WordPress and Word a conflicting situation
Todays question
I have a few questions with differences in format between Internet Explorer and FireFox (logos in IE are partly covered by the sidebar, while in FireFox they are not). Also font options when I cut and paste from Word are automatically converted to the same font and size in the actual blog. This just started to happen a couple of weeks ago.
Two problems here but both have to do with Microsoft. The IE problem first.
Different browsers parse css differently. Until there is unanimity between browsers this will be an ongoing problem with some themes. Some style sheets add special code for IE that alleviates the problem but your theme obviously is not one of them. You can try contacting the theme author and see if they can add it or just change themes. There are thousands to choose from.
Copying your posts from Word always creates problems. When you copy you are also copying all of the formatting too. This causes the defaults in your style sheet to be overwritten.
Personally, I prefer to write my posts on Blog Desk which is a free desktop software that allows me to post directly from the desktop instead of writing them first in Word.
If you are going to use Word then you need to take an extra step. Copy your posts to a notepad text file first then copy from there to your dashboard. This will remove all the extra formatting that you picked up when copying from Word.
As always your questions and comments are welcomed.
Mike Paetzold
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12 comments
Steve Helwig on June 6, 2009 at 9:42 am
Mike this is valuable information and answers a lot of question I learned somethings that will really help me on my blogs. Keep up the good work.
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Jon Hansen on June 6, 2009 at 10:35 am
Thank you so much for your answer. Both this venue and your show on Blog Talk Radio are invaluable resources.
Jon Hansen
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Lonnie Minton on June 6, 2009 at 11:06 am
Mike good information here. I had trouble with my blog showing up correctly in IE until I switched to my current theme. Didn’t know the reason until now. Thanks for the info on this. Blog Desk looks interesting. I currently use Note Tab to edit my posts.
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Captain Affiliate on June 6, 2009 at 11:25 am
Great post, Mike – with one quick correction – the css issue is a Firefox issue, not an MS issue. CSS was developed when IE was the browser of choice for 98% of Internet users, while FF is a ‘new kid on the block’. While the former has used CSS properly for years, I was disappointed that a great browser like FF was released without meeting the CSS standards current at it’s release.
One other caveat – while pasting from Word to notepad removes MOST formatting, special characters like the ‘curly quotes’, three-dot extensions and the M-dash remain – a major problem for article submissions too. Better to author posts in notepad or the Blog Desk program you suggest.
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Luca
Twitter: rsonline
on June 6, 2009 at 11:52 am
Hey Mike,
Thanks for the info. I had a situation early on that made IE7 display a post incorrectly as I had copied it from Word.
Is it possible to save the word fite as .rtf instead of .doc or does that also create problems.
Thanks again
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Joel Osborne
Twitter: JoelOsborne
on June 6, 2009 at 6:13 pm
I often come across similar issues, and it’s frustrating. I like using FF, but since most people use IE, I have to be careful to make sure the information/web site looks good in both browsers.
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Brett McEllhiney on June 6, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Great points Mike,
I always try to run my posts through notepad first, or just write them straight in the WordPress editor.
Are their any issues that you are aware of just writing the posts in the WordPress editor?
Thanks for the great tips as always!
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Earl Netwal
Twitter: EarlNetwal
on June 7, 2009 at 11:18 am
You have mentioned Blog Desk before. Besides being a way to avoid code errors, why else do you use it?
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Fred Lotgering on June 7, 2009 at 2:53 pm
I seem to have more problems lately copying and pasting into blogs as well as in aweber and getresponse. Each program seems to handle the formating slightly different.
All work around’s just takes more of your time away…
Fred
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Ray on June 7, 2009 at 4:02 pm
Hi Mike,
Can you clarify whether its possible to copy existing Word articles into Blog Desk then edit/add pics etc, then upload without any problems?
Thanks
Ray
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Mike Reply:
June 7th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Blog Desk uses a wysiwyg so you will have the same trouble. You need to lose the formating before adding them.
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David Aston on June 16, 2009 at 11:22 am
Hi Mike,
I have a problem maybe you can help me. I have ebay partner network running on my site on the home page.
It is not appearing when I log onto the site.I have asked people to check it for me and it does appear on other people’s computers but not mine.
I also have a differnt page that is working correctly with ebay listings. I also tried using firefox and it does work with firefox(just the wrong size).
In reading your blog you mention that using Word to post content to my site may effect the css. I beleive I did use Word to post to my site.
I have a drop of technical experience. Can you give me some advice. Thanks in advance for your assistance.
David Aston´s last blog ..FitnessBuilding Does Not Cause Boomer Sports Injuries
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