Anyway to strip text styles?

[mpmsdan]

As usual, I'm hoping this vast knowledge base can help me out. Here's my deal: We have reports cards in FM. Many teachers type their comments at home and then cut/paste into the FM report card. Trouble is, it retains the formatting (font, size, etc) of the word processor they created it in. We need the report card to be in a specific size and font, though. I've tried locking the field, merging the field into a text box formatted with our text formatting, but I can' seem to strip away the old text styles. Is the only option to go in and manaully select all, then change the text style? Please say it ain't so....

[tallboy755]

Try putting it into a text form ... Its kinda hard to explain ... say you have 2 fireld "Name" and "Grade" ..

Create a new layout and use your text tool and type

Name <name>

Grade <grade>

the < and the > with the exact field name in between. That will insert the info in that field into the text you typed.

At that point you can select the whole text and change it for that layout ... It will not change it in the actual field ... but is helps for that layout

Hope that helps

[SteveB]

Create a calculation whose type is text and set it equal to the field that the teacher enters...the formatting won't get copied. Display the calculated field on the layout formatted however you want.

[Vaughan]

A scripted "Set Field [field, =field]" will overwrite the foirmatted data with the exact same unformatted data.

[jasonwood]

sweeeeet!

Thanks Vaughan, I always thought you had to copy and then paste without style!

[Vaughan]

When I was a kid there used to be an English-dubbed Japanese 1960s B+W TV program I used to watch (forget the name). Cool samurai sworded, star-knife throwing dudes driving around in black Toyota sedans fighting the "Black Flags" who could jump up and disappear into walls. Often at the end the goodies would have to discharge a single bullet to beat the baddies, and the leader of the goodies would always say: "Remember, the gun is your last resort."

Well, that's how I feel about cut & paste and repeating fields. Lots of better ways to do things most of the time, but sometimes c&p and repeating fields are the best solution.