Cannot update index

[sydneyej]

I just switched from a PC back to a Mac after almost 10 years and I'm
having trouble getting some of my Mac intuition back. I need to update
the index for my thesis so that I can finish my master's degree and
graduate in December. The document is too big for the old PC at work,
which runs Word 2000. The paper was written on a Sony laptop (which
has subsequently crashed and burned) in Word 2003. My Mac is running
Word 2004. I updated index entries today at work, but couldn't update
the index itself due to "inadequate resources." I looked up how to
update my index in the Help menu in Word, and its advice was not at all
helpful as there is no option "update field" in the contextual menu. I
tried using F9, which is what one would do on a PC, but it just shrank
all the open windows on my screen. Please help! I'm so close to being
finished with this monster of a paper, and I'm at my wit's end!

Thanks very much in advance!
Sydney

 

[Clive Huggan]

Hello Sydney,

You were right -- F9 does update fields, including indexes (commands on Mac
versions of Word are quite similar to those on the PC).

However...

Apple snaffled some of the keyboard shortcuts commonly used by Office,
starting with OS 10.3; F9 by Exposé.

If you download some notes on the way I use Word for the Mac, titled "Bend
Word to Your Will", which are available as a free download from the Word
MVPs' website (http://word.mvps.org/Mac/Bend/BendWordToYourWill.html), and
do a Find command for "Work-arounds for F9, now that it¹s used by Exposé in
OS 10.3 onwards", you'll get the full story, with alternative strategies
(and information on other keyboard shortcuts taken over).

[Note: "Bend Word to your will" is designed to be used electronically and
most subjects are self-contained dictionary-style entries. If you decide to
read more widely than the item I've referred to, it's important to read the
front end of the document -- especially pages 3 and 5 -- so you can select
some Word settings that will allow you to use the document effectively.]

Cheers,

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is 5-11 hours different from the US and Europe, so my
follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
============================================================
* SUGGESTION -- KEEP REVISITING AFTER YOU POST: If you post a question, keep
re-visiting the newsgroup for several days after the first response comes
in. Sometimes it takes a few responses before the best or complete solution
is provided; sometimes you'll be asked for further information. Good tips
about getting the best out of posting are at
http://word.mvps.org/Mac/AccessNewsgroups.html and
http://word.mvps.org/FindHelp/Posting.htm (if you use Safari you may see a
blank page and have to hit the circular arrow icon -- "Reload the current
page" -- two or more times).
============================================================

 

[CyberTaz]

By no means do I mean to dissuade you from following Clive's link - in fact,
I wholeheartedly recommend that you do - but the Apple Snaffle can be
quickly addressed if you go to AppleMenu>System Preferences, select
Dashboard & Exposè & change or remove the assignment of F9. FWIW, I like the
feature, but I have a keyboard that provides F13-F15, so I've reassigned it
to F13 - that frees F9 for Word to update fields. You could also use
Cmd+Opt+Shift+U, but that's a P+I+T+A

It concerns me that Ctrl+Clicking doesn't provide the Update Fields listing
in the contextual menu, though. I don't know of anything that would prevent
it from being there along with the Toggle Field Codes command. Don't be
insulted by the question, but are you clicking directly in the index field?

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[sydneyej]

Thank you very much! This is very helpful! It seems that F9 was not
my only problem. I had to delete the original index (though not the
entries) and then insert a new one. The new one saw all the new
entries, deleted the old entries and now happily updates! Thank you
very much, the guide is very good and easy to use, and I'm happily on
my way to graduation once again!

Best,
Sydney

Hello Sydney,

You were right -- F9 does update fields, including indexes (commands on Mac
versions of Word are quite similar to those on the PC).

However...

Apple snaffled some of the keyboard shortcuts commonly used by Office,
starting with OS 10.3; F9 by Exposé.

If you download some notes on the way I use Word for the Mac, titled "Bend
Word to Your Will", which are available as a free download from the Word
MVPs' website (http://word.mvps.org/Mac/Bend/BendWordToYourWill.html), and
do a Find command for "Work-arounds for F9, now that it¹s used by Exposé in
OS 10.3 onwards", you'll get the full story, with alternative strategies
(and information on other keyboard shortcuts taken over).

[Note: "Bend Word to your will" is designed to be used electronically and
most subjects are self-contained dictionary-style entries. If you decideto
read more widely than the item I've referred to, it's important to read the
front end of the document -- especially pages 3 and 5 -- so you can select
some Word settings that will allow you to use the document effectively.]

