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mixed smart and straight quotes

Anonymous
2018-03-19T10:33:24+00:00

I've written a 57,000 word novel.  Quotation marks, both single and double, were the smart kind.  This morning a very large proportion of them, perhaps about half, have changed to straight quotes.

Actually if anything I think I prefer them straight.  It doesn't matter all that much which kind they are, provided they're all the same.  How can I achieve that, without retyping the whole darn document?

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  1. Suzanne S Barnhill 277.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2018-03-19T14:40:36+00:00

    The procedure is the same whether you want them straight or curly:

    1. Go to File | Options | Proofing.
    2. Click the AutoCorrect Options... button.
    3. In the AutoCorrect dialog, select the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
    4. On that tab, make sure that the box for "Straight quotes" with "smart quotes" is checked if you want the curly ones or clear if you want the straight ones.
    5. Click OK to close the AutoCorrect dialog and again to close the Options dialog.
    6. Back in the document, press Ctrl+H to open the Replace dialog.
    7. Type ' or " in both the "Find what" and "Replace with" boxes and click Replace All. Conveniently, this will find all the single or double quotation marks, straight or curly, and replace them. If you have AutoFormat As You Type set to replace straight quotes with smart quotes, the AutoFormat will happen immediately after the replace. If you don't have it enabled, then all the marks will be replaced with the straight ones.

    If you decide to go for the curly ones as a standard, then there is another method that is a little more trouble to set up but easier in the long run.

    1. Go to File | Options | Quick Access Toolbar.
    2. Select Commands not in the Ribbon.
    3. Scroll down to AutoFormat Now, select it, and click Add>> to add it to the QAT.
    4. Now select the Proofing tab of File | Options and click the AutoCorrect Options... button.
    5. In the AutoCorrect dialog, select the AutoFormat tab.
    6. Make sure the smart quotes option is enabled, along with any others you find useful (most of the Replace options in the center section are worthwhile, but I would avoid the Apply options at the top).
    7. Click OK to close the AutoCorrect dialog and again to close theOptions dialog.
    8. When you have straight quotes in a document that you want to change to curly, instead of having to use the Replace dialog, just select the text and click the AutoFormat Now button. The quotation marks will be corrected, along with any other replacements you enabled.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-03-19T15:00:36+00:00

    Thanks.  I think it's going to have to be straight quotes, whether I like it or not, so it's fortunate that I do.  Just hope the publisher does as well.  Words like 'tis and 'alf will go wrong with smart ones, and I don't think I've got time to go through the whole novel correcting them.

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  3. Suzanne S Barnhill 277.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2018-03-19T23:21:37+00:00

    Yes, those initial apostrophes are always a problem. When you're typing, you can insert them with Ctrl+',', but Word's Replace/AutoFormat processes aren't smart enough to know when you want them.

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