Question: I'm editing a document with many headings and sub-headings, only some of which have been taken up in the automatically created Table of Contents. How do I apply or remove the formatting that determines whether or not a heading is included in the automatic...
Bibliography or reference list – What is the difference?
Reference list A reference list is a list of the books and other items referred to in a scholarly work, typically printed as an appendix. It can be in alphabetical or numerical order, and should give the author, title, date and source of the referenced items in enough...
Lists of tables and figures – How do I exclude the label and number?
To omit the label and number from a List of Tables or Figures in Microsoft Word, go to References > Table of Figures. The Tables and Figures dialog box pops up. Untick ‘Include label and number’ at bottom left in the dialog box, as shown below: Published on: Oct...
Track Changes – How do I make them anonymous?
Sometimes you need to remove your name from Track Changes after you have already made corrections. Go to Review > Compare > Compare. Browse for the original document and the revised document. Select the name you want to ‘Label the changes with’ (eg Editor, as...
Emojis/emoticons – How do I insert them?
You can insert an emoji into emails and computer text by pressing the Windows key + a period (dot/full stop) and then selecting it from the popup panel. Published on:Â Oct 11, 2024 at 08:54 32 words
Fractions – How can I make them look consistent?
Use a Unicode fraction generator tool Mike Leisegang very kindly shared this discovery with the PEGforum group as follows. I was challenged this morning to insert fractions into a thesis I am editing. The line looked like this, which was rather ugly: …radial symmetry...
PerfectIt – How do MAC users get the PEG discount?
Perfect 6 now accommodates Mac users better PerfectIt Cloud has significant improvements, including: Improved reliability when working with larger documents. Updated styles to ensure you’re always working with the latest editorial standards. Fresh branding and design...
JPG or PNG – When do I use them?
PNG is better for images like logos because you can have transparent areas on PNG images. They are also slightly better if you are going to compress an image for online use, as they hold their quality and sharpness better. JPGs are a better choice for photos and...
Language, UK or US – How to set it permanently
The following information originated in a PEGforum thread called Driven mad by Word, which started on Thursday 30 May 2024 at 10:51:09, more or less like this: Q: Hello PEG Word Wizards, I’m editing a book that needs to be in UK English but it keeps reverting to US...
Formatting before editing 3: Figure and table captions
(The instructions are intended as guidelines and apply to Microsoft® Word for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2403 Build 16.0.17425.20124 64-bit) for Windows 11. Details may differ slightly for other versions.) In my first blog post, I shared my 14-step formatting...
(Power)Toys for Editors
Professional editors are, by definition, Microsoft Word power users because we spend 90% of our time wrangling texts into submission in this specific word-processing software. But did you know that Microsoft has another free collection of utilities, apps, tools, toys...
Tools you need to be a copy editor
When a friend was retrenched and asked me what you need to set yourself up as a freelance proofreader or editor, I mentally went through the tools I use and gave her a rundown. It occurred to me that the list might be useful to others. So here it is: A desk of your...
ChatGPT for editors – friend or foe?*
We have all met the development of ChatGPT with a mixture of interest, awe, distrust and mild hysteria. What an incredible feat that a group of software engineers have created generative artificial intelligence (AI) that can mine information in the digital public...
PerfectIt – What is it and why should editors use it?
PerfectIt is a customisable software program offered by Intelligent Editing to check many kinds of consistency: spelling, abbreviations, quotation marks, capitalisation... Since the application of consistency is at the core of all editing, it is an essential tool for...
Computer software – Which version of Microsoft Office should I buy?
If you have a very old laptop, with an old operating system and drivers you haven't updated in forever, don't bother with Office 2021: your laptop won’t be able to handle it. If you have a newer laptop, then 2021 will probably be the last version you can own outright...
Computer hardware – What does an editor need?
You need at least: an I5 processor (I7 if your budget can swing it), 16 to 32 GB of RAM, and a 500 GB SSD hard drive (but bigger is better). I usually order a custom laptop as I like a 17-inch screen and those are rare to come by off the shelf with the specs I need....