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Text Processing Guides & How-Tos

Tips, guides, and ideas around text tools and productivity.

Practical guides on working with text and data. Every article pairs with a free tool you can open in the next tab and use straight away.

What the blog covers

Four topics, each tied to a tool

  • Delimiters and file formats — what actually separates your data, and why CSV breaks when a value contains a comma. Pairs with the delimiter converter.
  • Cleaning messy lists — deduplicating, sorting and trimming exports before they reach a database. Pairs with list clean-up.
  • Counting text properly — why two programs disagree about the same paragraph, and which limit you are really up against. Pairs with the text counters.
  • Typing faster — what WPM measures, and what actually moves the number. Pairs with the typing test.

Where to start

If you are…Read aboutThen try
Fighting a broken CSVDelimiters and quotingDelimiter converter
Cleaning an exportDedupe and sort orderList clean-up
Hitting a length limitWhat counts as a wordText counters
Trying to type fasterWhat WPM really measuresTyping test

Frequently Asked Questions

How often do you publish new guides?

New guides are released on a rolling schedule. There are 40 published so far, with more added regularly.

Can I suggest a topic?

Yes. Use the feedback button in the sidebar; reader questions are where most of these guides come from.

Do the guides pair with tools?

Every article links to the free tool that does the job it describes, so you can try it in the next tab without signing up.