How do I make my Paratext project data consistent?

Question

For a new project:

To avoid problems caused by having project data with a mix of composed and decomposed characters, when you create a new project in Paratext 8.0 (and later), there is a “Normalization” drop-down on the Advanced tab of the Project Properties and Settings tab.

The default Normalization is Composed (NFC). This means that when Paratext saves the project, it will convert all project data to composed characters.
If you prefer to have Paratext convert all project data to decomposed characters when it saves the project, select Decomposed (NFD) when you create the project.

If you prefer to allow Paratext to store the project data as a mix of Composed and Decomposed characters, select None when you create the project.
We do NOT recommend that you select None unless the orthography of the project language uses diacritics in a non-standard way and the order in which the diacritics occur is important.

For an existing project:

If your project has data with a mix of composed and decomposed characters (likely due to using different keyboard layouts), do the following to force all the data to be consistent.

1. Click in the window of the project, to make it the active window.
2. From the Tools menu, point to Advanced and select Convert Project....
3. In the "New Project short name" box, enter a unique short name.
4. Select one of the following in the Normalization drop-down list.
   • Composed (NFC) (for data to be saved as composed characters).
   • Decomposed (NFD) (for data to be saved as decomposed characters).
5. Click Convert.
   Paratext creates a new project in which all data will be saved in the normalization option you chose.
   If you want the new project to replace the project with a mix of composed and decomposed characters, follow the instructions in [How do I permanently delete a shared project for all project users?](http://support.paratext.org/t/how-do-i-permanently-delete-a-shared-project-for-all-project-users/558) Once the project with the mix of composed and decomposed characters is permanently deleted for all team members, have them Send/Receive and use the new project.

If you prefer to allow Paratext to store the project data as a mix of Composed and Decomposed characters, select None when you convert the project.
We do NOT recommend that you select None unless the orthography of the project language uses diacritics in a non-standard way and the order in which the diacritics occur is important.

See also:

• Introduction to project conversion