Replace Smart Quotes
Convert smart quotes to straight quotes and vice versa
What Is the Replace Smart Quotes Tool?
The Replace Smart Quotes tool converts curly quotation marks (the kind word processors insert automatically) into straight quotes, or goes the other direction and converts straight quotes into smart ones, depending on what you need. Paste your text in, click the button, and every quotation mark in the block is updated at once. It is used most by developers who need straight ASCII quotes for code, and by writers or editors who want typographically correct curly quotes in their finished copy.
Smart quotes and straight quotes look similar at a glance but they are different characters entirely, and mixing them in the wrong context causes real problems. Code that contains curly quotes breaks. Published text with straight quotes looks a bit blunt, depending on the style guide. This tool handles the conversion either way.
How to Use This Tool
- Paste or type your text into the input box above.
- The tool is set to convert smart (curly) quotes to straight quotes when you run it. If the direction of conversion can be chosen, select the option that matches what you need.
- Click Replace Smart Quotes and every quotation mark in your text is converted in one pass.
- Copy the result using the Copy button, or select and copy manually. Use Clear to reset the input.
When Would You Use This?
Cleaning up text copied from a Word document, Google Docs, or any word processor that automatically converts straight quotes to curly ones before pasting it into a code editor, terminal, or config file where curly quotes will break things.
Fixing content exported from a CMS or publishing platform that produced straight quotes throughout, before putting it into a typeset document or editorial workflow that expects proper curly quotation marks.
Standardizing quotation marks across a block of mixed text where some quotes are curly and some are straight, usually because the content was assembled from multiple sources that handled quotes differently.
Examples
Smart quotes to straight quotes
Input : "Hello," she said. "It's a lovely day."
Output : "Hello," she said. "It's a lovely day."
Straight quotes to smart quotes
Input : "Hello," she said. "It's a lovely day."
Output : "Hello," she said. "It's a lovely day."
Fixing curly quotes in code
Input : print("Hello, world!")
Output : print("Hello, world!")
(Curly quotes replaced with straight ASCII quotes so the code is valid)
Mixed quotes standardized to straight
Input : He said "hello" and then 'goodbye' before leaving.
Output : He said "hello" and then 'goodbye' before leaving.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between smart quotes and straight quotes?
Straight quotes are the simple vertical marks: " and '. Smart quotes (also called curly quotes or typographer's quotes) are the curved versions: " " and ' '. Word processors typically insert smart quotes automatically as you type. Code editors and plain-text tools generally use straight quotes.
Why do smart quotes break code?
Programming languages and most configuration file formats expect standard ASCII quote characters. Curly quotes are Unicode characters outside the ASCII range. If a smart quote gets into a string, a function call, or a file path in code, the interpreter or compiler does not recognize it as a quote character and throws a syntax error.
How do I convert smart quotes to straight quotes?
Paste your text into the input box above and click Replace Smart Quotes. Every curly quotation mark is converted to its straight equivalent.
How do I remove smart quotes in Word?
Go to File, Options, Proofing, AutoCorrect Options, and then the AutoFormat As You Type tab. Uncheck "Straight quotes with smart quotes". To convert existing smart quotes in a document, you can run a Find and Replace using the specific Unicode characters. For plain text outside of Word, this tool is faster.
How do I turn off smart quotes in Google Docs?
Go to Tools, Preferences, and uncheck "Use smart quotes". This stops new ones from being inserted but does not change quotes already in the document. For converting existing content, copy it into this tool.
What are curly quotes called?
They go by several names: smart quotes, typographer's quotes, curly quotes, and book quotes. They come in pairs: opening and closing versions for both double and single quotation marks.
Can this tool also convert straight quotes to smart quotes?
Yes, the tool handles both directions. Converting straight quotes to smart quotes is useful for content going into a polished document or publication where typographic quoting is expected.
Do smart quotes affect SEO or web content?
Not directly for rankings, but smart quotes in HTML or JSON can cause encoding issues if the character set is not handled correctly. For web content stored in plain text or JSON format, straight quotes are generally safer.
What Unicode characters are smart quotes?
The standard smart quote characters are: left double quotation mark (U+201C, which is "), right double quotation mark (U+201D, which is "), left single quotation mark (U+2018, which is '), and right single quotation mark (U+2019, which is ').