Macro of the Month – April 2022 – PunctuationOff

Deletes the next punctuation mark to the right of the cursor

last updated: 12/11/2024

This month’s macro performs a small edit, but once multiplied across an entire document, the time savings adds up. I don’t know about you, but whenever I learn about a macro that sounds useful, if I don’t write it down, I will forget—the same goes for groceries, alas. This month’s reader-inspired tip helps you keep track of your macros and shortcuts. 

PunctuationOff

How many punctuation marks do you think you delete each day? (If I had a dollar for every time I’ve deleted a comma, I’d be rich, as we say in the US.) It’s not so much of a bother to delete a comma—or is it? Sure, we just move the cursor to the offending comma and select Delete or Backspace. But every time you are clicking and keyboarding to make a small edit, you are disrupting the flow of editing.

When you run PunctuationOff (with your keyboard shortcut), it jumps ahead to the next punctuation mark and deletes it. You don’t have to move your cursor, and you don’t have to reach for the Delete key. It covers the range of punctuation from commas and periods to brackets and slashes. You can also customize it to include additional marks or to ignore certain marks.

Using PunctuationOff may not make you rich, but it will keep your brain focused on what you’re editing, rather than on your mouse and keyboard, and take some of the pressure off your hands and wrists. 

Tip – Keeping track of your shortcuts and macros

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by all the macros that sound useful? There are so many! It can be difficult to keep track of both what we’ve already installed and those we want to try out when we have time. And then there are all those keyboard shortcuts!

How about a list? Macros mainly save us time when we have memorized our shortcuts, but when we are learning a new one, it’s helpful to have a reminder. And when I run across a useful-sounding macro, I make a quick note of its name and how I want to use it for when I can experiment; I’ll never remember otherwise.

You can download a template of the shortcuts and macros list I use. If they are useful, let me know. Feel free to modify it to suit your needs.

Hat tip to Clare Law, of Clare Law Editorial, for the inspiration for this tip.

Upcoming Training

There are only 12 seats left in the next Macro A to Z course. Over six weeks, students will try out many popular macros to streamline the repetitive and onerous aspects of projects. And there will be ample opportunity to get your questions answered and technical roadblocks solved, including three Zoom Q&As.

The course starts on July 18 through the Editorial Freelancers Association. Members of CIEP, IPEd, and Editors Canada are eligible for a discounted rate; check with your editing organization for details.


Do you have a macro tip for readers? Or a macro you think should be featured in the newsletter? Reply to this email and let me know.
 
Regards,
Jennifer