How To Fix Formatting Issues

If you’re seeing question marks (?) in place of curly apostrophes (’) or quotation marks (“ ”), here’s how to clean them up.

In the Auction Details

If the field is editable using the "Edit" button (usually when the auction has not been published yet):

Click the "Edit" button and manually retype the apostrophes or quotation marks instead of copy-pasting them.

If you’re working with a large amount of text, use this Unicode converter:

1. Paste your text into the first box
2. Click Convert
3. Copy the cleaned-up text from the bottom box and paste it back into your listing

If the field is not editable (usually after your sale has already been published):

Email the formatting corrections to our Support team at support@liveauctioneers.com, and we’ll handle it for you!

In the Lots

For one-off fixes:

From the All Items page in your seller dashboard, and click on the affected lot, then on "Edit Item":

Once you are in the editing page, manually retype the correct characters and save your changes.

For updates across multiple lots:

Send a spreadsheet with the needed changes to support@liveauctioneers.com and we’ll handle the batch conversion and catalog updates for you.

Tips to prevent future issues from Microsoft Word or Excel

Disabling Smart Quotes in Word:

If you use Word to draft Descriptions, Auction Details, Terms and Conditions, etc., we recommend turning off “Smart Quotes” so you can copy-and-paste without formatting errors. To disable Smart Quotes in Word:

1. Click on the "File" tab in the top left corner, then select "Options" at the bottom of the left sidebar.
2. In the Options dialog box, click on "Proofing".
3. Click the "AutoCorrect Options..." button.
4. Go to the "AutoFormat As You Type" tab and uncheck the box that says "Straight quotes" with "smart quotes".
5. Click "OK" to close the AutoCorrect and Word Options dialog boxes.
6. To verify, type a straight quote (" or ') in your document. It should remain a straight quote and not be converted to a curly quote.

 

Note: These changes only apply to new documents or newly typed information.

 

 

Replacing Curly Quotes in Word or Excel:

To fix existing curly quotes, use the Find and Replace tool:

• How to Find and Replace text in Microsoft Word
• How to Find and Replace text in Microsoft Excel

In the Find field, paste the curly version (like “ ” or ’)

In the Replace field, manually type the straight version (" or ')

Click on the "Replace All" button to process the updates for each character.