Cheers,

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is 5-11 hours different from the US and Europe, so my
follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
============================================================
* SUGGESTION -- KEEP REVISITING AFTER YOU POST: If you post a question, keep
re-visiting the newsgroup for several days after the first response comes
in. Sometimes it takes a few responses before the best or complete solution
is provided; sometimes you'll be asked for further information. Good tips
about getting the best out of posting are at
http://word.mvps.org/Mac/AccessNewsgroups.html and
http://word.mvps.org/FindHelp/Posting.htm (if you use Safari you may see a
blank page and have to hit the circular arrow icon -- "Reload the current
page" -- two or more times).
============================================================

I just switched from a PC back to a Mac after almost 10 years and I'm
having trouble getting some of my Mac intuition back. I need to update
the index for my thesis so that I can finish my master's degree and
graduate in December. The document is too big for the old PC at work,
which runs Word 2000. The paper was written on a Sony laptop (which
has subsequently crashed and burned) in Word 2003. My Mac is running
Word 2004. I updated index entries today at work, but couldn't update
the index itself due to "inadequate resources." I looked up how to
update my index in the Help menu in Word, and its advice was not at all
helpful as there is no option "update field" in the contextual menu. I
tried using F9, which is what one would do on a PC, but it just shrank
all the open windows on my screen. Please help! I'm so close to being
finished with this monster of a paper, and I'm at my wit's end!

Thanks very much in advance!
Sydney

 

[Clive Huggan]

I hope the temporary increase in adrenalin has good outcomes for your
academic output, Sydney!

Clive
======

Thank you very much! This is very helpful! It seems that F9 was not
my only problem. I had to delete the original index (though not the
entries) and then insert a new one. The new one saw all the new
entries, deleted the old entries and now happily updates! Thank you
very much, the guide is very good and easy to use, and I'm happily on
my way to graduation once again!

Best,
Sydney

Hello Sydney,

You were right -- F9 does update fields, including indexes (commands on Mac
versions of Word are quite similar to those on the PC).

However...

Apple snaffled some of the keyboard shortcuts commonly used by Office,
starting with OS 10.3; F9 by Exposé.

If you download some notes on the way I use Word for the Mac, titled "Bend
Word to Your Will", which are available as a free download from the Word
MVPs' website (http://word.mvps.org/Mac/Bend/BendWordToYourWill.html), and
do a Find command for "Work-arounds for F9, now that it¹s used by Exposé in
OS 10.3 onwards", you'll get the full story, with alternative strategies
(and information on other keyboard shortcuts taken over).

[Note: "Bend Word to your will" is designed to be used electronically and
most subjects are self-contained dictionary-style entries. If you decide to
read more widely than the item I've referred to, it's important to read the
front end of the document -- especially pages 3 and 5 -- so you can select
some Word settings that will allow you to use the document effectively.]

Cheers,

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is 5-11 hours different from the US and Europe, so my
follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
============================================================
* SUGGESTION -- KEEP REVISITING AFTER YOU POST: If you post a question, keep
re-visiting the newsgroup for several days after the first response comes
in. Sometimes it takes a few responses before the best or complete solution
is provided; sometimes you'll be asked for further information. Good tips
about getting the best out of posting are at
http://word.mvps.org/Mac/AccessNewsgroups.html and
http://word.mvps.org/FindHelp/Posting.htm (if you use Safari you may see a
blank page and have to hit the circular arrow icon -- "Reload the current
page" -- two or more times).
============================================================

I just switched from a PC back to a Mac after almost 10 years and I'm
having trouble getting some of my Mac intuition back. I need to update
the index for my thesis so that I can finish my master's degree and
graduate in December. The document is too big for the old PC at work,
which runs Word 2000. The paper was written on a Sony laptop (which
has subsequently crashed and burned) in Word 2003. My Mac is running
Word 2004. I updated index entries today at work, but couldn't update
the index itself due to "inadequate resources." I looked up how to
update my index in the Help menu in Word, and its advice was not at all
helpful as there is no option "update field" in the contextual menu. I
tried using F9, which is what one would do on a PC, but it just shrank
all the open windows on my screen. Please help! I'm so close to being
finished with this monster of a paper, and I'm at my wit's end!

Thanks very much in advance!
Sydney