Title: WordPress mangles my formatting Last modified: August 18, 2016 --- # WordPress mangles my formatting * [devo](https://wordpress.org/support/users/devo/) * (@devo) * [19 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-mangles-my-formatting/) * When I copy articles I have written in Word into WordPress blog, two things happen. 1. the process seems to eliminate the gaps between paragraphs, and no matter how many carriage returns I subsequently insert between the paras once the text is loaded, I can’t get the paragraphs to separate. Correction: sometimes it works, mostly it doesn’t, without any apparent rhyme or reason. 2. footnotes in the original document are also mangled. the numbers usually disappear from the text, but in any event the links to the references no longer work. Help??! Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total) * [Glenn Ansley](https://wordpress.org/support/users/blepoxp/) * (@blepoxp) * [19 years, 1 month ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-mangles-my-formatting/#post-542987) * Microsoft places a bunch of proprietary and useless tags in the html (click on code to view that). * Best thing to do is copy it (or write it) into a text editor and then paste/format into WP. * [Will](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wjnielsen/) * (@wjnielsen) * [18 years, 9 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-mangles-my-formatting/#post-543413) * While Microsoft does place a lot of html that doesn’t validate into the code it is identifiable and can be removed. For example, Dreamweaver does a good job of pulling out all MS Word code. Most of my clients don’t have Dreamweaver (or the budgets for it). * Alternately, an actual but partial solution solution within the WordPress Plugins world that I have found (it does not handle footnotes from Word) is [Plain Text Paste](http://www.ndsinternet.com/blog/archives/2006/08/wordpress-plain-text-paste-plugin). * If any one has solutions that will help retain footnotes please let me know. Presently, we use the web preview view in Word, copy and paste into _Plain Text Paste_. The link structure comes through absolute and links back to a directory in the wp-content/plugins/ directory. * Any concrete constructive ideas are welcome. * [schizostroller](https://wordpress.org/support/users/schizostroller/) * (@schizostroller) * [18 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-mangles-my-formatting/#post-543430) * Hi, I have had a similar problem with footnotes: when i copy and paste from Word, all the text after the first footnote becomes one giant footnote (that is it highlights and upon clicking the entire remainder of the text goes to footnotes at end). * I have tried using the Notepad method (the only other text editor I have), but that leaves out all the footnotes. * Any other ideas welcome here too. * [moshu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/moshu/) * (@moshu) * [18 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-mangles-my-formatting/#post-543431) * You can not copy text with Word footnotes. * Copy the plain text and create WP footnotes with a plugin. * [schizostroller](https://wordpress.org/support/users/schizostroller/) * (@schizostroller) * [18 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-mangles-my-formatting/#post-543432) * Thanks for reply. * Pity, as there’s no way i’m rewriting it, it’s 60 pages long, 150+ footnotes, it would take nigh on half a day! It’s not that important. * [andreswp](https://wordpress.org/support/users/andreswp/) * (@andreswp) * [18 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-mangles-my-formatting/#post-543434) * Referring to Devo’s original posting, and without addressing the footnote issue, I am finding similar problems with my posting. The paragraph breaks disappear. Sometimes new paragraph breaks are created that did not exist. * While Blepoxp’s point about MS Word adding formating of its own can be the source of many problems, this one does not seem to be due to MSWord. When I edit directly in the code view window, the extra code is not there. Results do not improve even after editing in the code window. * Adding `
` or `< /br>` did not help the formating of text in the post. * Any other ideas as to why this happens and how to remedy the situation? * [moshu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/moshu/) * (@moshu) * [18 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-mangles-my-formatting/#post-543435) * It has been posted zillion times: the wysiwyg thing is NOT for typing code. Period. It is for posting… for code illiterate users. And when switching between code/ visual – **the WYSYWYG gizmo is always on.** * Turn it off, if you want WP to preserve your manually typed in code. * [andreswp](https://wordpress.org/support/users/andreswp/) * (@andreswp) * [18 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-mangles-my-formatting/#post-543436) * Thank you for your answer. If this information has been posted a zillion times and I did not find it, then: * 1) There are a bizillion other non-contributory answers and it is hard to find the pertinent one. Thank you for helping me find it. 2) I may be stupid. Even after reading through the O’Reilly book, I do not know this. My saving grace may be that this topic had not been closed. So it could be presumed that the final solution was still not available. 3) The search engine finds many “format” answers that are not responsive to my concern. 4) There is hyperbola somewhere. * At the risk of infuriating someone else, I will try the more ineffective way of trial and error to see how to turn off the wysiwyg “gizmo.” It is my hope that you and everyone else could have a happier holiday season. * Thanks again. * [moshu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/moshu/) * (@moshu) * [18 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-mangles-my-formatting/#post-543437) * admin > Users > Your profile Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total) The topic ‘WordPress mangles my formatting’ is closed to new replies. ## Tags * [format](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/format/) * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/) * 9 replies * 6 participants * Last reply from: [moshu](https://wordpress.org/support/users/moshu/) * Last activity: [18 years, 4 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/wordpress-mangles-my-formatting/#post-543437) * Status: not resolved ## Topics ### Topics with no replies ### Non-support topics ### Resolved topics ### Unresolved topics ### All topics