FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions - Unofficial - April Posting
Charles Kenyon
Posted 01-April-2001
Introductory note:
This unofficial FAQ is posted monthly with a much shorter
reference note posted approximately weekly. You can get a
longer version of thisby e-mail from the computer by sending
an e-mail to request....@addbalance.com
(autoresponder will send FAQ).
The "official" FAQ is a website prepared by the MVPs:
http://www.mvps.org/word/
This FAQ is _very_ cursory. I am trying to keep it very basic so
that it doesn't become too long to post. A number of fine (and
more extensive) FAQ web pages are out there and you are encouraged
to check them out.
See www.addbalance.com/word/wordwebresources.htm.
A more extensive version of this FAQ is available on the web
and in Word 97 format at:
http://www.addbalance.com/word
Also, the answers to most of your questions are in the Help
screens that came with Word - if you can only find the right
screen. Try using the office assistant (that ^$#*@& paperclip)!
This FAQ is best viewed using a fixed-pitch font.
Menu trees:
In this FAQ menu tree selections are indicated by the vertical bar
(|). Format|Paragraph means choose Paragraph from the Format menu.
Questions:
1. How can I change the default font from Times Roman New 10pt to
something else?
2. Page X of Y doesn't work!
3. How do I insert a date? Why does it (not) change when I
re-open the document?
4. How can I get a different header/footer on the second (and
subsequent) page(s)?
5. What are some good books for me to read about Word?
6. How can I best use the Master Document feature?
7. Word 2K - How can I keep Word from opening separately for
every document?
8. What is an MVP?
9. What are the posting suggestions for this news group?
10. Where can I find more information on the Web?
Additional questions answered in the longer FAQ available on the
Web:
11. How can I get rid of that ^$#*@& paperclip?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/officeassistant.htm
12. How can I get rid of the web toolbar?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/webtoolbar.htm
13. My menus and toolbars have disappeared!
http://www.addbalance.com/word/q20.htm
14. Why doesn't Word's Fonts list show all of the fonts I
have installed in Windows?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/q08.htm
15. What are some basic tips for someone who is converting
from Word Perfect?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordperfect.htm
16. How do I use (What is) the Work menu?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/workmenu.htm
17. What are some common errors people make with Word?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordcommonerrors.htm
18. I see a macro in a newsgroup I would like to try. How
do I add it to my template?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/macrosfromnewsgreups.htm
19. How can I print a booklet?
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/bookletprinting.htm
Supplemental Topics
1. How can I use calculated dates in Word?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/datefields2.htm
2. More on headers and footers!
http://www.addbalance.com/word/headersfooters2.htm
3. I have this line I can't get rid of! Help!
http://www.addbalance.com/word/s03.htm
If you don't have access to the Internet and want the longer FAQ
e-mailed to you, send a request to request....@addbalance.com.
This is an auto-responder and will get you the full faq.
==================================================================
1. How can I change the default font from Times Roman New 10pt to
something else?
==================================================================
To do this well is a two-step process.
1) Open a new document. Format|Font, set your preferred font and
click on the "Default" button (lower left of dialog box).
2) Change the default style as well. The method for doing this is
shown at http://www.addbalance.com/word/defaultfont.htm.
The first step is quick and easy. The second step will make it
much more likely that if you give your documents to someone else
that they will see what you sent them. Typing in Normal style and
basing styles on Normal style make for much confusion in
transferred documents.
More at http://www.addbalance.com/word/defaultfont.htm.
==================================================================
2. Page X of Y doesn't work!
==================================================================
That's right! It isn't just you.
This is a very common problem in Word. The "Page X of Y" AutoText
includes two fields, the {PAGE} field for the page number and the
{NUMPAGES} field for the total number of pages in the document.
Fields in headers are not always updated when the document is
opened. Depending on the version of Word you have, here are the
escalating steps to take (believe it or not, the later the
version, the more steps you have to take):
a. Switch into Print Preview and back, twice if necessary. If you
have the "Update fields" option checked on the Print tab of
Tools|Options, this will usually work, as will printing the
document.
b. If, even with this box checked, the {NUMPAGES} field prints
wrong, try clearing the check box for "Background printing" on
the same tab.
c. If even that doesn't work (as is often the case in Word 2000),
you'll have to check "Reverse print order."
Some users report that hiding nonprinting characters (toggle the
Show/Hide ś button to Hide) helps. The SR-1 service release for
Office 2000 claims to have fixed this problem in Word 2000.
