Underlining in Word

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Hi

Is there a way via macro or wildcards to have Word 2019 automatically underline certain sections of a document?

I am typing an interview in a different app which will be pasted into Word on completion. I then need to underline all the speakers and the timestamps.

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In order for the Find and Replace to Find different phrases there must be a way for for it to distinguish those phrases.
For an example:
If you the have the speaker’s comments with the timestamp in quotation marks (which Word will make open and close quotation marks such as:

John said: “I am more than willing to do that. 2/3/23 9:52:12 AM”
and
Paul said: “That will make us very happy. 2/3/23 9:59:10 AM”

You can use Find and Replace to underline all text between the quotation marks and remove the quotation marks.

Here’s how:
In the document press Ctrl + H to open Find & Replace window. Make sure to click the Replace tab. If the window is not expanded click the More button to expand it. Also make sure the Use wildcards box is checked.
In the Find what: box enter (^0147)(<*>)(^0148) These codes are for the open and close quotes Word uses. If straight quotes are used then different codes are needed. This finds any characters between the open and close quotation marks.
In the Replace with: box enter \2
Use the cursor to highlight this \2. With the \2 highlighted click the Format dropdown list (at the bottom) and select Font… This will open the Find Font box (it is also the Replace Font box).
In the Find Font box; 1)Click the Font color dropdown list and select a color you want this replaced text to be in even if it is the same color you use for other text in the document (a color must be chosen to even see the replaced text), 2)Click the Underline style dropdown list and select a line style (line thickness) you want (a underline style must be chosen for any underlining to be made), 3) Click the Underline color and select a color for the underline (a color must be chosen). If you made the choices you will see the \2 underlined in the preview box at the bottom. Click OK to accept your settings and close the Find Font box.
You can now Replace all to underline all quotes in the document.
Be sure to start your Find and Replace at the first of the document.

Please ask if you need further instructions or screen shots on how to do this.

HTH, Dana:))

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TechTango

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Upon rereading your post I see that you will be pasting from another app into Word. Using Find and Replace will require someway to recognize the quoted text; however, if you control the pasting, then a very simple macro will work for you.

You can use the normal copy and paste for all the other text, but when you get to the quoted text/timestamp copy it by itself and use the macro to paste. The macro will paste the text underlined and will use the Font/color/size already set in the document you are pasting into.

The attached PDF are detailed instructions on how to create this macro and add it to your Quick Access Toolbar for one click pasting.

This macro may work better for you.

Create-a-Macro-That-Underlines-Pasted-Text-in-Word

HTH, Dana:))

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