Remove Oxford commas in InDesign

[markheart]

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?

[Peter Kahrel · Accepted solution]

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

P.

[Test Screen Name]

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.

[John Mensinger]

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]

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]

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.

[Scott Falkner]

https://forums.adobe.com/people/John+Mensinger  wrote

markheart   wrote

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

Then why are you endeavoring to do so?

Probably means “now” instead of “not”.