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General discussion

Word Processor Doesn't Catch This

Apr 12, 2011 2:39AM PDT

Hi,

Does anyone know of a word processor or other app that will catch a possibly misplaced comma in a list of terms? Example: "and," without the quotes, of course. I might want to correct it to "and", so I need a way to identify these occurences. I use Open Office 3.0.1. It will let me add the rule, but doesn't catch it when checking a doc. I also checked an old version of MS Word. In addition, I use grammar checking software, Grammatica, WhiteSmoke and CorrectGrammar, and none of these catch it. At this point, fixing this has become a minor obsession Happy, so I hope someone can help. My OS is windows XP Pro SP 3 on an HP NC6000 laptop.

Best regards,

Jaina

Discussion is locked

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My thought on this.
Apr 12, 2011 3:13AM PDT

If the titles are not finding errors, there should be a bug reporting system for the app or author.

Let's try to find one. I'll use this as an example so you can check if the others have a bug report system.

1. http://www.grammatica.eu/en/Home/Contacts looks to be where you begin with a contact to them.

2. Whitesmoke may be MALWARE or Spyware? More at http://www.mywot.com/en/scorecard/whitesmoke.com

3. Correct Grammer appears to be from a defunct company. There may never be an update or fix.

This leaves with item 1 to work the contact and to decide if Whitesmoke is worthy of having any presence on your machine.
Bob

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(NT) Hi, Bob:
Apr 13, 2011 1:20AM PDT
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Thanks, Bob
Apr 13, 2011 1:26AM PDT

Hi, Bob

I've already contacted Grammatica, and I can't add a rule to it. CorrectGrammar is so old that there's no contact info for it. WhiteSmoke isn't malware, it is a legitimate grammar checker that I've had on my computer for a couple of years. So I will try to contact them, but their support isn't very good. I posted here b/c I was wondering if anyone used a word processing app that I was unaware of that did catch this situation. Thanks so much for your help.

Thanks again,

Jaina

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I'm not convinced about Whitesmoke.
Apr 13, 2011 2:29AM PDT
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My own grammar
Apr 12, 2011 3:38AM PDT

has become a real concern in recent years and I don't see it getting any better. I also fear for proper grammar in the future generally with the arrival of social networking, texting, and so on.

That said I am a little mystified by your example and would appreciate an explanation. May be I will find 'something else' that I am doing wrong, Sad

Your example, in a list of terms, (if I strip out the quotes), was and,

You said you want to correct it to and ,

All I see is a space after the d and before the comma

What am I missing?

I can understand this becoming an obsession, (albeit minor), and perhaps for your own satisfaction you could create a macro, written in VBA, that you could use to check your own documents. It would mean some work and if you don't know VBA, some new learning on your behalf, but obsessions are like this, they drive us to do these things.

Mark

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How much ruder could you be?
Apr 13, 2011 1:50AM PDT

IF YOU READ THE ORIGINAL POST CAREFULLY (WHICH YOU DIDN'T), YOU WOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD WHAT I WAS ASKING ABOUT. BUT INSTEAD YOU CHOSE TO POST A RUDE AND INSULTING RESPONSE.

WHAT I WROTE IN MY POST WAS:

Example: "and," without the quotes, of course. I might want to correct it to "and"

CAN YOU EVEN REMOTELY UNDERSTAND THIS? I WANT TO CORRECT "and," TO "and" -- PUT ANOTHER WAY -- IF I TYPE "and," (WITHOUT THE QUOTATIOM MARKS, BUT WITH THE COMMA), I NEED A WAY TO IDENTIFY THESE OCCURENCES AND SO I CAN CORRECT THEM TO "and". THIS IS A LEGITMATE POINT OF ENGLISH GRAMMAR, ALTHOUGH DIFFERING OPINIONS DO EXIST.

FYI, MARK, I HOLD 2 DEGREES IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE. I AM A FREELANCE WRITER, NOT A VBA PROGRAMMER, SO YOUR SUGGESTED SOLUTION ABOUT LEARNING VBA AND WRITING A MACRO IS COMPLETELY UNSUITABLE FOR ME.

YOUR POST WAS VERY INSULTING. I AM NOT OBSESSED. I SIMPLY WANT TO CATCH POTENTIAL ERRRORS IN MY WORK BEFORE I SEND IT OFF TO MY CLIENTS. I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DO FOR A LIVING, BUT IF I WAS YOUR BOSS OR SUPERVISOR, I WOULD HAVE SERIOUS DOUBTS ABOUT YOUR ABILITY TO DO QUALITY WORK, GIVEN YOUR ATTITUDE. I GUESS IF SOMEBODY CRITICIZED YOUR WORK, YOU WOULD THINK THEY WERE OBSESSED. DO TAKE A LOOK AT BOB'S POST -- YOU MIGHT LEARN SOMETHING.

JAINA

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Response.
Apr 13, 2011 6:25AM PDT

If my post appeared rude then I apologise.

However, your own first post confused me. I make no apologies for that, and I sought clarification.

In your first post, you said;

Example: "and," without the quotes, of course. I might want to correct it to "and", so I need a way to identify these occurrences.

(My spell checker tells me occurrences was spelt incorrectly. I corrected it).

I did not know whether the comma after the "and" was relevant. It appeared in that text as if there was a space between the d and the comma.

Thank you for putting me right.

In your own post you said fixing this has become a minor obsession Happy and I was simply 'making talk'.

I regret my post has upset you quite so much for what is a minor issue. I will leave well alone and wish you luck in your research.

Mark