Comments on: GREP Solution to Flawed Title Case Feature http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php InDesignSecrets Blog and Podcast Thu, 09 Sep 2010 10:35:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Jongware http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php/comment-page-1#comment-481074 Jongware Fri, 15 Jan 2010 21:25:42 +0000 http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php#comment-481074 Ken (better late than ever!), <cite>The GREP does two more things: it converts to upper case any word that follows a colon or a hyphen.</cite> The colon stuff is in the first half, before the very first pipe character. Jenn, that GREP should be ^[^:]+: I can go into <em>great</em> detail on this GREP expression when asked ... ;-) However, there are more than a few problems. You <em>can</em> apply "[None]", either with search & replace, or using a nested grep style. But: applying the None char style doesn't <em>do</em> anything. It removes present character styles, but the original <strong>formatting</strong> is preserved. You <em>can</em> create a new character style in which you set every possible attribute to Normal (not underlined, normal case, no superscript, etc. for everything). That does not work in a GREP style for manually applied formatting, you need a search-and-replace for that. Ken (better late than ever!),

The GREP does two more things: it converts to upper case any word that follows a colon or a hyphen.
The colon stuff is in the first half, before the very first pipe character.

Jenn, that GREP should be

^[^:]+:

I can go into great detail on this GREP expression when asked … ;-)

However, there are more than a few problems. You can apply “[None]“, either with search & replace, or using a nested grep style. But: applying the None char style doesn’t do anything. It removes present character styles, but the original formatting is preserved.
You can create a new character style in which you set every possible attribute to Normal (not underlined, normal case, no superscript, etc. for everything). That does not work in a GREP style for manually applied formatting, you need a search-and-replace for that.

]]> By: jenn stockwell http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php/comment-page-1#comment-481070 jenn stockwell Fri, 15 Jan 2010 18:46:32 +0000 http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php#comment-481070 Hi David, I realize this is slightly off topic, but I am trying to do what seems like a relatively simple find/change using GREP and can't quite get it to work. I need to search for everything up to and including a colon at the beginning of a paragraph and set the character style sheet to 'none.' I can go into detail if you need, but it's sort of complicated, the reasoning behind it... Thanks for any help!! Hi David,

I realize this is slightly off topic, but I am trying to do what seems like a relatively simple find/change using GREP and can’t quite get it to work.

I need to search for everything up to and including a colon at the beginning of a paragraph and set the character style sheet to ‘none.’

I can go into detail if you need, but it’s sort of complicated, the reasoning behind it…

Thanks for any help!!

]]> By: Ken Darby http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php/comment-page-1#comment-473361 Ken Darby Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:23:03 +0000 http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php#comment-473361 At the risk of sounding like a GREP newbie, which I am, what purpose does the initial colon serve in this expression? I can neither find it on Mike Witherell's cheat sheet nor at www.regular-expressions.info. Snip ----- Copy this (including the initial colon) into the Find what field :sl|[-s]l(?!(f|he|nd?|o|y|rom|or)?b) At the risk of sounding like a GREP newbie, which I am,
what purpose does the initial colon serve in this expression? I can neither find it on Mike Witherell’s cheat sheet nor at http://www.regular-expressions.info.

Snip
—–
Copy this (including the initial colon) into the Find what field
:sl|[-s]l(?!(f|he|nd?|o|y|rom|or)?b)

]]> By: Eugene Tyson http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php/comment-page-1#comment-137506 Eugene Tyson Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:22:22 +0000 http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php#comment-137506 Yeh I know, I did really well up to the last sentence. Yeh I know, I did really well up to the last sentence.

]]> By: Peter Kahrel http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php/comment-page-1#comment-137493 Peter Kahrel Tue, 25 Sep 2007 11:13:07 +0000 http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php#comment-137493 >who wants one to do things in InDesign anyway? Nice Freudian slip :) Thanks for the nice words. You're right: it shouldn't be so difficult to do something with an editable list, similar to Autocorrect. Let's hope it'll make it in the next version. There have been many requests for it. Peter >who wants one to do things in InDesign anyway?

Nice Freudian slip :)

Thanks for the nice words. You’re right: it shouldn’t be so difficult to do something with an editable list, similar to Autocorrect. Let’s hope it’ll make it in the next version. There have been many requests for it.

