Dear all:

I am currently working on a rather large document that I need to
format a certain specific way. The document includes nearly 57,000
lines of plain text that need to be indented according to a simple
rule so that it can then be imported into an application as a tab-
delimited file.

My system is a Mac G5 running the latest version of Leopard (not Snow
Leopard) which is 10.5.8 and I have Microsoft Office 2004 installed
(haven't upgraded to 2008 and will probably wait until next version to
upgrade).

Below is an example of the type of file I now have:

Body Regions;A01
Abdomen;A01.047
Abdominal Cavity;A01.047.025
Peritoneum;A01.047.025.600
Douglas' Pouch;A01.047.025.600.225
Mesentery;A01.047.025.600.451
Mesocolon;A01.047.025.600.451.535
Omentum;A01.047.025.600.573
Peritoneal Cavity;A01.047.025.600.678
Peritoneal Stomata;A01.047.025.600.700
Retroperitoneal Space;A01.047.025.750
Abdominal Wall;A01.047.050
Groin;A01.047.365
Inguinal Canal;A01.047.412
Umbilicus;A01.047.849
Back;A01.176
Lumbosacral Region;A01.176.519
Sacrococcygeal Region;A01.176.780
Breast;A01.236
Mammary Glands, Human;A01.236.249

This is just a small portion of the file I am working with. This is a
"flat" text file but what I need is a "hierarchical" or "tree
structure" file where each of these lines is indented with a number
of
"tab keystrokes" corresponding to its level as depicted by the
alphanumeric code following the term. Example:

Body Regions;A01
Abdomen;A01.047
Abdominal Cavity;A01.047.025
Peritoneum;A01.047.025.600
Douglas' Pouch;A01.047.025.600.225
Mesentery;A01.047.025.600.451
Mesocolon;A01.047.025.600.451.535
Omentum;A01.047.025.600.573
Peritoneal Cavity;A01.047.025.600.678
Peritoneal Stomata;A01.047.025.600.700
Retroperitoneal Space;A01.047.025.750
Abdominal Wall;A01.047.050
Groin;A01.047.365
Inguinal Canal;A01.047.412
Umbilicus;A01.047.849
Back;A01.176
Lumbosacral Region;A01.176.519
Sacrococcygeal Region;A01.176.780
Breast;A01.236
Mammary Glands, Human;A01.236.249

As you will notice each line has been indented using the tab key a
number of times corresponding to the size of the alphanumeric code.
Lines with an alphanumeric code containing only 3 characters stay on
the left most position (no tabs). Example:
Body Regions;A01

Lines with an alphanumeric code containing 7 characters (example:
A01.047) are indented with one single tab keystroke. Example:
Abdomen;A01.047

Lines with an alphanumeric code containing 11 characters (example:
A01.047.025) are indented with two tab keystrokes. Example:
Abdominal Cavity;A01.047.025

Lines with an alphanumeric code containing 15 characters (example:
A01.047.025.600) are indented with three tab keystrokes. Example:
Peritoneum;A01.047.025.600

And so on, and so forth.

Once this step is finished and the file has been edited from a flat
text to one with a hierarchical or tree structure using tab entries
(to derive a tab-delimited file) the second part of the project
involves the removal of certain characters and replacement with
others. Basically I need the format to go from the existing:

Abdominal Cavity;A01.047.025

Where the term is followed by a semicolon and alphanumeric code.

To the following:

Abdominal Cavity [A01.047.025]

Where a space is added after the term, the semicolon is removed and
brackets are placed at the beginning and end of the alphanumeric
code.

Considering the size of my document as I stated (little less than
57,000 entries) I would like to find a way to automate the process.

How can these two processes be accomplished with the use of a macro ?

I have never worked with macros before and any help would be extremely
valuable and appreciated. I have both Excel 04 and Word 04 as part of
the Office 2004 package in case the information is relevant. I am not
sure which of the applications would be better suited for this task
but am open to your suggestions.

Also I would appreciate suggestions on textbooks that would cover VBA
for Excel and Word. I would like to find books that would cover
everything from A to Z but with an approach that makes it easy for a
beginner to understand and work with VBA on Microsoft Office for the
Mac. Any
recommendations will be appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your help.


JRC