Numbering for meeting minutes
Lloyd Rubidge
Our format looks like this:
-----------------------------------------------------------
1 Heading Top Level
-----------------------------------------------------------
Action 1.1 Description of minute item which
word wraps to here.
Action a) Description of sub item which
wraps to here
Action i. Sub-item which wraps
to here.
Action 1.2 Next minute item......
The problem is obviously our requirement to insert the actions before the
numbering. If it wasn't for the Action column we would have no problem.
(Action here is the name of the person who is require to do something).
And no, we do not want to use tables if at all possible. We have
experimented with that and have found it cumbersome. The Action column
becomes out of sync with the minute items too easily.
Many thanks
Lloyd
Doug Robbins - Word MVP
IMHO, a 2 column table would be the very best way to keep the Items in
Action Column in Synch with the Minute Items. Each Minute Item, Sub Item
and Sub-Sub-Item should be on an individual row in the table. You would
merge the cells in the Top Level Heading rows to get the Heading to span
both columns of the table.
Please post any response to the newsgroups for the benefit of others who may
also be following the thread.
Hope this helps,
Doug Robbins - Word MVP
"Lloyd Rubidge" <rub...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:O28ACldFCHA.2388@tkmsftngp07...
Suzanne S. Barnhill
doesn't like very long tables, so it's useful to split them up when
possible, and since tables with merged cells can also be a little flaky,
this kills two problem birds with one stone.
--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
"Doug Robbins - Word MVP" <rdou...@bigpond.net.au> wrote in message
news:#N$ygPeFCHA.2008@tkmsftngp07...
Lloyd Rubidge
That sounds good. I will do some experimenting on this basis. The trick is
to come up with a system which will work for all users in the office, which
they will not be tempted to change.
We have found that no amount of training, or encouragement, will stop some
people from simply typing in the number when the autonumber does something
other than what was expected. Or management from asking for "a change to the
format of this section only, please."
Thanks,
Lloyd
"Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbar...@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:O4#0$EgFCHA.1380@tkmsftngp02...
Lloyd Rubidge
this. However, I immediately started having the same kinds of problems I
have had in the past with tables and numbering:
Having started with a new document, and formatting each level of indent as a
heading style (1 through 5), I experienced the following problems:
* Changing heading level by Shift-Alt right arrow changes the heading
level in both columns. The first column must stay Normal.
* Changing heading level by Shift-Alt right arrow does not work
consistently. It does not allow heading levels to be increased beyond
Heading 2. If it is already at Heading 3 or beyond it jumps back to Heading
2. There is no problem when I use the "increase indent" button on the
formatting toolbar.
* I change the format of Heading 5 and the alignment of all other heading
levels change. (No logic to this?)
* Format - Bullets & Numbering - Outline numbers has become what appears
to be 7 versions of the same numbering sustem. If multiple systems have
somehow been generated and are being used in my document this can only lead
to problems in the future.
We have people of all skill levels. How can I expect them to produce clean,
consistent, automatic-numbering documents when they experience problems like
these. At my office I am the most computer literate person and even
communicating with this newsgroup I am still not able to do what I need.
Any more help would be appreciated. Am I missing something fundamental?
Thanks
Lloyd
PS: There seems to be no standard keyboard shortcut for inserting a row
below the current. (sounds like a minor problem, but it is important if I
want to stop people from just pressing enter and starting a new line).
"Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbar...@mvps.org> wrote in message
news:O4#0$EgFCHA.1380@tkmsftngp02...
Doug Robbins - Word MVP
Unfortunately, the emphasis on the use of styles has disappeared from Word.
Way back in the days of Word for DOS Version 1 which was where I started
with it, there was significant emphasis on the use of Styles and and the use
of shortcut keys to assign them. With every version of Word since then, I
have always set it up so that to insert a Heading 1, I used Alt+H1, For
Heading 2, I use Alt+H2 and so on for all of the styles that I use (and I
use styles for almost everything)
When I change the level of a heading by using short cut keys in this way, it
has no impact on the information in the cell to the left.
Please post any response to the newsgroups for the benefit of others who may
also be following the thread.
Hope this helps,
Doug Robbins - Word MVP
"Lloyd Rubidge" <rub...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:#H5H3EwFCHA.2636@tkmsftngp13...
