AI Writing, Business Writing, CHATGPT, Checklist
How to Export ChatGPT Responses to MS Word – Part 2
Nov
In the previous tutorial, I showed you how to export a ChatGPT conversion to MS Word. While this is fine in that it saves you time copy and pasting text, I’d like to show you how to improve this workflow. For example, how to save the last three responses with detailed formatting.
I mention this as here at Klariti we work on multiple projects, typically related to technical writing and AI content management. This involves a lot of drafting, writing and reviewing using different custom-made GPTs. However, unlike Google Gemini which allows you to export directly to Google Docs and Sheets, ChatGPT doesn’t have the same export features. However, there are a few workarounds.
So, to build on the previous tutorial I wanted to know if there were other ways to export the response to Word. From what I’m seeing with ChatGPT it often has ‘hidden capabilities’ that may not be obvious. This means you have to craft prompts in such a way that you finally get to the answer you want.
To put it another way, a direct question to ChatGPT often doesn’t work. However, if you ask in a ‘roundabout’ way, you’ll often get the response, or close proximity to, you were looking for.
So, after a few false starts, I asked it the following.
Klariti Prompt: “With these types of prompts, I’ll know to emphasize specific elements and structure the document in a way that’s easy to follow. Let me know if you’d like me to put this into practice for any recent conversation we’ve had!”
ChatGPT response.
To format specific parts of a conversation into a well-structured MS Word document, you can give a prompt like this:
“Please save the following points to a Word document with specific formatting:
– Main Heading: Use bold and large font for the main title.
– Key Steps: Numbered list with each step in bold.
– Additional Tips: Bullet points with italic text.
– Summary: Short summary at the end in regular font.”
It then added that if you want just a certain portion of the conversation saved with clear formatting:
“Save the following advice into a Word document:
– Use bold headings for each section.
– Underline key terms in each paragraph.
– Create bullet points for lists of actions or items.”
Here’s a more detailed example that would help for saving technical instructions:
“Please take the instructions from this conversation and save them to a Word document. Use the following formatting:
– Title: ‘How to Perform Task’ in bold and centered.
– Steps: Numbered list, each step in bold, with any sub-steps in regular font.
– Notes: Add a section titled ‘Important Notes’ in bold, and list the notes in bullet points.”
This is pretty close to what I was after.
Now, instead of just copy/pasting text, I could get it to export the response with a structured formatting. When I opened the file in Word, the quality of the output was surprisingly good.
Using these types of prompts, it will know to “emphasize specific elements and structure the document in a way that’s easy to follow.”
How to save the last 3 responses?
Q: How do I save more than one response from ChatGPT? For example, how can I save the last 3 responses in a conversion?
Here’s the context. Quite often, when I work with LLMs, I tend to have a lot of back and forth as we explore the subject matter. It’s often towards the end of the conversation that we get to the actual results I was looking for. When this happens, I often want to export to Word not only the last response but some of these before it.
For example, let’s say I wanted to export to Word that last 3 responses from ChatGPT. How could I do this?
Again, after some trial and error, it gave me the following answer:
To save only the last three responses in a conversation with proper formatting, you could use a prompt like this:
“Please compile the last three responses from you into a Word document with the following formatting:
– Title: ‘Recent Advice’ in bold and centered.
– Response Sections: Each response should start with a bold heading (e.g., ‘Response 1’, ‘Response 2’, etc.).
– Key Points: Use bullet points for any lists and bold for important terms.
– Closing Note: At the end, add a brief summary in regular font.”
Note that this is deceptively simple. You just tell it to give you the last X number of responses.
“This prompt tells me to capture just the last three responses and format them with clarity, grouping each response under its own heading, and structuring any details for readability. You could also specify if you want additional customization, like italics or underlined text for emphasis on key phrases.“
However, there is a slight catch here or something you need to be aware of.
If you ask for more than X number of responses, for instance, 10 responses, it tends to either
- a) timeout,
- b) only include the first 4
- c) lose some or all of the formatting, or
- d) export the conversations in text only.
What I’m seeing here is that LLMs seem to have a cap in terms of what they return to you. I suspect this is because there is cost associated with generating text and preparing it in MS Word format.
For now, I’d recommend to specific a small number of conversions to export, then repeat this step if you want to export the earlier conversations.
A final tip is it intentionally number your conversations as you interact with ChatGPT, Gemini or Claude. By that I mean say to it, “ok, the first question I have to ask you is…”…”the fifth I have to ask it…”
Then when you want to export the response, you can explicitly say, “can you export the responses to question number 3-5?” See if that works.
Checklist for exporting ChatGPT responses to MS Word
I’m a great believer in checklists. Rather, than trying to remember how to do things (and forget a step in the process), I break everything down into atomic checklists.
With that said, here’s a checklist to export your ChatGPT responses to MS Word:
- Specify Document Structure:
– If you want a well-organized document, outline the structure in your prompt. For example, use specific sections like Introduction, Key Points, and Conclusion to break down content. This will ensure clarity in the final document.
- Request Formatting Styles:
– You can specify formatting elements like bold, italics, or underlined text for emphasis. This helps highlight the most critical parts and makes the document more readable. For instance, “Use bold for headings and italics for examples.”
- Include Dates or Timestamps:
– If it’s a long conversation with different topics, adding dates or timestamps for each response can make it easier to follow. You can request: “Add a date above each response for context.”
- Summaries and Highlights:
– If only specific parts are essential, ask for a summary or highlighted points from responses. This works well when exporting only key takeaways rather than every detail.
- Visual Elements:
– For technical or instructional content, you can request tables or bullet points for clear organization. For example, “Add any steps as a numbered list, and format tips as bullet points.”
- Document Footer or Header:
– Adding a footer or header with your name, date, or the document title can make it look more professional if you’re sharing it with others. You can ask, “Add a header with the document title and a footer with the date.”
- Consistent Text Styling:
– For a professional look, request specific fonts, sizes, or styles, like “Use Arial 12pt for body text and 14pt for headings.” This ensures uniformity across different responses.
- Optional Annotations or Explanations:
– If context is helpful, you can ask for brief annotations or explanations added to responses for clarity. For example, “Add a short note at the beginning explaining the purpose of each section.”
- Use an Index or Table of Contents for Longer Documents:
If you’re exporting a lengthy conversation, ask for an index or table of contents at the beginning. This allows you to quickly navigate through sections or topics. You could prompt:
“Please create a table of contents at the beginning of the document, listing each section or response title.”
As always, you can ask ChatGPT or other LLMs for best practices on how to export text to MS Word, Google Docs and others.
Finer Points
There’s an element of trial and error when it comes to writing in collaboration with ChatGPT. A lot of its hidden capabilities are hidden under the hood, so to speak. However, if you see AI writing as a ‘craft’, something that can be nurtured, I believe your collaborations with ChatGPT will become more rewarding. Instead of using it to create generic copy, you’ll find creative ways to untap its potential – and yours in the process.
This is part of a series of AI Writing Tutorials from the team at Klariti. If you want the course sent to your inbox, sign up to the newsletter.
If you have any questions, you can get me on:
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