OS Windows 10. I write in RTL Urdu and LTR English. The space between words is important. I can get rid of extra spaces, no problem. However, “finding” spaces where they shouldn’t be, or are missing, is difficult. To help me in editing, I prefer to show invisibles, expecially between words that use complex characters. Depending on the font chosen, the “dot” representing space when made visible, appears too faint. Is there any way to make this space dot larger or a different symbol or colour?
Hi, you can change the color here :
Another thing you could do is run Project Replace to use _ rather than spaces, and replace them back later on, either in the project, or through compile replacements.
(The downside, though, is that it messes up the spellcheck.)
3 Likes
Thank you very much! As a first action, changing invisible space dot colour to bright red helps a lot.
Urdu keyboard writes complex characters, deciding how to join and shape them AFTER a space is entered. It doesn’t seem to like underscore as a replacement for space.
2 Likes
https://jkorpela.fi/chars/spaces.html
Perhaps one of these is wider and still works ?
Thank you. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to use these characters in Scrivener. (I mean how to tell Scrivener I want these characters in place of Space)
Substitutions.
Options / Correction / Substitutions.
You design your substitution. Something like :
//space → this other symbol.
But to see if you have the same issue than with _ , you could simply test it by copy/paste. (I wouldn’t be surprised if it doesn’t work any better…)
But perhaps you could set a substitution to use an underscore + a space. The space being on the side it needs to be for the first letter of your word to be modified accordingly.
Later using auto-replace to remove those underscores, the space being the condition, if you used the underscore elsewhere and wish it to stay.
That should work.
1 Like
I have Scrivener for Windows. Currently invisible characters are visible and in red. Space appears as small red dot (Noto Nastaliq Urdu font)
I see File> Options > Corrections but no Substitutons. At the bottom there is Enable additional substitutions > Edit Substitutions…
I unchecked existing checked boxed. Then added under
Replace (typed once Space bar) With (copied and pasted ٭)
Interstingly, first Space press gives me a red dot, then black stars… I expected red stars!
Those stars inserted by substitution are symbols just as if you had typed them in yourself. Not invisible characters ; and therefor have no reason to be red.
Pick your symbol wisely. Keep in mind that you’ll later have to use auto-replace to remove them.
Don’t pick a symbol you may have used elsewhere for something else.
Ha Ha! Now how to replace empty Space (red dot) character with a symbol that is also red when Show Invisibles is On! That would be the challenge.
Is there a way to select all empty spaces (or replaced symbols thereof) then change their color to other that that of main text?
Yes! That is why I chose the star symbol which wasn’t used elsewhere.
Substitute space for two consecutive non-break spaces. That should work too, and they’ll be red.
You can even use three or four, if the gap ain’t big enough to your taste.
Insert / Break / Non-Breaking space
Then copy it, and paste it in your substitution. Voilà.
I am using a new project called Test. Safer that way.
You don’t want to go there. Lots of messing around for so little. (Unless you enjoy a good, strong, headache.)
Interesting behaviour… Finding and replacing single space with multiple spaces (can be removed later on) works. All red dots.
But Options > Corrections > Enable dditional substitutions > Edit Substitions… then replacing single space with multiple (say, four) spaces doesn’t quite work as I expected. In between words first Space bar press gives only one red dot, another (and subsequent) press gives four.
You shouldn’t use normal spaces. You could easily destroy it all by accident with ctrl+space.
(Use non-break spaces.)
Ctrl+space removes all double spaces in a document. (You don’t want that.)
The substitution waits for the next character that’s not part of the substitution source-condition as a confirmation to do the replacement. That’s why the first space doesn’t react.
This feature is very useful for me in Urdu. I use it frequently to tidy up multiple spaces that were inadvertently entered in between words.
All the more reason not to use standard spaces for what you are currently trying to do. 
1 Like