SIGNTEXT Copying Sentences into Microsoft Word

[Valerie Sutton]

SignWriting List
February 20, 2006

Hello Everyone!
This is very encouraging, to see how many people are using the new  
SignText:

SignText
http://www.SignBank.org/signpuddle/index.html#SignTextEditor

Steve is now improving the design of the software, so there are good  
days to come...

In time (and I have no idea how hard this is to program), I hope we  
will be able to transport complete sentences with all the formatting  
into other programs like MircroSoft Word, by being able to export the  
entire sentence as one big graphic file...like a png of the entire  
sentence or document.

But until such a feature is available, you can create a screen  
capture of the sentence, and create the graphic yourself, in a paint  
or graphics program like Photoshop.

Once you have the whole sentence as a GIF or JPEG or PNG, you can  
then place the graphic in Microsoft Word or any other program.

So for now, you can drag and drop individual symbols or signs  
directly from SignText, but for sentences, you can use screen  
captures to capture the whole sentence...

Do you know how to create a screen capture on your computer, Erika?  
If not, I am happy to discuss that, so write again and tell us what  
operating system you are using, like Windows? or Mac?...

And do you know the term Drag and Drop? You told me that computers  
are new for you, so I understand completely and we are happy to  
help...so write with questions...

Val ;-)

------------------------



Adam Frost wrote:
> I have been doing it by copying the sign sentence in display or  
> link or email into Word. Although, using display may not be best as  
> it just copies the symbols and not the placeing. It may be a little  
> different for you as to how then for me because of browser,  
> computer platform etc., but I am sure it can be done. Adam
----------------


Steve Slevinski wrote:

> Hi Erika,
>
> Getting signs into Word is not straight forward, but it is  
> possible.  Once you understand what you need to do, moving signs  
> into word isn't that hard.
>
> There are 2 ways to get the signs into a word document.
>
> Drag and Drop
> ---------------
> After you have completed a document in the SignText editor, you can  
> go to the Link or Email screens.  These screens will have the signs  
> as single images, rather than overlapping symbols.  You can drag  
> individual signs from the browser window into word.
>
> Copy and Paste
> ----------------
> Copy and paste is the best option because it can take all of the  
> signs together, keep the lane information, and keep the signs  
> centered properly.
>
> However, copy and paste can be hit or miss.  You will need to  
> experiment to find what works for you.  You can try a Select All  
> and Copy from your email client or from the SignText Link page.   
> Neither of these worked for me properly.  From my email client I  
> only had the table and no signs.  From the Link page I had the  
> signs but without the table.
> I was able to find a solution that worked for me.  From my browser,  
> I opened the SignText link page.  Using Firefox, I used the menu  
> option File >> Save page as... to save a local copy to the  
> desktop.  I opened the local copy and used Select All and Copy.   
> When I pasted into Word, all of the graphics appeared in a table.   
> I reformatted the table to hide the border and was left with the  
> signs appearing correctly in Word.
>
> Go ahead and try to experiment to see what works for you.  You can  
> email me privately if you need some help with your particular setup.
>
> Regards,
> -Steve
> slevin at signpuddle.net

-------------------
>
> eghoffma at UMICH.EDU wrote:
>> Hello - I've been experimenting with the SignText editor and it's  
>> going very well so far. However, for my purposes it's important  
>> that I be able to move my SignWriting transcripts into a Word  
>> document in order to integrate them into the text of my  
>> dissertation. I am able to email them to myself and so forth, but  
>> have not been able to put the SSW text into a Word document. Is  
>> this possible?
>> Thank you!
>> All the best,
>> Erika Hoffmann