How do I reorder while preserving each para(graph)'s wholeness? Home > Sort disorders them.
3 Answers
You may use the procedure below.
Starting document contains:
1. Convert every three paragraphs to one paragraph
Position to the beginning of the document and type Ctrl+H for Replace.
In the dialog, check "Use wildcards" and set:
Find what: (*)^13(*)^13(*)^13
Replace with: \1#\2#\3^13
Explanation:
^13
: end-of-paragraph
(*)
: any string, marked as a group
#
: a random strange character that does not occur in the text
\n
: group number n
Pressing Replace All gives the following result:
2. Sort the lines by the most suitable sort order
This gives:
3. Break up the lines
Position to the beginning of the document and type Ctrl+H for Replace.
In the dialog, check "Use wildcards" and set:
Find what: (*)#(*)#(*)^13
Replace with: \1^13\2^13\3^13
Pressing Replace All gives the following result:
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Thanks! Apologies for the delay. I forgot to remind myself in Outlook of this bounty!– user269574Jul 27, 2019 at 2:06
You are using a table, but have placed all the data in a single row, separated in 3 columms, so the each word isnt "connected" to the next one in the same columm. If you want to avoid having borders between the data, you can disable these in the design tab, and then separate the data in different rows created from the layout tab
That should allow you to then order the data correctly
EDIT: Extra note, when sorting, dont forget to mark the "My List: Has header rows" option just above the Options button, or the headers will also get sorted and probably end up somewhere random in your table
I think SHIFT+ENTER
is what you're looking for. Please check out the sample images below.
I've taken the content from Juanjo's answer for testing.
Initial Paragraph: before sorting
The Enter symbol in the above image indicates that the next line is in the same paragraph
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Thanks. Can you please clarify how you sorted? To what did you apply SHIFT+ENTER?– user269574Jul 27, 2019 at 2:06
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Hitting Enter directly will create a new paragraph, so the first letter you enter after hitting enter will be considered for sorting. But the text you enter after Shift-Enter won't be considered as a new paragraph. That's how you can trick Word how to sort.– GangulaJul 27, 2019 at 8:01
hard line end
? I'm a tech novice. I just meant 2 to mark the start of a sentence, according to which I want the paras ordered properly by MS Word.