Keeping subtitles in 2 lines from original .txt file in Subtitle Workshop

[Valerc]

Hi!

I am using a .txt file as an original to load into Subtitle Workshop. The thing is that it´s a normal .txt file, BUT it has a special format of 2 lines that I need to keep intact once I load it into Subtitle Workshop.
The problem is that when I open it with SW, all my 2 line subtitles are lost, and they become single lines....

Original .txt file:



Hello. How are you?
I am great, thanks.

How are you?
Fine too, thanks.




When I load it into SW all that structure is lost, and all the groups of 2 lines get separated into individual lines. The text file is like 1200 lines long and I have to reconstruct it all myself manually, one line by one!! I am sure that there must be a way to do it automatically.

Can somebody please, please help me?

Thanks!!

[Baldrick]

You could try subtitle edit, File->import plain text and try "One line is one subtitle".

[AlanHK]

There's probably a way to do this by creating a custom format, but you can do it yourself using a text editor.

What we do is to use the | as the linebreak within a sub.

You can do this with a few search and replaces (Using Word syntax, works in many other editors):
1) put a | at the end of every line:
Replace: ^p
By: |^p

2) Now get rid of the | on blank lines:
Replace : |^p|
By: ^p

3) Join the lines
Replace : |^p
By: |


Now your file should look like:

Hello. How are you?|I am great, thanks.

How are you?|Fine too, thanks.

Import this to SW as plain text.

To get your linebreaks back, file/save as and choose MicroDVD format. Save it as xxx.sub.
Now open this xxx.sub again.
The | will now be linebreaks.
You can resave this as SRT format or whatever now if you want.

[Valerc]

Baldrick and AlanHK, I want to thank both of you from the bottom of my heart!!! Really, both your ideas were great! I didn´t know the Subtitle Editor and it was an amazing discovery. I used the "import plain text" option and they you can customize your subtitles quite well!

And then I started from my original text and replaced it like AlanHK suggested and it is perfect too!

Thanks!