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Quotation marks are arrows

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tomcf...@suddenlink.net

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Sep 25, 2008, 12:35:12 PM9/25/08
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I'm on my MacBook Pro, using OS X 10.4.11 - Office 04. I'm revising a
document that has lots of quotation marks in it. Suddenly it stopped
typing curly quotes and started typing little double arrow-like
things... pointing left for the opening quote and right for the close
quote. Looking at tools/autocorrect/autoformat as you type, I've got
checked "Straight quotes" with "Smart quotes." What the hey?

tom

Daiya Mitchell

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Sep 27, 2008, 4:09:27 PM9/27/08
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Like these? « »

Word thinks you are typing French and is adding the proper French
quotation marks for you. Select your text, go to Tools | Language, and
tell Word what language you are using by selecting the proper lang
there, and then the AutoCorrect smart quotes feature will behave properly.

MC

unread,
Sep 27, 2008, 5:22:56 PM9/27/08
to
In article <emcqyzNI...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>,
Daiya Mitchell <daiya...@mvps.org.INVALID> wrote:

> Like these? « »
>
> Word thinks you are typing French and is adding the proper French
> quotation marks for you. Select your text, go to Tools | Language, and
> tell Word what language you are using by selecting the proper lang
> there, and then the AutoCorrect smart quotes feature will behave properly.

I REALLY wish Word wouldn't automatically do this in French.

I write English texts for a French client. They open my files in Word on
a PC and use Track Changes. As often as not they come back to me with
the language changed to French, and not only do I get the French
quotation marks, the spell check doesn't work until I change back to
English.

I think this is more of a bug than a feature, and it should be an OPTION
not a default.

--

If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course,
on where you stop your story.
- Orson Welles

John McGhie

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Sep 28, 2008, 8:00:29 AM9/28/08
to
I agree with you. I am trying very hard to get it changed.

If you haven't already, please assist my campaign by using Help>Send
Feedback to request the change.

I am currently in Darwin on my way to Redmond to speak to the Word design
team directly, and this is one of the "suggestions" I will be making.
Several of us are making the trip: but I am the only one flying via Darwin
:-)

Cheers


On 28/09/08 6:52 AM, in article
copespaz-94DD2A...@news.motzarella.org, "MC"
<cope...@mapca.inter.net> wrote:

> In article <emcqyzNI...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>,
> Daiya Mitchell <daiya...@mvps.org.INVALID> wrote:
>
>> Like these? « »
>>
>> Word thinks you are typing French and is adding the proper French
>> quotation marks for you. Select your text, go to Tools | Language, and
>> tell Word what language you are using by selecting the proper lang
>> there, and then the AutoCorrect smart quotes feature will behave properly.
>
> I REALLY wish Word wouldn't automatically do this in French.
>
> I write English texts for a French client. They open my files in Word on
> a PC and use Track Changes. As often as not they come back to me with
> the language changed to French, and not only do I get the French
> quotation marks, the spell check doesn't work until I change back to
> English.
>
> I think this is more of a bug than a feature, and it should be an OPTION
> not a default.

--

Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Nhulunbuy, NT, Australia. mailto:jo...@mcghie.name

MC

unread,
Sep 28, 2008, 8:07:46 AM9/28/08
to
In article <C505A7F5.19832%jo...@mcghie.name>,
John McGhie <jo...@mcghie.name> wrote:

> I agree with you. I am trying very hard to get it changed.
>
> If you haven't already, please assist my campaign by using Help>Send
> Feedback to request the change.
>
> I am currently in Darwin on my way to Redmond to speak to the Word design
> team directly, and this is one of the "suggestions" I will be making.
> Several of us are making the trip: but I am the only one flying via Darwin
> :-)
>
> Cheers

The other thing it does is insert a space before certain punctuation
marks such as colons. Correct in French, but impossible to get rid of
unless you change the language to English.

John McGhie

unread,
Sep 28, 2008, 9:42:59 PM9/28/08
to
Ta...

If you have time, drop me a copy of the full list before Tuesday. I will
use it to effect maximal embarrassment :-)

Cheers


On 28/09/08 9:37 PM, in article
copespaz-524B36...@news.motzarella.org, "MC"
<cope...@mapca.inter.net> wrote:

> In article <C505A7F5.19832%jo...@mcghie.name>,
> John McGhie <jo...@mcghie.name> wrote:
>
>> I agree with you. I am trying very hard to get it changed.
>>
>> If you haven't already, please assist my campaign by using Help>Send
>> Feedback to request the change.
>>
>> I am currently in Darwin on my way to Redmond to speak to the Word design
>> team directly, and this is one of the "suggestions" I will be making.
>> Several of us are making the trip: but I am the only one flying via Darwin
>> :-)
>>
>> Cheers
>
> The other thing it does is insert a space before certain punctuation
> marks such as colons. Correct in French, but impossible to get rid of
> unless you change the language to English.

--

Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

MC

unread,
Sep 28, 2008, 10:26:00 PM9/28/08
to
In article <C50668BB.1988C%jo...@mcghie.name>,
John McGhie <jo...@mcghie.name> wrote:

> Ta...
>
> If you have time, drop me a copy of the full list before Tuesday. I will
> use it to effect maximal embarrassment :-)
>
> Cheers
>

That's odd. I Could have sworn it did it for exclamation marks and
question marks -- which would be correct in French -- but it doesn't.

Looks like it's only the colon, and the spacing associated with the
French quotation marks.

Daiya Mitchell

unread,
Oct 1, 2008, 4:28:14 PM10/1/08
to
MC wrote:
> In article <emcqyzNI...@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>,
> Daiya Mitchell <daiya...@mvps.org.INVALID> wrote:
>
>
>> Like these? « »

>>
>> Word thinks you are typing French and is adding the proper French
>> quotation marks for you. Select your text, go to Tools | Language, and
>> tell Word what language you are using by selecting the proper lang
>> there, and then the AutoCorrect smart quotes feature will behave properly.
>>
>
> I REALLY wish Word wouldn't automatically do this in French.
>

I believe that if you have the cursor in French text and go to Tools |
AutoCorrect, you might be able to turn it off for French while keeping
it on for English. Not tested it, but the dialog title changes, so
there might be different preferences for each language.

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