Peter

]]> By: Eugene Tyson http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php/comment-page-1#comment-137377 Eugene Tyson Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:42:50 +0000 http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php#comment-137377 Edit to last line: Which is great, because who wants one to do things <em>one way</em> in InDesign anyway? Edit to last line: Which is great, because who wants one to do things one way in InDesign anyway?

]]> By: Eugene Tyson http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php/comment-page-1#comment-137375 Eugene Tyson Tue, 25 Sep 2007 08:40:10 +0000 http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php#comment-137375 Hi Peter, my intention was not to divert attention from the GREP solution. I didn't mention that I like the GREP solution and I think it's great. You could use this solution for a lot of things. Like if you wanted certain words to be a cap first letter perhaps in the sentence. So you could search multiple words or variants of these words to make UpperCase and so on. I still for the life of me can't figure out after 3 versions of CS that there is no option in the Paragraph or Character styles to have Title Case and so on, or have an editable table or something that can adjusted accordingly for Title Cases, leaving out conjunctions or in as needed. It's just something that has annoyed me, and I read somewhere that Adobe had corrected this in CS3 but the feature just wasn't there. Nor was it included in the few free GREPs that were included by default. I just don't want you think that I haven't taken note of this code and saved it in my GREPs for future use or reference, because I have. I only thought to mention the script because I feel I'm not alone in not having Smart Title Cases. Now am I not only not alone but I've also got 2 ways of achieving the same thing. Which is great, because who wants one to do things in InDesign anyway? Hi Peter, my intention was not to divert attention from the GREP solution. I didn’t mention that I like the GREP solution and I think it’s great. You could use this solution for a lot of things. Like if you wanted certain words to be a cap first letter perhaps in the sentence. So you could search multiple words or variants of these words to make UpperCase and so on.

I still for the life of me can’t figure out after 3 versions of CS that there is no option in the Paragraph or Character styles to have Title Case and so on, or have an editable table or something that can adjusted accordingly for Title Cases, leaving out conjunctions or in as needed. It’s just something that has annoyed me, and I read somewhere that Adobe had corrected this in CS3 but the feature just wasn’t there.

Nor was it included in the few free GREPs that were included by default.

I just don’t want you think that I haven’t taken note of this code and saved it in my GREPs for future use or reference, because I have.

I only thought to mention the script because I feel I’m not alone in not having Smart Title Cases. Now am I not only not alone but I’ve also got 2 ways of achieving the same thing. Which is great, because who wants one to do things in InDesign anyway?

]]> By: Peter Kahrel http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php/comment-page-1#comment-137317 Peter Kahrel Tue, 25 Sep 2007 07:31:03 +0000 http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php#comment-137317 A script is obviously more versatile and powerful for things like title case. The point of this example was to show that you can get very far with GREP expressions. Peter A script is obviously more versatile and powerful for things like title case. The point of this example was to show that you can get very far with GREP expressions.

Peter

]]> By: Dave Saunders http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php/comment-page-1#comment-136771 Dave Saunders Mon, 24 Sep 2007 20:45:49 +0000 http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php#comment-136771 One piece of advice I would give people using that script is: if you use and external text file to hold the words, change the internal array definition to say that's what you're doing so you don't waste time editing the array inside the script only for it to be ignored because of the text file you forgot about. Does it sound as though I'm speaking from experience? Dave One piece of advice I would give people using that script is: if you use and external text file to hold the words, change the internal array definition to say that’s what you’re doing so you don’t waste time editing the array inside the script only for it to be ignored because of the text file you forgot about.

Does it sound as though I’m speaking from experience?

Dave

]]> By: David Blatner http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php/comment-page-1#comment-136691 David Blatner Mon, 24 Sep 2007 19:56:42 +0000 http://indesignsecrets.com/grep-solution-to-flawed-title-case-feature.php#comment-136691 Thanks, Bob, and thanks very much, Dave! Yes, I should have remembered that script. It's very good, and much easier than the GREP solution. (Though the GREP is more fun, as it makes your eyes boggle when you look at it.) Thanks, Bob, and thanks very much, Dave! Yes, I should have remembered that script. It’s very good, and much easier than the GREP solution. (Though the GREP is more fun, as it makes your eyes boggle when you look at it.)

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