Copying text

users
#1

I want to enter text here [xxx] and have it copy that text

[here]

[here]

and [here].

How can I do that?

Example:

Dear Mr. & Mrs. [NAME]

Our study of the [NAME] dynasty is complete. The [NAME] family has a history going back to the ancient Greeks, where Carlos [NAME] first...blah blah blah.

Thank you in advance.

#2

You can e.g. create & insert a variable called "User Field":

1) Write your text
2) Place Cursor at the desired first occurence of the variable.
3) Insert > Fields > Other > Tab "Variables"
4) Select Type "User Field", Format "Text", Name "MyName" (or similar,
some reserved names like "Name" are not allowed), Value "[EDIT ME]"
5) Click "Insert" button (or arrow) but don't close the Field Dialog.
6) Move the cursor to the next occurence of the variable
7) Double click on the variable in the "Selection" pane to insert a new
instance

Repeat #6 - 7 until you are done.

Save the document.

To change the variable's content (= its value) you can double click any
one of the instances and edit the Value field in the Field Dialog.

If you don't see any, you can play with the toggles in
View > Field Shadings or View > Field Names.

HTH
Nino

#3

Thank you but copy & paste is not what I was looking for.

#4

Thank you for the detailed explanation. Steps 6 & 7 were essentially what I was missing. I don't know why I never thought to insert the same field in multiple places. I was too focused on trying to use a reference/cross-reference to it and that just wasn't working.

The below (and all the other beneficial tidbits provided by all the kind users here) should be documented in the help files, because finding them in the archives when you need them is quite a bear.

#5

Hi :slight_smile:
There are many ways. You can even mix&match. My usual favourite is
to select the text with the mouse;
(single click at the start or end and then keeping my finger down on
the left mouse button drag the mouse arrow until all the text is
selected and then release the mouse button)

Then push down and hold the Ctrl key with my little finger. While i'm
holding that down i press the "c" key with my middle finger.
Ctrl c
This naturally positions my index finger to hover just above the "v".
Without moving the rest of my hand i ease up on the middle finger but
leave my little finger pressing down on the Ctrl key.

Then i use the mouse to move to the 1st target area and when i get
there push down sharply with my index finger and release my index
finger quickly so that it's hovering again. Briefly the combination
was;
Ctrl v
"bombs away" right? Then move swiftly to the 2nd target are and tap
the v key again with my little finger not having moved off the Ctrl
key the whole time. Repeating the same move over and over until the
text i had initially selected has landed in all the right places.

Ctrl c = copy and oddly c stands for copy, right?
Ctrl v = paste and the v looks a bit like a down arrow

Another interesting one is

Ctrl x = cut and the x looks a little like a pair of scissors

If it goes horribly wrong then

Ctrl z = undo

Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

#6

Hi :slight_smile:
Everyone gets all the emails to this list so in 1 email you can
respond to multiple people at the same time. It feels unnatural and
most people don't think of it but it can be done, in theory. I often
deal with 1 email at a time and then when i read another email later
on wished that i had read them all first before responding. It's
kinda the nature of emails though. We are all on different timelines
so we have to forgive each other a bit or it gets messy.

My answer was at the end of a long day and we had a leek in the
kitchen that i had to check we had stabilised before i was able to go
home.

I sometimes wonder why we don't get such basic questions on this list.
They can be fun :slight_smile:
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile: