Cleaning Text

Note: We all want HTML Editors to work as smoothly as Microsoft Word.  The irony is, they will work as smoothly as Word, but only if you first get rid of all the Microsoft Word Code.  Cleaning your text first is the secret. It's easy.

Here is a word document I got today.  I will copy this list out and paste it into the HTML editor. 

I will let the editor try to clean up the code from Word, so I click OK

I will paste the code in Normal Mode.  Which is the default.  You will notice this  Tab at the bottom of the Html editor

When I add the words "Please pick five from below"  notice there is a real difference in the text size of "Please Pick"  & "Christian World..."  

When I save and view it,  the size difference is much more pronounced in the Draft View.

Notice the huge size difference in the last two lines now.  Technically they should be the same because you never formatted either one.  

It is simple to clean the text. This is a habit you want to get into.   Before you paste, look at the tab at the bottom.  Switch from NORMAL to HTML, then paste.

When you first paste into HTML it will temporarily preserve the formatting but if you switch back to normal view and then back to HTML,  you will see that the text will be without formatting, like seen below.

This is in Normal Mode and this is what you really want..... clean text. 

Now, when I type in more text, my new text will match the previous text.  (unlike in step 6 above.)    Following this method give you the look and control you want over your text.

If you still are wondering if its worth it the bother to have to reformat text that is already formatted.  Please think about these next steps.  Lets just take three words from that same word document and paste it into the normal view. 

This time to make a point, we will say no to the editor's attempt to help us.  And we will paste the three words into the default Normal Tab.

Now if i switch to html mode to see the unclean code from word.....  With just three words.....you get all that horror!!  Even though you do not have to work with the html.  The editor still has to...  and you use the editor.

In the Normal View (on the Surface)  "Your Relationship with God" text  seems to be okay.  It may look a little bloated and off on the surface, but you now know better.   You just looked at the horror......

If i paste the same three words from Word into the Html tab instead.  Even when I switch back and forth between the two views, I only see just my  "Relationship with God." both on the surface (Normal View)  and under the surface (HTML View) .   

  Wouldn't you rather work with clean code?   Its a yoke to have to reformat, but it's a light yoke, that will make your life easier. 

Text-Control breads Self-Control. T Gapinski