Tips for using Microsoft Word to create your GuidedTrack program

Though text editors such as Sublime Text are best, if you would prefer to use Microsoft Word when creating your program then here are a couple tips to keep your program working smoothly. Please note: your version of Word may require different steps than those outlined below.

1. Be sure to turn off automatic formatting of tabs to “indents”. To do this, go to File or the Office button -> Options -> Proofing -> Autocorrect Options -> and AutoFormat as You Type. From there, make sure to uncheck the option “set left- and first-indent with tabs and backspaces“.  For more information about indents, click here.

• Why? When you enter a tab in Microsoft Word, it will sometimes automatically convert your tab into a Microsoft word “indent”. Indents are not recognized in most text programs or in GuidedTrack, so if you are using indents instead of tabs then all indentations will all be lost when you copy and paste your program into GuidedTrack. Without proper tabs many of your keywords may not work.

2. Make sure you’re using straight quotes instead of smart quotes in your GT code. From the same menu that you visited when adjusting your tabs, make sure to also deselect the option to replace "straight quotes with smart quotes." For more information about smart quotes, click here.

• Why? Smart quotes will not actually work the same as straight quotes. When writing certain GuidedTrack text variables and using the *if keyword, you occasionally also need to use quotes. These quotes must be straight quotes in order to work properly.

3. Be mindful when using the minus sign in mathematical expressions; check that it doesn’t become an em dash. You may wish to automatically turn off the setting in Microsoft Word that will turn two hyphens (--) into an em dash (—). From the same menu that you visited when adjusting your tabs and straight quotes, you can deselect the option to replace "Hyphens (--) with dash (—)” Em dashes can be manually entered by going to Insert -> Symbol -> Special Characters -> Em Dash. You can also try the shortcut Alt+Ctrl+Num (this may be a little different on a Mac).

• Why? Occasionally you may want to use a mathematical expression in GuidedTrack. When you enter a single hyphen intending for it to be a minus sign, Microsoft Word may convert this minus sign into an em dash. When you use this program in GuidedTrack, the equation you wrote won’t work correctly.

4. When using tracked changes, use balloons to display changes. From the “Review” tab, click on “Show Markup” and select “Preferences.” Next, ensure that beneath “Balloons” the option “Use balloons to display changes” is selected.

• Why? Word has two options for tracked changes - your changes can be shown inline (i.e. if you delete text, it will still appear within the body as strikethrough text), or your changes can be shown in balloons to the side of your document (i.e. deleted text is NOT inline, it’s separated on the side in a colorful box). If you copy and paste text that includes inline tracked changes such as deletions, these deletions will show up in GuidedTrack, whereas balloon text will not.

What if I already created my program in Word and have a bunch of indents instead of tabs?

If you've already created your program in Word and realized you have a lot of indents and no proper tabs (see Tip #1, above), then don't despair. There is a slightly complicated, though completely viable solution for converting indents into tabs without manually changing each one by hand. You’ll need to find and replace the formatting. For more information about that, click here. Please note: your version of Word may require different steps than those outlined below.

Follow these steps:

1. On the "Home" tab, click "Replace"
2. Click "More" at the bottom
3. Click in the "Find what" field, then click the button at the bottom that says "Format" and select "Paragraph."

1. Tip: When you click the “Format” button, make sure the text immediately above it also says “Find” and not “Replace.” If it says “Replace” you may need to click the “Find what” field again.

4. Next comes the tricky part. You may have multiple levels of indents in your document and will likely need to replace them one by one. In the section called "Indentation," begin by selecting "Special" and "First line." Then hit OK.
5. Next, click in the "Replace with" field. Then type the following: ^t^&        

1. The ^t stands for tab and the ^& basically tells the Word not to delete the text you have written in that line.  

6. After typing the above into the "Replace with" field, also click "Format" then "Paragraph." Make sure "Special" says "none" and the "Inside" indentation says 0".

1. Tip: This will make your document look more readable, though isn't an essential step.

7. You should then be able to hit "Replace" or "Replace All" and some of your indentations should change into tabs.
8. When finished, click the "Find what" field again and hit "Format" and "Paragraph."
9. This time, make sure "Special" is blank or says "none." Then set the "Inside" indentation to whatever your first indent is set to. Typically in the US this will be 0.5".
10. Click OK. The “Replace with” field should still be ^t^& and the indentations should be set to 0". Use the replace buttons to again replace the formatting with tabs.
11. You'll have to repeat the process for each indent you have. For example, if you have indented your text two "tabs" worth of space, but the tabs appear as indents of 1" instead of actual tabs, then you'll likely have to find inside indentations of 1" and replace them with ^t^t&. You will need to use two ^t's to indicate that you would like to replace the formatting with two tabs. Again, make sure that you also replace the formatting with an inside indentation of 0" and a special indentation of "none."
12. If you need to insert 3 tabs in place of an indent of 1.5" then replace this formatting with ^t^t^t^& and so on.  
13. If you need to repeat these steps for multiple documents, then you can record all the steps you took in what’s called a “macro” and run the macro in each subsequent document. For more information about macros, visit this link.

If these steps do not work for you, then you may be using a different version of Word, have indents set to something other than .5” increments, or may have a different problem altogether. You may need to contact a representative from Microsoft Word to help. Feel free to also reach out to a GuidedTrack representative.

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