Suzanne S. Barnhill:
http://www.allexperts.com/central/zebra.htm#PageXofY
See more at:
http://www.addbalance.com/word/pagexofy.htm
==================================================================
3. How do I insert a date? Why does it (not) change when I
re-open the document?
==================================================================
The easy way is Insert|Date and Time. If you don't check "Update
Automatically" it is the same as typing the date yourself. If you
do check "Update Automatically" it will update when you print (if
you have the setting under printer options as "Update Fields"
which is the default). You can manually force an update by putting
your insertion point in the date and pressing the F9 key.
If you want to put a date in a template that updates to the
current date when a document is created based on the template,
or want to change the format or do other things with the date
field, you want to use Insert|Field|Date and Time instead. Using
the options here, you can either pick a format or type your own
characters (called a picture) for the format. The options for the
type of date include:
{ DATE \*MERGEFORMAT } - The date you are looking at the document.
{ CREATEDATE \*MERGEFORMAT } - The date the document was created
(or saved using Save As).
{ PRINTDATE \*MERGEFORMAT } - The date the document was last
printed.
{ SAVEDATE \*MERGEFORMAT } - The date the document was last saved.
The above are the field codes that will be inserted for you using
Insert|Field|Date and Time without using any options.
More on formatting and options at:
http://www.addbalance.com/word/datefields1.htm
If you want a menu that gives you different kinds of date fields that can be
inserted into documents, download
http://www.addbalance.com/word/download/LegalToolbars.zip. This is a
self-documenting global template.
For information on date calculations see:
http://www.addbalance.com/word/datefields2.htm
==================================================================
4. How can I get a different header/footer on the second (and
subsequent) page(s)?
==================================================================
If you ask the Office Assistant about this, you won't get a good
answer. The assistant will tell you about changing the header or
footer at different places in the document by creating new
sections. That will work because the header/footer instructions
are stored in the last paragraph marker of the section.
Each section can have up to three different headers and three
different footers. This is controlled in File|Page Layout|Layout
by checking either or both of the options:
__ Different odd and even
__ Different first page
in the headers and footers frame. If you have already set a header
or footer and then check "Different first page" the header/footer
you set previously will become the header/footer for second and
subsequent pages. If you check different odd and even, you can
set yet another header/footer for the odd pages that follow page
two.
Many experts believe that this is the best way to construct a
letterhead template, with the letterhead itself in a header with
headers/footers set for "Different first page."
If your template is only one page but the document based on it can
be multiple pages, you will want to set up the header/footer for
the second and subsequent pages.
When you are writing your template, put in a second page (using a
manual page break). Then (with Page Layout set to Different first
page) insert your header / footer in the second page. Click Close
on the Header/Footer Toolbar and use backspace to delete your page
break. Save your template. When someone using your template writes
more than one page, your header/footer for the second page will be
there!
More on headers - footers:
The way to disable Same as Previous is to click the button in the
Headers/Footers toolbar to turn it off. --And you have to do it in
the section following the one where you want to make a change.
Moreover, it is independent for each header and footer you have
(so you have to do it separately for the odd and even headers).
Also, if you need a header that begins on the second page of a
section, use "Different first page" as well as "Different odd and
even," then omit the text in the First Page Header.
(Suzanne S. Barnhill)
==================================================================
5. What are some good books for me to read about Word?
==================================================================
This was getting too long to post. See
http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordbooks.htm
for the book recommendations.
Suggested Word VBA books are listed at
http://www.standards.com/users/kaikow/.
==================================================================
6. How can I best use the Master Document feature?
==================================================================
Answer: Don't use it. It has serious bugs and will corrupt your
entire document at the most inconvenient time possible. (This
problem is known to be continuing into Word 2000 SR2. It is not
really anticipated that it will ever be fixed.)
First, Word will handle fairly large documents, assuming you have
the processor and RAM to deal with it. Second, there are
reasonable work-arounds available.
See http://www.addbalance.com/word/masterdocuments.htm for
information on the Master Document feature and workarounds.
See http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/WhyMasterDocsCorrupt.htm
for more information on what goes wrong, and
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/RecoverMasterDocs.htm for
ideas on how to salvage what you can.
==================================================================
7. Word 2000 - How can I keep Word from opening separately for
every document?
