I often cut online recipes and paste to a Pages doc, where I reformat. When I try to format a long list of ingredients and want to change it from one column to two, I highlight the list. When I click to change it to two columns, very often the entire doc changes to two columns. Where can I eliminate that behavior and to isolate the list?
MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 12.0
Hi Charlie,
I typed the web link in your screen shot into my browser address bar: https://www.kitchenaid.co.uk/recipes/balsamic-vinegar-glazed-baby-pork-shank-with-caramelized-challots
I selected from the beginning of INGREDIENTS to the end of STEP 10. Here is a screen shot of part of what I selected:
I copied and then pasted into Pages.
Ingredients are centre aligned.
There are some tab characters.
With Menu > View > Show Invisibles, there are many "soft" returns (shift return)
Often, the formatting on a web page is not "Pages-like".
WalnutCharlie wrote:
There is some kind of background formatting I can't eliminate. Is there a way I can eliminate ALL formatting and start from scratch to format it my own way?
Yes, but you will need to do some editing!
Align the text to the left.
Remove the bullets and the tabs.
Replace the soft returns with "hard" returns (regular paragraph marks):
Find & Replace (command F) Find \i Replace With \n
Let us know if that improves the ability to create two columns in parts of the recipe.
Regards,
Ian.
Hi Charlie,
I typed the web link in your screen shot into my browser address bar: https://www.kitchenaid.co.uk/recipes/balsamic-vinegar-glazed-baby-pork-shank-with-caramelized-challots
I selected from the beginning of INGREDIENTS to the end of STEP 10. Here is a screen shot of part of what I selected:
I copied and then pasted into Pages.
Ingredients are centre aligned.
There are some tab characters.
With Menu > View > Show Invisibles, there are many "soft" returns (shift return)
Often, the formatting on a web page is not "Pages-like".
WalnutCharlie wrote:
There is some kind of background formatting I can't eliminate. Is there a way I can eliminate ALL formatting and start from scratch to format it my own way?
Yes, but you will need to do some editing!
Align the text to the left.
Remove the bullets and the tabs.
Replace the soft returns with "hard" returns (regular paragraph marks):
Find & Replace (command F) Find \i Replace With \n
Let us know if that improves the ability to create two columns in parts of the recipe.
Regards,
Ian.
Hi Charlie,
Select the list. Format Panel > Layout > Columns 2
Pages will insert the column breaks above and below the selected text.
Regards,
Ian.
Hi Charlie,
Try inserting a column break in place of the paragraph break after 'balsamic vinegar' in each of the ingredients lists.
I'm assuming you have both lists set to a layout of two columns already, and the rest of the page set to 1 column.
An alternative could be to place two 2 column Tables on the page to contain the two ingredients lists. Set the table cells to show "No borders" between cells for a cleaner look.
Regards,
Barry
Thanks Barry, but what you suggested doesn't work.
In picture #1, I have the doc set to one column. I highlight the ingredients list, getting ready to change ONLY the ingredients to two columns.
In picture #2, I have the doc set to two columns. Instead of changing ONLY the ingredients to two columns, it has now changed the the entire doc into two columns.
I do this editing all the time--I've downloaded and reformatted hundreds of recipes. Most of the time the list and doc behave as I want them to. But then I get a bunch that don't, like this one.
I tried both column break and paragraph break. I tried adding each break just after the word 'Ingredients', and after 'cane sugar'. Both commands: column break and paragraph, did the same thing. Each popped the ingredient list to the next page. I ended up with a full page blank space between Ingredients and the list, and between 'cane sugar' and what follows it.
There is some kind of background formatting I can't eliminate. Is there a way I can eliminate ALL formatting and start from scratch to format it my own way?
Thank you,
Charlie
In Pages, a regular return starts a new paragraph.
A 'soft return' (shift-return) pushes the text following down to the next line, but not into a new paragraph.
How that difference is affecting the layout in your document, I don't know.
Regards,
Barry
Thanks Ian. I understand because I use that all the time. But what do I do when this happens?
Thanks. I already do everything you show here, except for replacing soft returns with hard returns.
I'll try that and let you know.
Thank you,
Charlie
Hi Ian,
Ding ding ding! The Find and Replace works perfectly.
Just so I know the "why", can you tell me the difference between the two types of return marks?
Thank you,
Charlie
How to remove column formatting from a cut and pasted article?
