4 indispensable text manipulation tools for convergent marketing!
If you are a convergent marketer, or are familiar with the things convergent marketers go through, you know that convergence marketing requires a ton of text manipulation.
How many times have you received text from a client that needs to be transferred to another format, like flash or HTML Email, but it is in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint, or it comes from some other source that is filled with all kinds of weird formatting and markup?
It happens to me on every job, no matter how I request the copy be formatted or how files should be named. Well, I have found some killer resources to deal with these everyday problems in the life of digital marketing professionals. And best of all, they are free! You can download or access them right now, free of charge!
Without further ado…
4 indispensable text tools for convergent marketing
1) Plain text application, on Windows Notepad or on the Macintosh Simpletext:
I work mostly on my PC (That’s right, I prefer the PC! :-)) but I get source copy in every conceivable format. I ALWAYS have a notepad window open for stripping out formatting. All you have to do is copy the source text and paste it into notepad and all formatting is gone. Then you can cut or copy the text out of notepad and use it for whatever you need to without worring about left over formatting.
For example, I grab text from Microsoft Word, paste it into notepad as described above, recopy it and paste it into Wordpress without worry of stray or nutty characters or left-over formatting that will haunt me later.
Here is an exercise for you: Try copy formatted text from a Microsoft Word document and pasting it into a Wordpress text editor in viual view, and then try it with notepad text. Observe the difference!
How do you find Notepad? On Windows XP, go to your start button –> Programs –> Accessories –> Notepad. Do yourself a favor and create a shortcut to it someplace you can access in one click so you can access it 200 times a day like I do!
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2) File Renaming: 1-4a rename, the best damn file renamer ever, and it is free!
First let me give you the link: http://www.1-4a.com/rename/
Have you ever gotten a bunch of files, let’s say a set of images from your client, only to find that there is no naming convention? There are spaces in the name (NOOOO!) inconsistent capitalization, unrecommended characters ^* etc.?
It doesn’t matter if you advise them on how to name their files until you are blue in the face. You will get messed up file names!
1-4a rename to the rescue of convergent marketers everywhere! I have used a ton of file renamers, and they are all difficult to use, and the user interfaces suck! Except for 1-4a rename. It is so easy. And if you need super-powerful renaming capabilities, it has an expert mode you can toggle on and off. It is the bomb! It saves my ass twice a month.
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3) Character manipulation: http://textop.us/
Again, you can advise your clients until you have laryngitis, they will always suppkly you with your copy wrong. You need lower case? You get uppercase. You need title case? You get nothing that resembles title case.
Text Opus to the rescue of the field of convergent marketing! This site is filled with text manipulation tools. It will capitalize, de-capitalize, randomize, just about every type of -ize you may need. Just go check it out…
This site was created by programmer Tomasz Klekot, and he saves my bacon at least once a week. Thanks Tomasz!
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4)Find characters that are not evident on your keyboard: Windows Character Map!
Never again hunt for the way to copy or create a copyright, registered, to trademark symbol! With the windows character map, every character available for a given font is easily accessible, copyable and transferable to your destination!
Simply launch the character map application, choose your font of choice, and scroll through the available characters. Once you find your desired character, select it, copy it, and use it my fellow digital marketing pro!
How do you find Windows Character Map? On Windows XP, go to your start button –> Programs –> Accessories –> system tools –> Character Map. Once you find it, do yuorself a favor and create a easy-access shortcut to the character map.
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I hope these resources have made your life easier!
Kenneth Fisher
