How to list proper nouns from a Word document
pommeabricot
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Grégory -
Grégory -
Hello,
I'm very troubled because I have a Word document of over 300 pages (it's a book written in Word), and I'm looking for a way to extract all the proper names and list them with their corresponding page number in the text. For example:
- Paul Huthson: p. 3
- Auguste Le Plêt: p. 45
...
For now, I'm doing everything by reading page by page, but it's a nightmare. Is there a way in Word to do this automatically or another solution?
Thank you very much in advance for any answers.
I'm very troubled because I have a Word document of over 300 pages (it's a book written in Word), and I'm looking for a way to extract all the proper names and list them with their corresponding page number in the text. For example:
- Paul Huthson: p. 3
- Auguste Le Plêt: p. 45
...
For now, I'm doing everything by reading page by page, but it's a nightmare. Is there a way in Word to do this automatically or another solution?
Thank you very much in advance for any answers.
4 answers
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Hello,
No, Rachid's method is not good.
A table of contents only recognizes paragraph styles. Here, it would require a character style for proper nouns, and these styles would therefore not be retrievable by a TOC.
If we apply a paragraph style, the entire paragraph will end up in the TOC!
We need to assign an index entry to all these proper nouns to retrieve the list later.
There's no magic to it: either we do it as we go (personally, I don't like it for various reasons), or we go back to the document at the end.
If we go back to the document at the end, there are several solutions:
- either it's done purely manually, but it's still quick: Alt+Shift + X (only once to bring up the dialogue box)
We double-click on the word and hit OK for each word or group of words.
Or using a list of proper nouns that we can enter in a separate document in case we know them, and in that case, we create an indexing file.
Both solutions are explained here:
https://faqword.com/index.php/word-tutoriels/toutes-versions/90-majeur-non-index-.html
A third solution involves a macro.
I have a very elaborate one here:
https://faqword.com/index.php/faq/vba-solutions/725-utiliser-une-userform-pour-les-entrees-dindex.html
It uses a Userform to identify proper nouns.
We can also create a simpler one that inserts the index entry with a click of a button or a keyboard shortcut.
m@rina
- "On the office forum, we ask questions about office automation..."
- "Really???" -
You can create a style for proper nouns in the document, so that they stand out from other words.
After that, create a Table of Contents (insert >>> reference >>> table and index).
Attention! Make a copy of your document to avoid any problems.
Good luck! -
Hello pommeabricot.
You can imagine that Word can't differentiate between a geographical name (country, region, city...), a person's name, and a word placed at the beginning of a sentence that also starts with an uppercase letter!
So, it's too late to attempt an automatic search that discriminates between proper nouns and words at the beginning of a sentence.
The suggestion from rachid_04 is interesting, but it requires you to reread your entire document, which you seemed to want to avoid.
When you tackle the second volume of your book, you will proceed differently, either by applying the method of rachid_04, or by inserting an index for each proper noun, but in both cases as you type ...
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Retirement is nice! Especially in the Caribbean... :-)
☻ Raymond ♂ -
which version of Word?
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Retirement is nice! Especially in the Antilles... :-)
☻ Raymond ♂
