Paragraph Numbering Ghost
Eric Mohn
Have been using it almost a year without more than the 'normal' numbering
issues but in the past week two people have had this issue....
After a 3rd level number e.g.. 3.1.7 paragraph the next second level should
be 3.2 but on the paper it comes out 1.2. If one goes into format
bullets/numbering customize it says 3.2 there and to make things even more
confusing it even prints 3.2 but it is 1.2 on the screen!
In both cases it has only happened one place in the document. If I use the
format painter to make sure the numbering is consistent it corrects it on
the screen until I close and reopen it. Then it's back to 1.2 vs. 3.2
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Eric Mohn
Lillick & Charles LLP
SF, CA
wotan
1.6. <text>
1.6.1. <text>
1.1.2. <text>
1.6.3. <text>
Is there any solution for this???
w.
Eric Mohn <EM...@Lillick.com> wrote in message
news:upxEWDSP$GA.240@cppssbbsa05...
Eric Mohn
Thank you!
John McGhie [MVP - Word] wrote in message ...
>On Thu, 2 Dec 1999 15:59:07 -0800, "Eric Mohn" <EM...@Lillick.com> wrote:
>
>> We have a numbering scheme set up using heading styles 1, 1.1, 1.1.1.
etc.
>> Have been using it almost a year without more than the 'normal' numbering
>> issues but in the past week two people have had this issue....
>> After a 3rd level number e.g.. 3.1.7 paragraph the next second level
should
>> be 3.2 but on the paper it comes out 1.2. If one goes into format
>> bullets/numbering customize it says 3.2 there and to make things even
more
>> confusing it even prints 3.2 but it is 1.2 on the screen!
>>
>> In both cases it has only happened one place in the document. If I use
the
>> format painter to make sure the numbering is consistent it corrects it on
>> the screen until I close and reopen it. Then it's back to 1.2 vs. 3.2
>
>Eric/Wotan:
>
>The solution lies in understanding the problem (though quite why we should
>be expected to know the inner workings of Word's mind in order to use it
>escapes me...)
>
>The numbering scheme your are using is called an "Outline List". This
means
>that it has more than one level of numbering in the list. In your case, it
>looks like you are using Heading numbering, which by default is a single
>list that stretches from one end of the document to the other.
>
>Now, the bug that is hitting you is this... Nowhere in the rules is it
>written that there CAN be only one list of heading numbering in a document.
>regrettably, there can be many. I consider that a bug.
>
>In your case, one or more paragraphs has magically joined another list that
>looks exactly the same as the first one. Sort of like a politician
>switching political parties: you can't trust the buggers.
>
>Anyway, the solution is: don't try to fix it. Instead, REMOVE all the
>numbering and RE-APPLY it.
>
>You can do that very simply:
>
>1) Click in the FIRST Heading 1 styled paragraph (or the highest-level
>heading if it is not Heading 1) in the document.
>
>2) Choose Format/Bullets and Numbering/Outline and click None.
>
>3) Ensure that Fast Saves is OFF (Tools/Options/Save...) and save and
close
>the document.
>
>4) Re-open the document, click in the same paragraph, and re-apply the
>Heading numbering.
>
>By doing this, you force Word to discard the old, broken list and apply a
>single, new list that stretches the whole length of the document.
>
>By attempting to "fix" broken numbering, what happens is that Word moves
the
>ends of the multiple lists up and down the document, but never joins them
>into a single list, so you keep chasing the problem.
>
>To explain this to your user, draw a series of horizontal lines on a piece
>of paper to represent paragraphs. Now, take a highlighter and place a
>bracket around some of them, beginning at say the top paragraph, and ending
>about half way down. Now, take another coloured highlighter and bracket
the
>remaining paragraphs. This, essentially, is what Word has done.
>
>[text list 1
>text
>text
>text end list 1]
>[text list 2
>text
>text
>end list 2]
>
>It's a bugger!
>
>Having re-applied the numbering, you need to insepct the document from
>beginning to end. If the user has been plaintively struggling for a while,
>chances are the Level properties of the paragraphs have been fairly
>comprehensively mangled, and you will have to re-apply the styles to some
>paragraphs.
>
>If the paragraphs are NOT styled with Heading styles, you may also have to
>re-set the starting numbers of each list.
>
>In a following post, I will put up some macros I have developed to speed
>this process.
>
>Best regards.
Eric Mohn
How does that make the incorrect number on the screen but it prints
correctly?
John McGhie [MVP - Word]
John McGhie [MVP - Word]
You've got me!
It is *possible* (unlikely, but it can happen...) that one or more
paragraphs can get numbered by SEQ fields whereas the rest are numbered with
list numbering. I have known users attempting to fix Spaghetti Numbering to
apply a different numbering format to some paragraphs only to switch the
numbering of those paragraphs to the alternative type of numbering.
Format/Bullets and Numbering will apply both styles...
Word has two forms of numbering for paragraphs, List-based numbering, and
SEQ fields. The ones numbered with SEQ fields will not update until they
are printed (because you do not know they are there, so you do not update
them).
If you select the paragraphs with the "wrong" numbers and press F9, what
happens? If the numbering changes, those paragraphs are numbered with SEQ
fields. To reveal field-based numbering, do Tools/Options/View and check
"Field codes". If they are thee, you will then see the field codes in the
document. I always keep my options set to Field Shading: Always so they do
not catch me out.
Hope this helps.
On Tue, 7 Dec 1999 16:20:18 -0800, "Eric Mohn" <EM...@Lillick.com> wrote:
> But... :-)
> How does that make the incorrect number on the screen but it prints
> correctly?
>
>
> John McGhie [MVP - Word] wrote in message ...