==================================================================
http://www.addbalance.com/word/w2000taskbar.htm
==================================================================
8. What is an MVP?
==================================================================
MVP is Microsoft-ese for "Most Valuable Professional" and
represents someone who has contributed much valuable information
on these newsgroups. These people are all volunteers and do not
work for Microsoft. The designation of MVP, though, does represent
a judgment by Microsoft. A website listing many of them (those who
wish to be listed) is at:
http://www.mvps.org/word/AboutMVPs/index.html
They have gotten together to create a truly awesome FAQ site at:
http://www.mvps.org/word/
This is much more comprehensive than my site and its design is a
work of art in its own right.
You may see the designation "Brainbench MVP" in the signatures of
some regular contributors to the newsgroups. While this does
indicate knowledge, it is not the same as the MVP designation and
should not be confused with it. For more on that see:
http://www.addbalance.com/word/mvp.htm
(The author of this FAQ is not an MVP nor a computer professional.
He is a lawyer with an interest and a wish to "give-forward.")
==================================================================
9. What are the posting suggestions for the MS news groups?
==================================================================
See http://www.ezine.com/netiquette.html for more tips on posting
to newsgroups.
a. The only stupid question is the one that you don't ask. That
said, if you can search the archives to see whether your
question has been answered already, you want to do so.
Archives: http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search
To restrict your search to only the Word newsgroups put:
"microsoft.public.word.*" in the box for "newsgroup"
b. Be polite. No one gets paid to monitor this newsgroup nor to
answer questions. You are dealing with your fellow users.
They don't work for Microsoft. Some of them have a great deal
of expertise and you are getting it for free. Others may have
little general expertise but may have experienced and solved
the same problem that you are now facing. All suggestions are
"as is" and without any warranties.
c. Be as specific as possible in your subject line. (Not: "Help"
or "Help with Word") Examples: "Numbering Problem" or
"Templates for Network." However, repeat the question or
problem in the body of your message even if the subject line
says it already. In some newsreaders (Outlook), when the
message is opened, the subject line becomes very obscure.
Many newsreaders treat items with multiple exclamation points
as spam and will screen out posts with such subject headers.
d. If a different question occurs to you, post a new topic with
the new question. Most readers use news-readers that group
messages by topic and if you don't change the topic (1) the
person who can help you may ignore your message because they
don't know anything about / aren't interested in the topic
heading and (2) other users looking for help on your question
later won't find your question or the answers to it.
e. If asking for help, identify the version of Word that you are
using. If you get error messages repeat the exact error
message.
f. Don't send attachments. This is a text-only newsgroup. If you
have a file that you want others to look at or to offer to
others, say so in your message. If you can post it on a website
give the URL, otherwise, people who want to look at your
document can e-mail you for a copy of it. (Note, many people
screen out messages that have attachments and never even see
them.) If you have a macro that you have a question about, use
the VBA editor and copy the VBA code into your message. (If you
don't understand that last sentence, don't worry about it.)
g. Use "plain text" not HTML or Rich Text for your messages.
h. Put as much of the original message in your reply as seems
needed for your reply to make sense. Trim away excess. This
makes for quicker downloads.
i. Post your responses to the newsgroup if you are answering a
problem. Many people other than the person who asked the
question will read your response and learn from it.
j. Normally, post only to _one_ news group. If you must post to
more than one, put all addresses in the header for one
posting. That way responses will also go to all of the
newsgroups and many newsreaders will mark the post as read in
all newsgroups once it is read in one.
k. Don't expect an e-mail response. It's your job to come back
to the newsgroup for the response. If someone can take the
time to answer your question (often significant time), you
can have the courtesy to look back. One of the basic ideas of
peer-to-peer support groups is the public posting of infor-
mation and feedback. If someone posts bad advice on the news-
groups, it will usually be corrected by someone else.
l. When you get help, say "Thank you." (see b above)
You may want to review the suggestions put together by the MVPs:
at http://www.mvps.org/word/FindHelp/Posting.htm
==================================================================
10. Where can I find more information on the Web?
==================================================================
My fairly large collection of web links:
http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordwebresources.htm
Collaborative effort of Word MVPs
http://www.mvps.org/word/ (awesome site)
The Microsoft Peer-to-Peer Newsgroups for Word listed on both
sites. The archives URL is above under posting suggestions.
The additional resources portions of the supplemented Legal Users'
Guide to Word found at the beginning of each chapter.
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/index.htm
-------------------
A longer version of this FAQ is available by e-mail. Send any
message to: request....@addbalance.com. An auto-responder
will e-mail you the longer version (not quite as complete as
the web site but way too long to post).
The most complete version is on the Internet at
http://www.addbalance.com/word
The longer FAQ version is also available for download in
Word 97 format at that site.
