





































       V38 N2 / 2023 

©2023 American Medical Writers Association. All rights reserved.  
ISSN 2163-5315

AMWAJournal.org     27

It’s highly unfortunate, but for a large majority of people, 
their writing and editing software is basically a typewriter: 
most shortcuts, symbols, or things like automatic find and 
replace, for example, don’t exist. This is where Effective 
Onscreen Editing stands out: it will make you aware of the 
software editing tools you have available at your disposal. It 
will teach you how to use them to the best of your abilities to 
make your work more accurate and efficient. There is a lot of 
content, so even if you know some about the workings of the 
software, you are bound to learn some very good tips.  
Mr Hart has decades of experience as an editor and was  
willing to share them in his book.
 The text is not organized around Microsoft Word but 
around editing functions within a word processing program. 
Therefore, the book should be useful to those using other 
programs as well. However, Word is still the most often used 
program for editing, so you will see the most about it. Take a 
look at what is covered: A detailed table of contents is avail-
able at http://geoff-hart.com/books/eoe/detailed-TOC.
html. Perhaps you will need a boost from your search engine 
to verify how to properly set a function up in an alternative 
software, but the practices introduced within the book are 
extremely effective regardless because they introduce the 
general principles and how to use them. The book also takes 
into account Mac users and points out differences in proto-
cols if necessary. The book covers Word 2016, so anyone who 
orders it will also receive for free a copy of Hart’s more recent 
book Write Faster with Your Word Processor, which contains 
updated information on changes in Word 2019. It also has a 
website to add updates to the content.
 The portions of this book I found most valuable were those 
that deal with tailoring your word processing program to suit 
your preferences when displaying documents, strategies for 
maneuvering quickly through a document, how to select text 
quickly and accurately, track changes, how to use styles and 
templates, using AutoCorrect to fill in text, leveraging find 
and replace tools, discussion of macros, and style sheets. 
Additionally, Hart gives good advice on adding explanatory 
comments to a document to communicate with the author. 
Although learning how to use these tools properly can take a 
long time, it can lead to greater accuracy and efficiency in the 
long term, which is critical in medical writing and editing.
 The book also provides other advice not directly related 
to word processing software. The author discusses import-

ant issues such as document 
access, contracts, and pay rates. 
He also provides advice on work-
ing in teams and equipment that 
promotes healthy ergonomics. Details on editing graphics, 
video, and multimedia files—mediums that are becoming 
increasingly common—are also discussed. The book is a  
very useful colossus, including its appendix of shortcuts.
 As a bonus, Mr Hart cares about keeping the book 
updated as word processing functions change, and he pro-
vides links to the book’s webpage. The book has a website 
that includes images and further information and can be  
regularly updated. You have access to these new explana-
tions if you own the book. Previous editions of Effective 
Onscreen Editing are available to users of earlier versions of 
the Microsoft Word program.
 Further, the book is reasonably priced and is substan-
tially discounted for groups, students, and members of pro-
fessional organizations (http://geoff-hart.com/books/eoe/
onscreen-book.htm#buy). The book is available in print, 
EPUB, and PDF formats. A digital version would be recom-
mended so that the links in the text, as well as the clickable 
index and table of contents, can be easily used. A com-
pressed version of the webpages for the book, with links to all 
the images and procedures, can also be downloaded so that 
you can work offline if you’re travelling.
 The book has made an impact and is now on its fourth  
edition. The European Medical Writers Association gave 
the prior edition a very good review, with the review author 
saying, “This might just be the most useful book I have ever 
reviewed. Anyone who does any kind of editing work or who 
wishes to use Word more efficiently should strongly consider 
buying it.” It’s true that it takes a lot of time and effort to read 
the book and apply its precepts, but there are many good  
ideas worth incorporating into your work. It’s easy to open the 
book to learn how to deal with a particular issue and save time 
with a solution. The savings in time and the increase in accu-
racy should be considerable, so I highly recommend the book 
as well. 

Author declaration and disclosures: The author notes no  
commercial associations that may pose a conflict of interest in 
relation to this article.

Author contact: alba_cid@verizon.net

Alba I. Cid, MSc / Quincy, MA

Effective Onscreen Editing: New Tools for an Old Profession (4th ed.)

TOPICAL FEATURE

http://www.amwajournal.org
http://geoff-hart.com/books/eoe/detailed-TOC.html
http://geoff-hart.com/books/eoe/detailed-TOC.html
http://geoff-hart.com/books/eoe/onscreen-book.htm#buy
http://geoff-hart.com/books/eoe/onscreen-book.htm#buy



