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markheart
markheart
Participant
September 5, 2018
Answered

Remove Oxford commas in InDesign

  • September 5, 2018
  • 3 replies
  • 1351 views

Hello,

I have a rather large document that was proofread before I began layout. The proofreader added in Oxford commas, however I am not finding out that the client specifically requested to omit them. Is there a way to remove all Oxford commas without removing other commas before the word "and".

I've considered a simple find and change:

FIND:

, and

CHANGE TO:

and

but with that it will change any instance of a comma followed by the word "and".

Does anyone know if InDesign has a way of identifying only Oxford commas and removing them?

This topic has been closed for replies.
Correct answer Peter Kahrel

No -- Find/change can't tell the difference between Oxford and no-Oxford ", and".

P.

3 replies

John Mensinger
Community Expert
John MensingerCommunity Expert
Community Expert
September 5, 2018

markheart  wrote

I am not finding out that the client specifically requested to omit them.

Then why are you endeavoring to do so?

Does anyone know if InDesign has a way of identifying only Oxford commas and removing them?

No, thankfully. If the matter was straightforward enough for that, their inclusion would likely not be in debate.

    winterm
    winterm
    Legend
    September 5, 2018

    John+Mensinger  wrote

    If the matter was straightforward enough for that, their inclusion would likely not be in debate.

    From Wikipedia:

    "There are people who embrace the Oxford comma, and people who don't, and I'll just say this: never get between these people when drink has been taken."

      John Mensinger
      Community Expert
      John MensingerCommunity Expert
      Community Expert
      September 5, 2018

      Hah! I suppose I'd be in the embrace camp. But really, that only means I use it; I would never tell someone else they must do as I do. The opponents I've encountered, however, (even one who was sober), insist it's structurally, aesthetically, and rhythmically incorrect, and are not quite as willing to be flexible about it.

      T
      Test Screen Name
      Legend
      September 5, 2018

      I think that's going to need another human to repair the damage. You can use a pattern to find the candidates to check. I think it's beyond the abilities of regular expressions or any software ever made to recognise that "bring me a waiter, plate, and dessert" probably uses the Oxford comma, while "bring me a plate, waiter, and dessert" probably does not.

      Peter Kahrel
      Community Expert
      Peter KahrelCommunity ExpertCorrect answer
      Community Expert
      September 5, 2018

      No -- Find/change can't tell the difference between Oxford and no-Oxford ", and".

      P.

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