Document Sections Summary

[Mark Jerde]

Sorry if this is a FAQ I missed.

I just opened a 95-page document and I'd like to know:
- How many sections it has.
- The pages in each section.
- The headers & footers "Same As Previous"ness

This information isn't in the Document Properties box, nor anywhere else I
can find.

I would also like to know how "messy" the document is in terms of styles.
The document's format may need to be substantially altered and it appears
the several paragraph formats (bullets, hanging indents, etc.) are
variations of Normal rather than defined styles. The document has 2189
paragraphs. I suppose several hundred are <Return> only from two presses of
the <Enter> key to separate paragraphs. It would nice to have a breakdown
like this:

Num Style
300 Normal (Empty, <Return> only)
400 Normal
987 Normal + Formatting In The Paragraph
3 Heading 1
5 Heading 1 + Formatting In The Paragraph
2 Heading 2
79 Heading 2 + Formatting In The Paragraph
.... etc ...


Thanks.

-- Mark

 

[Jonathan West]

Sorry if this is a FAQ I missed.

I just opened a 95-page document and I'd like to know:
- How many sections it has.

Move to the end of the document. See the section number in the status bar at
the bottom of the window

- The pages in each section.

This is a bit harder to work out, and depends on how the pages are
numbered - whether the numbering restarts with each section. If it does,
then simply move to each section in turn and see the number of pages
dispayed in the status bar.

If the page numbers don't restart with each section, then you need to go to
the start of each section and note the page number. Then you subtract as
appropriate to get the number ogf pages in each section.

- The headers & footers "Same As Previous"ness

Go to View, Header & Footer. The header toolbar appears allowing you to move
from section to section. If the header is "Same as Pervious" the words show
up on the rectangle which defines the header area. Note that a header being
Same As Previous does not automatically mean that the matching footer is the
same. Check both.

This information isn't in the Document Properties box, nor anywhere else I
can find.

I would also like to know how "messy" the document is in terms of styles.
The document's format may need to be substantially altered and it appears
the several paragraph formats (bullets, hanging indents, etc.) are
variations of Normal rather than defined styles. The document has 2189
paragraphs. I suppose several hundred are <Return> only from two presses of
the <Enter> key to separate paragraphs. It would nice to have a breakdown
like this:

Num Style
300 Normal (Empty, <Return> only)
400 Normal
987 Normal + Formatting In The Paragraph
3 Heading 1
5 Heading 1 + Formatting In The Paragraph
2 Heading 2
79 Heading 2 + Formatting In The Paragraph

You would need to write a VBA macro to get that kind of data within a
reasonable period of time.

 

[Mark Jerde]

Thanks. I should have mentioned I knew how to do all these things manually,
and I was just hoping someone knew of a high level tool.

-- Mark

 

[Margaret Aldis]

You might also want to look at Help > About > System Info. (with your
document open).

Open the tree under Office Applications for various types of document
information. You can copy and paste from here into a printable document
using the keyboard shortcuts.

Not printable, but a quick way of analysing the 'messiness' of a document -
use Tools > Options >Edit and check 'Keep track of formatting'. The Styles
and Formatting pane will then show not only styles but also 'Style +'
details of direct formatting - you can see how many instances of each in the
dropdown. Often a quick way of selecting directly formatted paras and
applying a replacement style, too.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Another little-used help in Word 2002 and above is the Reveal Formatting
task pane. Check the box for "Distinguish style source" and click on the +
beside Section, and you'll get a lot of useful information.

 

[Mark Jerde]

Jonathan, Margaret & Suzanne -- Very helpful. Thanks!

-- Mark