Family Historian User Group

At present it is not my intention to use the new Integrated Word Processing, but somehow I think I have managed to get some:
e.g. in my Gedcom file: I can only imagine this happened when I double clicked a note and edited in the "note window" and did not have my current settings of Automatic Font and default size, as with those settings I do not seem to have created any more <xyz> formatting style content.

So, how do I remove the results of "Integrated Word Processing"?

[1] Is there a way to remove all "Integrated Word Processing" formatting?
[2] I have tried reediting, deleting the note content, and reapplying. But it stays there.
[3] I could edit the Gedcom file, not something I like to do, or use Mike's Search and replace plugin.
[4] Is there a way to switch off the "Integrated Word Processing", or is Automatic Font and default size expected to do that.

I did note that using the built in FH Find and replace, it did not find the formatting like <xxx>, but Mike's Search and Replace Plugin did.

To see the 'raw' rich text, Press-and-hold both the Ctrl and Alt key and then double-click on a Rich Text field in the Property Box. Take note of the “Rich Text” tick box in the bottom left-hand corner, which tells you if it's rich text or not.

If you untick 'Rich Text' you will lose the formatting but (unfortunately) keep the formatting codes, which you will have to remove manually or using the Search and Replace plugin.

As soon as you open the Note editing window with the rich text Word Processing toolbar across the top you are likely to enable that formatted Note style even if you don't use any of the toolbar options. I don't think there is a global way of disabling the rich text feature.

I think the best workaround is to open the Note editing window, select all the text (using Ctr+A), then right-click and choose Cut followed by right-click Paste Unformatted Text. That is similar to Helen's suggestion but also removes all the formatting codes. If you then use Ctrl + Alt + double-click the Rich Text box is not ticked.

Why don't you want to use rich text Word Processing?

It was the most widely requested Wish List feature and allows much more faithful transcripts with neat tables, plus direct links to associated records or websites, etc. The Export Gedcom File plugin converts them to simpler formats or plain text as required by the target product.

My experience is that if all the text options are set to automatic, and no other rich text features are enabled, the note stays as plain text. For Jim's example, selecting the offending text and setting the colour back to Automatic should also remove the formatting codes from the GEDCOM (I tried a similar example, and it does).

What I do find is that sometimes the Rich Text Window spontaneously selects Segoe UI as the default font. The behaviour does appear rather odd. With the text cursor anywhere in the window, but with no text selected, the font is shown as Segoe UI. If I select all the text with <ctrl>a, the font selection shows Automatic. If I then click on the font window to definitely change it to Automatic, it still displays as Automatic, but changes to the installation default of Tahoma.

I don't have enough information to determine whether there is a pattern to when this occurs or it is purely random. My assumption is that Segoe UI is a Visual Studio default that is sometimes overriding the FH default, but that's only a guess. It's easy enough to search in the GEDCOM for when this occurs, and set the font back to automatic in the Rich Text Editor. If I do that, all the formatting codes disappear as well.

Helen, thanks for the confirmations and hints.

Mark, funny you should mention Segoe UI, I noticed an unusual font in a similar fashion (might be Segoe UI, but I can't get it to repeat now) and just thought I might have selected it in the past and it had got stuck somehow!

Mike, again thanks for the hints.

So for multiple deletions it looks like either Search and Replace plugin or perhaps Notepad++. Once setup either should be simple.

"Why don't you want to use rich text Word Processing?"

I do have 1 site where I can quickly directly import the FH "raw" Gedcom file and to have the <xxx> dotted throughout would make it less readable, but I do appreciate that the Export Gedcom File plugin could fix that, just another step.

I can see that for some it is very important. But for me, for the present, it is the raw data that matters, and as long as I can display it intelligibly I am happy. I also have a lot of unformatted data that will take a long time to format, time I would rather spend accumulating more data. I suppose I could use it from now.

I would also have to consider how the formatted text would look after the <xxx> was taken out or displayed in other products. I have done some experiments and tables for census would be the obvious area for me to start with. So perhaps later.

It looks like there are a few places the Export plugin will send rich text to already, so a bonus for those that use those sites/ products.