Changes since last posting:
webresources page updated with many additional links
added URL for newsgroups archives
Updating page names on web.
Comments / corrections / additions may be sent to
wordfa...@addbalance.com
Charles Kenyon
An FAQ with answers to some of the following questions is posted
monthly. It can be found in the archives at deja.com if it has
been removed from your news server. The archives can be found at:
deja.com.http://www.deja.com/home_ps.shtml
Archives: http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search
See MVPs FAQ site: www.mvps.org/word/FAQs which has answers to
many more questions along with tutorials.
This FAQ is also available upon request by e-mail (with answers
rather than web references) from request....@addbalance.com.
Answers to the following can be found at:
http://www.addbalance.com/word/index.htm
Questions:
1. How can I change the default font from Times Roman New 10pt to
something else?
2. Page X of Y doesn't work!
3. How do I insert a date? Why does it (not) change when I
re-open the document?
4. How can I get a different header/footer on the second (and
subsequent) page(s)?
5. What are some good books for me to read about Word?
6. How can I best use the Master Document feature?
7. Word 2K - How can I keep Word from opening separately for
every document?
8. What is an MVP?
9. What are the posting suggestions for this news group?
10. Where can I find more information on the Web?
11. How can I get rid of that ^$#*@& paperclip?
12. How can I get rid of the web toolbar?
13. Why doesn't Word's Fonts list show all of the fonts I
have installed in Windows?
14. What are some basic tips for someone who is converting
from Word Perfect?
15. How do I use (What is) the Work menu?
16. What are some common errors people make with Word?
17. I see a macro in a newsgroup I would like to try. How
do I add it to my template?
18. How can I print a booklet?
19. How can I use calculated dates in Word?
20. This line appeared and I can't get rid of it!
Changes / additions since last posting:
deleted direct references to make posting shorter
Comments / corrections / additions may be sent to
Posted 8 April 2001
Charles Kenyon
An FAQ with answers to some of the following questions is posted
monthly. It can be found in the archives at deja.com if it has
been removed from your news server. The archives can be found at:
deja.com.http://www.deja.com/home_ps.shtml
A longer version of this FAQ is also on the
Internet at http://www.addbalance.com/word.
Please save us all some time by reading it before posting to the
news group.
Archives: http://groups.google.com/advanced_group_search
See MVPs FAQ site: www.mvps.org/word/FAQs
Questions:
1. How can I change the default font from Times Roman New 10pt to
something else?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/defaultfont.htm
2. Page X of Y doesn't work!
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/AppErrors/PageXofY.htm and
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Numbering/PageNumbering.htm
http://www.addbalance.com/word/pagexofy.htm
3. How do I insert a date? Why does it (not) change when I
re-open the document?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/datefields1.htm
4. How can I get a different header/footer on the second (and
subsequent) page(s)?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/headersfooters.htm
5. What are some good books for me to read about Word?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordbooks.htm
6. How can I best use the Master Document feature?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/masterdocuments.htm
7. Word 2K - How can I keep Word from opening separately for
every document?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/w2000taskbar.htm
8. What is an MVP?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/MVP.htm
9. What are the posting suggestions for this news group?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/netiquette.htm
http://www.mvps.org/word/FindHelp/Posting.htm (MVPs)
10. Where can I find more information on the Web?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordwebresources.htm
Additional questions answered in my longer FAQ:
11. How can I get rid of that ^$#*@& paperclip?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/officeassistant.htm
12. How can I get rid of the web toolbar?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/webtoolbar.htm
13. Why doesn't Word's Fonts list show all of the fonts I
have installed in Windows?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/fontsmissing.htm
14. What are some basic tips for someone who is converting
from Word Perfect?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordperfect.htm
15. How do I use (What is) the Work menu?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/workmenu.htm
16. What are some common errors people make with Word?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordcommonerrors.htm
17. I see a macro in a newsgroup I would like to try. How
do I add it to my template?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/macrosfromnewsgroup.htm
18. How can I print a booklet?
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/General/BookletPrinting.htm
http://www.addbalance.com/word/bookletprinting.htm
Supplemental Topics
1. How can I use calculated dates in Word?
http://www.addbalance.com/word/datefields2.htm
2. This line appeared and I can't get rid of it!
http://www.addbalance.com/word/borders.htm
Changes / additions since last posting:
Some changes to:
http://www.addbalance.com/word/netiquette.htm Feb
Also, changed link here to MVPs netiquette page.
Updated the newsgroup archives listing to google.
Comments / corrections / additions may be sent to
Posted 27 April 2001