Bruce Brown
> Hi Lloyd,
>
> Unfortunately, the emphasis on the use of styles has disappeared from Word.
> Way back in the days of Word for DOS Version 1 which was where I started
> with it, there was significant emphasis on the use of Styles and and the use
> of shortcut keys to assign them. With every version of Word since then, I
> have always set it up so that to insert a Heading 1, I used Alt+H1, For
> Heading 2, I use Alt+H2 and so on for all of the styles that I use (and I
> use styles for almost everything)
>
> When I change the level of a heading by using short cut keys in this way, it
> has no impact on the information in the cell to the left.
>
> Please post any response to the newsgroups for the benefit of others who may
> also be following the thread.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Doug Robbins - Word MVP
===========================================================================
Lloyd - Don't mean to offend anyone here, but I agree with you that
tables are not wanted or needed for the Minutes template (although at
first glance they sure seem like the way to go).
What your template wants, I believe, is a set of LISTNUM fields, each
with a different tab setting and hanging indent, each of which can be
turned into an AutoText entry for easy insertion by users.
It can be done as follows.
CREATING THE TOP HEADING LINE
Put in a bunch of empty hard returns first, so you can CURSOR down to
the next lines instead of using a hard return. (Using the hard return
will repeat one line's tab settings on the next, which you don't
want.)
For the top line, add a center tab to the ruler bar at 3.5 or so.
Then, on the margin, add a LISTNUM field: Ctrl+Alt+L to put in the
field, Alt+F9 to see and edit it. You want { LISTNUM LegalDefault \l
1 ) (that an "el" after the slash). Then tab to the center of the
line and type in some text.
NEXT THREE LINES
Cursor down one line. The tab you just put in shouldn't be there on
the ruler bar. Add a left tab in the ruler bar at 2. Drag the
hanging indent pointer (the bottom one pointed up) to 2.5. On the
margin, type "Action" and tab over to 2.
Now add another LISTNUM, this time { LISTNUM LegalDefault \l 2 ) plus
a tab. Type in text to satisfy yourself that the lines are
block-indented the way you need them.
Cursor down to the next line. Add a left tab on the ruler bar at 2.5,
plus a hanging indent at 3. On the margin, type "Action" and tab over
to 2.5.
Now add a third LISTNUM, this time { LISTNUM OutlineDefault \l 6 }
plus a tab. Type in text to see that the lines wrap properly.
Cursor down to the next line. Add a left tab on the ruler bar at 3,
plus a hanging indent at 3.5. On the margin, type "Action" and tab
over to 3.5.
Now add your final LISTNUM: { LISTNUM OutlineDefault \l 7 }plus a tab
and type in text.
When you're satisfied that all's well, remove all text except
"Action." Except for the top line, there should be precisely two tabs
per line - one after "Action" and the other after the LISTNUM field.
CREATING AUTOTEXT ENTRIES
The hard work is over. Now we create AutoText entries for the user.
Select the top line from the margin to the center tab. Include the
paragraph mark in the selection. Then
Tools>AutoCorrectOptions>AutoText.
Before anything else, go to the bottom box where it says "Look in."
Make sure you select the name of your Minutes template. You want to
store these entries there and nowhere else.
Call it "Minutes 1" or something, then press Add.
Ditto for the next three lines, until you have four AutoText entries
that zap in the appropriate level on demand. They behave just like
heading styles, minus the grief involved in setting them up.
Users should have no problem at all with the AutoText toolbar. It's
kind of hard to miss "Minutes 1, Minutes 1.1, Minutes (a), Minutes
(i)," especially when they're the only choices you have.
There are probably lots of other ways to set up the minutes, but I
think you'll find this one simple, fast and user-amiable.
Good luck, - Bruce (P.S. Who's this guy Action? Must be a dynamic
type to be doing everything himself.)
Lloyd Rubidge
That was one impressive reply!
I will give your idea a try this weekend and compare it to the table format
I have managed to achieve so far. The table has a number of quirks and if
the user gets into trouble they could have trouble (which I would end up
sorting out). Will let you know.
This has been a good thread. I have learned some things.....
Thanks,
Lloyd
(Action Man)