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I'm working with a long document in the form of a Q&A. Questions are bolded, answers are not. I'd like to un-bold bolded text. I'd also like to insert an open bracket ([) at the beginning of each stand-alone chunk of formerly bolded text.

If I'm correctly understanding how PowerFind works, I need to do a search-and-replace using the AnyWord wild card [A-Z a-z] with the style Bold applied to it. I'll then need to replace it using the same AnyWord wild card *without* the style Bold applied to it. Am I right in thinking this will un-bold all bolded text? And is it possible during the same operation to insert an open bracket at the beginning of each stand-alone section of (formerly) bolded text?

Thank you!

Sounds like you generally understand what needs to be done. Some corrections and tips:

1. In the "replace with" field you will not use the "AnyText" PowerFind bubble, but instead use the "Found" bubble: That will replace the matched text with itself (plus the additional bracket).

2. Make sure both the "attribute sensitive" and "replace attributes" options are checkmarked.

3. To enforce "not bold" you will need to select your replacement text (the "Found" bubble) and first apply bold to turn bold on, and then apply bold again to turn bold off. This is because the default state for the replacement is neutral towards bold, ie: no changes to the matched bold.

Because of complications like this, I usually recommend avoiding formatting text by using the replace feature. Most often it's easier to do a Find All and then use formatting menus/palettes on all selected matches at once. However, in your situation that won't be possible, because you'd like to insert a bracket character too.

Please let us know if you have any troubles or additional questions.

Thank you! This worked perfectly.

natepenn wrote:Thank you! This worked perfectly.

The Find/Replace capabilities of Nisus Writer are truly great