auto numbering/outlining - need to fix OR convert to text numbers

[PJR]

I'm working on a bunch of documents, all multiple choice tests, that
have been through various revisions with various people, and are
various combinations of auto numbers and letters and real numbers and
letters. It's not always clear which are auto-numbered (list or
outline) and which are hand-numbered, but it all looks like this:

1. question
a. answer
b. another answer
c. another answer
d. another one

The correct answer for this question is d. (nb - this is NOT numbered)

2. another question
a. another answer
b. and so forth

The correct answer for this question is a.

3. etc

There are several issues:

A. Ideally I'd like them all to have just real text numbers - is
there a macro to do that, or could someone get me started on making
one? (with 100 questions per chapter and 18 chapters, I really don't
want to do it all by hand!) It's ok if the answers a., b., etc are
auto lettered - but not the numbers.

B. In one document, the questions are numbered 1, 2, 3, and then again
1 thru whatever. I can't seem to get the second 1 to turn into a 4.

C. IF I decide to have all the questions auto-numbered (e.g. if it's
not relatively easy to convert the numbering to text numbers), how can
I somehow bypass the line that identifies the correct answer, and then
have the subsequent question continue with its numbering? I *think*
I'd accomplish that by initially having the correct-answer-line
numbered, returning to go on with the next number, and then going back
up to delete the correct-answer-line's number.

D. Also, IF I decide to have them all auto-numbered, then what about
the blank lines between questions? Is this basically the same answer
- i.e. let it number the blank lines and type a space before hitting
return to the next question, then later zap out those numbers?

Any help will be greatly appreciated, as will a link to a document
that explains the peculiarities of Word's auto-numbering!

Thanks,
PJ

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Oh boy. Word's numbering is complex.

You can use VBA to convert all numbers to plain text. I would run it on
a COPY of the document, as it cannot be undone.
"Make sure the active document is the one you want to convert. Then
press Opt+F11 to display the Visual Basic Editor. On the View menu, click
Immediate Window. In the Immediate Window, type

ActiveDocument.ConvertNumbersToText

and press ENTER."

If you are still interested--on Auto-Numbering:

To set up a multiple choice test, you would use a form of Outline
Numbering, where the questions are formatted in one numbered style (say
Heading 1), the answers in a different style (say Heading 2), and the
text that is neither question nor answer in a third style, say Body
Text. To get spaces between the questions, probably the question style
should have a big Space Before, rather than hitting enter to create
blank lines/empty paragraphs, which are not good in Word. The style
definitions could also ensure that each question and set of answers are
together on the same page.
Info on setting up Outline Numbering:
http://shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html

Here's an extensive article on Word's Numbering:
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Numbering/WordsNumberingExplained.htm
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