 are not easy to automate.

Oh... and quotes are not always balanced, when a character's part in a dialogue takes several paragraphs, all paragraphs start with an opening quote mark, but only the last one has a closing mark.

pepak · 11-02-2008, 05:55 AM

I just need something that works most of the time, to give me a basis from which I can start proofreading.

DaleDe · 11-03-2008, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pepak

I just need something that works most of the time, to give me a basis from which I can start proofreading.

If you have a copy of word or framemaker you can turn on smart quotes and then replace ' with ' and " with " to accomplish a good start.

Dale

chorpler · 11-03-2008, 03:46 PM

If you have Microsoft Word, it will do this automatically. Just make sure that "Replace straight quotes with smart quotes" is turned in in the Tools ... AutoCorrect Options ... AutoFormat tab, and then do a search-and-replace, and just type in a regular quote in both the search and replace boxes, and do "Replace All." It automatically converts all the straight quotes into curly quotes. Repeat with an apostrophe in both search and replace boxes if you want apostrophes to be converted to curly apostrophes too.

Of course, that presumes you have access to Word, and that your file is in a format that Word can edit.

On edit, I see that DaleDe mentioned this before me. Somehow I missed that post. Oh well. My bad!

pepak · 11-04-2008, 03:08 AM

In any case, I don't have Word.

Doesn't matter, it seems the regexps I used give a good enough result (I am on page 50 or so, and only encountered some six or seven errors in quotes - good enough for me).

Patricia · 11-04-2008, 06:13 AM

[QUOTE=chorpler;282536]If you have Microsoft Word, it will do this automatically. Just make sure that "Replace straight quotes with smart quotes" is turned in in the Tools ... AutoCorrect Options ... AutoFormat tab, and then do a search-and-replace, and just type in a regular quote in both the search and replace boxes, and do "Replace All." It automatically converts all the straight quotes into curly quotes. Repeat with an apostrophe in both search and replace boxes if you want apostrophes to be converted to curly apostrophes too.
QUOTE]

I do this. But it needs to be proof-read, especially smart quotes after dashes. And a check for 'em, 'tis, 'twas is necessary because the apostrophe is always wrongly placed, and needs correcting.

Richard Herley · 11-04-2008, 06:21 AM

This thread might be helpful. Quotation marks are a pest!

11-02-2008, 03:47 AM	#1
pepak Guru Posts: 610 Karma: 4150 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: Sony Reader PRS-T3, Kobo Libra H2O	Conversion of quotes Hi! Does anyone know of a program or an online tool which I could use to convert quotes? I am particularly interested in converting texts which use one of the following formats: Code: " text " (1) ' text ' (2) Into: Code: “ text ” While I can to (1) reasonably well using a sequence of regexp, I am at a loss with (2) since the apostrophes can appear inside sentences and words (words such as don't). I would rather use something which does most of the work automatically.

11-02-2008, 04:59 AM	#6
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,539 Karma: 19001081 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	For single quotes, since you can have apostrophes at every position ("don't", "teachers'", "'em"), I usually do the following: 1. Replace every ' in the middle of a word with & #8217; (remove the space between & and #, this is a synonym of ’) 2. Check every instance of a ' at the beginning of a word and replace it with ‘ if it's a quote mark, or & #8217; if it's an apostrophe. 3. For every ‘, find the corresponding closing mark (if any) and replace it with ’ 4. Replace every remaning ' with & #8217;. Unfortunatelly, steps 2 and 3 are not easy to automate. Oh... and quotes are not always balanced, when a character's part in a dialogue takes several paragraphs, all paragraphs start with an opening quote mark, but only the last one has a closing mark. Last edited by Jellby; 11-02-2008 at 05:02 AM.

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11-02-2008, 03:58 AM	#2
AZed Connoisseur Posts: 57 Karma: 307 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: PalmOS PDA	Text::Typography combined with HTML::Entities?

11-02-2008, 04:11 AM	#3
pepak Guru Posts: 610 Karma: 4150 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: Sony Reader PRS-T3, Kobo Libra H2O	I am no expert at Perl, but it seems to me that this will convert all apostrophes, not just those that mark speech of the book's characters'.

11-02-2008, 04:17 AM	#4
AZed Connoisseur Posts: 57 Karma: 307 Join Date: Oct 2008 Device: PalmOS PDA	Ah, you mean you want to completely ignore apostrophes inside words, not just make sure that the apostrophes inside words end up facing the right way. Probably you want Text::Balanced, then.

11-02-2008, 04:46 AM	#5
pepak Guru Posts: 610 Karma: 4150 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: Sony Reader PRS-T3, Kobo Libra H2O	I did a quick job using regexps meanwhile. They were heavily dependent on the very simple structure of the document, but they seemed to work well enough. I'll see for sure when I get to proofreading.

11-02-2008, 05:55 AM	#7
pepak Guru Posts: 610 Karma: 4150 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: Sony Reader PRS-T3, Kobo Libra H2O	I just need something that works most of the time, to give me a basis from which I can start proofreading.

11-03-2008, 03:46 PM	#9
chorpler Zealot Posts: 128 Karma: 278 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Kindle; PRS-500; MobiPocket on Windows Mobile	If you have Microsoft Word, it will do this automatically. Just make sure that "Replace straight quotes with smart quotes" is turned in in the Tools ... AutoCorrect Options ... AutoFormat tab, and then do a search-and-replace, and just type in a regular quote in both the search and replace boxes, and do "Replace All." It automatically converts all the straight quotes into curly quotes. Repeat with an apostrophe in both search and replace boxes if you want apostrophes to be converted to curly apostrophes too. Of course, that presumes you have access to Word, and that your file is in a format that Word can edit. On edit, I see that DaleDe mentioned this before me. Somehow I missed that post. Oh well. My bad!

11-04-2008, 03:08 AM	#10
pepak Guru Posts: 610 Karma: 4150 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: Sony Reader PRS-T3, Kobo Libra H2O	In any case, I don't have Word. Doesn't matter, it seems the regexps I used give a good enough result (I am on page 50 or so, and only encountered some six or seven errors in quotes - good enough for me).

11-04-2008, 06:13 AM	#11
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	[QUOTE=chorpler;282536]If you have Microsoft Word, it will do this automatically. Just make sure that "Replace straight quotes with smart quotes" is turned in in the Tools ... AutoCorrect Options ... AutoFormat tab, and then do a search-and-replace, and just type in a regular quote in both the search and replace boxes, and do "Replace All." It automatically converts all the straight quotes into curly quotes. Repeat with an apostrophe in both search and replace boxes if you want apostrophes to be converted to curly apostrophes too. QUOTE] I do this. But it needs to be proof-read, especially smart quotes after dashes. And a check for 'em, 'tis, 'twas is necessary because the apostrophe is always wrongly placed, and needs correcting.

11-04-2008, 06:21 AM	#12
Richard Herley Author Posts: 203 Karma: 1164907 Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	This thread might be helpful. Quotation marks are a pest!

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