Footnotes

[Rob Spence]

Suddenly, using Word vX, I find footnotes are numbering out of
sequence. If I insert a footnote, where it should be, say, footnote
10, the automatic numbering goes to 3. When I try to set the number
through options, it still happens. Anybody know what's going on?

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

That's a hard one, someone had the same problem and while back and I don't
think solved it...

Are you using Track Changes, in which case I believe notes don't update
until you have accepted all changes?

Do you have cross-references in there that might need to be manually
updated?

Are all footnotes starting at 3 or does it change depending on where you
attempt to insert it?

What do you mean by "it still happens" when you try to set the number
through options? (that action *should* change the starting number for the
entire document but only indirectly apply to the note you are inserting, and
you can set Options, then click Close rather than inserting a note.)

Was the document originally created in Word and Insert | Footnote used to
create the notes?

See this link
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/AppErrors/CorruptDoc.htm
For things to try with a corrupt document. One of these might have fixed
the first person's problem, since I don't think he ever posted back. Please
let us know if something works.

Dayo

 

[John McGhie]

Yeah, I know what is going on Footnotes are a "hidden, hot field".
They number depending on the presence or absence of footnotes ahead of them.

Chances are, you have had Endnote operating in that document. Endnote
sometimes mangles the fields so that Word can't read them.

Check ALL of Dayo's suggestions very carefully: somewhere there are footnote
fields you are not aware of, or section breaks you haven't found.

It can be difficult to find footnotes by eye: go to the top of the document
and use Command + G then choose Footnote and Next. Wherever the cursor
stops, there's a footnote there, whether you can see it or not.

These problems often happen if footnotes occur in deleted text and track
changes has been left on and the changes have not been resolved. Until the
changes are resolved, of course, there are extra footnote fields in the
document you need to find and remove.

Hope this helps

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Hi John,

Last time this happened, the guy sent me a page. Command G (or Go To via
the F&R pane, since I've redefined it) goes to all of his footnotes and only
his footnotes, but Find for a footnote mark finds nothing in his document,
while in my document (unmangled although subjected to Endnote, but pre-X) it
finds all footnotes.

The problem seems to be not extra footnote fields but too few, Word has
ceased to recognize certain footnotes for numbering purposes. Any way to
re-convince Word these are notes? Yet Word will convert these to endnotes
and back to footnotes smoothly. They are still all in their proper style.

To Rob, it sounds as though Word has ceased to recognize all notes after 1
and 2 in your doc. Can you find any difference between the first 2 notes
and the rest of them?

Dayo

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word]]

Hi Dayo:

Yep: That's the usual source of bother, and is often caused by a user
transporting the document between versions of word without running EndNote's
Transport command.

As far as I know, the only cure is to delete the corrupted footnote and
re-insert a new one in its place. I think this has to be done laboriously
one-by-one.

If he is still struggling, tell him to send me an email and I will
investigate developing a macro to do it for him (I haven't looked into this
so I am not sure that it is possible, depending on what's in his EndNotes).

Cheers

This responds to microsoft.public.mac.office.word on Fri, 16 Jan 2004

 

[Dayo Mitchell]

Endnote has a Transport command?
I would imagine that unformatting the bibliography before opening the doc in
a new version, then reformatting in the new version, could help, rather than
transferring the formatted fields. The unformatted fields seem to basically
be text.

I tried to copy and paste some corrupted footnotes in my sample doc--they
all, regardless of original number or new placement in doc, posted as
footnote 1, although if I start fresh inserting notes, they start at 1 and
continue. Just FYI.

I emailed the previous guy for more info, and wish the OP would chime back
in.

Dayo