Beware the 'find and replace' facility!

Kaz

Kaz

Hi guys,

Just wondering if anyone has had any funny experiences while using the find and replace facility on your pc?

My latest 'funny' was when I changed a character's name from Jean to Brenda (nothing personal against anyone called Jean out there). The program said it had made something like 45 replacements.

All was well until I got to reading the section where my lead male was happily striding out in his new black brendas!

Anyone with similar tales to tell?

Luv Kaz

SilentTony

I think that only happens if you chose Replace All. Otherwise you can run through the document and chose each highlighted word to replace or find next.

Betsie

That's right ST - you can refine it further and stipulate whether it obeys upper and lower case and also if it ignores letters within other words (as given in the example).

dorothyd

I had this once, I actually wrote a letter for WN on the subject, replacing something with Samantha and didn't differentiate all the other 'sam's ... it was chaotic!

starpanda

This did make me laugh...thanks so much for posting it.  My biggest gaff was my own fault i couldn't even blame technology.  I like to write long hand then type it up, but on occasions I type straight into the draft, but i have discovered that my fingers have a life of their own and type whatever it is I am thinking.  In the middle of a difficult section (in a work report of all things)I had written '...need to go for a pee...' - luckily I spotted it before it got emailed out to the world!

Amanda

hey, i like the sound of those black brendas! 

Smaug

Hmmm - flotsamantha and jetsamantha - yep that about sums me up!!!

Stan2

I laughed at your posting starpanda.

Jay Mandal

If your computer/software is the same as mine, you should find something which says 'More' followed by 'Match Case'. Use this. It stops things such as characters' names from messing up ordinary words like probably, problem and wardrobe (Rob) when you change them.

Our old computer did it automatically, but I was caught out by our new one, and sent off The Dandelion Clock to my editor with some very odd words in it. Then there was the time I changed a character's name from Richard to Stephen. Fine, until I came across Stephen Of York Gave Battle In Vain.