Endnotes: Multiple references to the same endnote

[M. Katz]

If you use the Endnotes with automatic numbering and such, how can you
tell Word that you want to reference an already existing endnote?

That is, Word is trying to give me a new reference, but I want a
superscript that's the same number as I've used before.

The MS online info has nothing about this; I couldn't find it in the
archives of this group; and Word's cartoon help tool is basically
useless, answering none of the difficult questions. I hope someone can
help me.

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Word 2001 Help, searching "same endnote number" (or even just "endnotes")
returns a number of entries, including:

*Refer to the same footnote or endnote more than once*

"1. Click where you want the reference located.
2. On the Insert menu, click Cross-reference.
3. In the Reference type box, click Footnote or Endnote.
4. In the For which box, click the note you want to refer to.
5. In the Insert reference to box, click Footnote number or Endnote number.
6. Click Insert, and then click Close.
Notes
The new number that Word inserts is actually a cross-reference to the
original reference mark. If you add, delete, or move a note, Word updates
the cross-reference number when you print the document or when you select
the cross-reference number and then press F9. If you have trouble selecting
the cross-reference number by itself, try selecting some surrounding text
along with it, and then press F9.
If you want a footnote or endnote cross-reference to appear in superscript
text, select Footnote number (formatted) or Endnote number (formatted)."

Of course, there are plenty of other situations in which Help *is* awful,
and finding the right topic requires knowing Word's special vocabulary. But
I can't agree this is one of them, and at times Help can be very useful. By
the way, in 2001 and above, you can turn the cartoon assistant off. I find
using Help without it is much more efficient.

DM

 

[M. Katz]

searching "same endnote number" (or even just "endnotes")

returns a number of entries, including:

*Refer to the same footnote or endnote more than once*

. . .

Of course, there are plenty of other situations in which Help *is* awful,
and finding the right topic requires knowing Word's special vocabulary. But
I can't agree this is one of them, and at times Help can be very useful. By
the way, in 2001 and above, you can turn the cartoon assistant off. I find
using Help without it is much more efficient.

DM

Thank you. I was able to find the instructions in the help menu thanks
to you. However,
you know what's funny about this... I went back to the help feature
and typed "endnotes." The help topic about the "same endnote number"
did not appear in the list of help topcis. Not at all. Then I typed
"same endnote number" and there it was right on top. Subsequent
requests for "endnote" then showed the "same endnot number" entry.
What do you make of that? Is the help system adaptive? Does it
remember the help requests you've made. Does it hide possible matches
unless you get it just right, then it will remember to show you to
them.

I was skeptical of this, but after reading your response, on a
different machine, I initially typed in the help requests as you
suggested and thought to myself that there's no way I could have just
missed it in the list on my other computer. So when I got back to the
other machine, I did the test: first "endnote", then "same endnote
number" and found the behavior I described above.

So no, I'm not confused, or otherwise under the influence of something
mind-altering. I swear that Word is trying to outdumb me. "Outsmart"
would imply that Word assumes I have a complicated question right off
the bat. It assumed the opposite, limiting its response and
frustrating me.

M. Katz

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Thank you. I was able to find the instructions in the help menu thanks
to you. However,
you know what's funny about this... I went back to the help feature
and typed "endnotes." The help topic about the "same endnote number"
did not appear in the list of help topcis. Not at all. Then I typed
"same endnote number" and there it was right on top. Subsequent
requests for "endnote" then showed the "same endnot number" entry.
What do you make of that? Is the help system adaptive? Does it
remember the help requests you've made. Does it hide possible matches
unless you get it just right, then it will remember to show you to
them.

I was skeptical of this, but after reading your response, on a
different machine, I initially typed in the help requests as you
suggested and thought to myself that there's no way I could have just
missed it in the list on my other computer. So when I got back to the
other machine, I did the test: first "endnote", then "same endnote
number" and found the behavior I described above.

So no, I'm not confused, or otherwise under the influence of something
mind-altering. I swear that Word is trying to outdumb me. "Outsmart"
would imply that Word assumes I have a complicated question right off
the bat. It assumed the opposite, limiting its response and
frustrating me.

M. Katz

Well. That's very freaky and I suggest you complain. If you are in X, use
the Feedback option under Help, if in 2001 or 98, go to this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/feedback/suggestion.asp
which goes straight to the mac Office unit.

I haven't noticed that behavior, although I was ranting about the horrible
design of VBA help recently. You could try the same test using "footnote"
instead of endnote, out of curiosity. I ran my test with the Assistant both
on and off, and while the Assistant does produce fewer responses, it didn't
seem to matter. In mine, plain "endnote" instead of "same endnote number"
actually returned the right entry at #4 instead of #6, and I think I have
noticed before that putting in a generic term instead of asking a question
is sometimes more helpful. I think the Search function is supposed to be
"fuzzy" and make guesses about what people want, but I didn't think the
rules changed from search to search. Interestingly, if you know what you
need is a "cross-reference" and search that, the endnote directions come up
at about #18.

Glad you got your issue straightened out, anyhow.

DM

 

[Clive Huggan]

Well. That's very freaky and I suggest you complain. If you are in X, use
the Feedback option under Help, if in 2001 or 98, go to this link:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/feedback/suggestion.asp
which goes straight to the mac Office unit.

I haven't noticed that behavior, although I was ranting about the horrible
design of VBA help recently. You could try the same test using "footnote"
instead of endnote, out of curiosity. I ran my test with the Assistant both
on and off, and while the Assistant does produce fewer responses, it didn't
seem to matter. In mine, plain "endnote" instead of "same endnote number"
actually returned the right entry at #4 instead of #6, and I think I have
noticed before that putting in a generic term instead of asking a question
is sometimes more helpful. I think the Search function is supposed to be
"fuzzy" and make guesses about what people want,

Yes, according to John McGhie on 14 October, in response to a similar query:

'The Index is useless: it doesn't seem to have been updated for years. I
NEVER use it!

Use the Search facility in the Help. Always. And give Search enough words
to work with: it's a very sophisticated free-text search using branching and
stemming and fuzzy logic. If you search for "bullets" you may not get
useful results. If you search for "How do I insert bullets" you will get a
much better result.'

And I imagine it's possible that part of the deal may be that Help "learns"
from a previous query...

--Clive Huggan