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Diamond with question mark symbol in it in copy pasted text from webpages

Anonymous
2023-12-02T15:44:39+00:00

I have this occur often on multiple computers. I generate text on a different program or form a webpage such as ChatGPT and then I try to copy and paste it into Word. I end up with a large number of diamond with question marks in them inserted into the text. They occur even if I specify copy with formatting or use any of the copy special options. Here is an example screenshot showing the original text as it appeared in ChatGPT and how it appeared when copied into Word:

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. John Korchok 231.4K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2023-12-02T18:17:20+00:00

    EngineTyme: don't post unless you have verified the information. I have removed your incorrect information about an Encoding choice in Paste Options, as there is no such choice.

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  2. Anonymous
    2023-12-02T16:29:54+00:00

    Hello Paul,

    My name is EngineTyme, an Independent Advisor and a Microsoft user like you and I would be glad to help you.

    I understand that when you copy from different program or form a webpage such as ChatGPT and try to paste into Word. You get large number of diamonds with question marks in them inserted into the text which means the text is encoded.

    To resolve this issue, you can try the following steps:

    1. Use Paste Special: Use the "Paste Special" option in Word. Go to the Home tab and click on the arrow next to the "Paste" button. Select "Paste Special". In the Paste Special dialog box, select "Plain Text" under "Paste" and click "OK". This will remove any formatting from the copied text and hopefully eliminate the diamond with question marks.
    2. Copy and Paste into Notepad: Copy the text from the webpage or ChatGPT and paste it into a plain text editor like Notepad. Then, copy the text from Notepad and paste it into Word. This can sometimes help resolve encoding issues.
    3. Convert Text Encoding: If the text is encoded in a specific format, you may need to convert it to a different format before pasting it into Word. There are online tools available that can help you convert text encoding. Please let me know if you have any questions or concern.

    Best regards, EngineTyme.

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