Screencast Episode 1: WordPress and MS Word
Jul 28th, 2007 by Michael
In this first installment of the WenderHost Screencast, I’m going to show you the proper way to cut and paste a Microsoft Word document into a WordPress post.
The Problem
Cutting and pasting a Word document directly into the WordPress visual editor can lead to some messy results. The problem lies in the fact that when you cut and paste, MS Word tries to preserve the styling information contained in the original document.
This is bad for a number of reasons; however, for the novice user, the most apparent problem lies in the fact that the styling information added by Word generally will not match the styling on your website.
The Solution
To get around this problem, I’m going to activate and use the advanced editing features that come hidden in the visual editor of WordPress versions 2.1 and later. Depending on the browser you are using, the following keyboard shortcut will activate the advanced editing buttons:
- Windows Firefox: Alt+Shift+V
- Windows Internet Explorer: Alt+V
- Mac OS X Firefox: Ctrl+V
Conclusion
If you have a question about this screencast, feel free to leave a comment or email me via my blog at wenderhost.com.
Also keep in mind that this demonstration is pretty basic. Should you encounter a scenario that requires another technique, send me a copy of your Word document, or post your own solution in the comments.
Thanks for watching the WenderHost Screencast!
The movie doesn’t work for me in Mac Safari 3.03 (beta). I have the current Flip4Mac plugin for windows media (as of a couple of weeks ago, anyway).
@Michael
Sorry about the display of the WMV file on your Mac. Currently, I don’t have a good process for converting my CamStudio screencasts from AVIs to QuickTimes.
If anyone has a good process for going from a CamStudio AVI to a Quicktime, feel free to drop me a line.
I tried using the advanced editor, but whenever I click “Save and Continue Editing” or “Save”, or even try formatting as a brand new document the WYSIWIG window doesn’t save my text and the content just disappears.
I am running WP 2.2.1 on IE6 and have been searching for a solution for a very a while now.
Any suggestions?
Matt, at the moment, I don’t have any suggestions other than switching to Firefox or upgrading to IE7 as I know that IE6 is buggy in cases like the one you mention. If anyone else knows of a work around for Matt, please comment.
I couldn’t get this movie to play either. Normally I can view .wmv files on my Mac with either Quicktime using Flip4Mac or Microsoft’s own Windows Media Player for the Mac. Not this time. Fired up Vista on a PC and tried to view the movie through that, but it didn’t play on that either.
Michael, you might want to choose another application to make your videos with, especially if some PCs can’t view the screencast.