How do I stop the number being included when selecting text

[Renishug]

Word 2003 SP3

When I select the text at the start of a paragraph that is part of a
numbered list, the number comes with it. Same is true for bulleted lists. But
I don't usually want the number/bullet. I am careful to select just the text
that I want - it doesn't include the paragraph mark, and I've tried selecting
from the left and from the right. How can I stop the number/bullet also being
included? Thanks.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If you select the entire paragraph, or text up to the end of the paragraph,
the likelihood is that the paragraph mark is being included even if you
carefully exclude it. This is Word trying to be helpful. If you have "Smart
paragraph selection" checked on the Edit tab of Tools | Options, you might
see whether clearing it makes a difference.

 

[Renishug]

Thanks Susan, but it hasn't solved the problem.

The problem only shows up when:
(a) at least the first character from the paragraph is selected, and
(b) you paste it into something like Notepad, or a text box in some
application. (If you paste it back into Word, it doesn't include the
number/bullet. Sorry, I only just spotted this; I often paste into text
search tools, where I then have to delete the piggy-backed number/bullet.)

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Sorry, I'm out of ideas. Perhaps someone else can suggest something.

 

[Stefan Blom]

Selecting a whole paragraph and pasting into a text editor (such as NotePad)
brings any paragraph numbers along (pasting them as plain text of course).
That is expected behavior.

However, I must admit that it was news to me that copying, say, the first
letter of a numbered paragraph into a plain text editor behaves the same
way. I can definitely reproduce it, and to me it seems like a bug.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I agree that it seems like a bug. Perhaps we should gather more version
information (i.e., does this happen in all Word versions?).

 

[PamC via OfficeKB.com]

This happens to me as well. But it is new behavior. I use Pure Text so I
can copy cleanly between applications as well as a paste plain text macro
within Word. Until 2 year ago --when I was still using W2003--both worked
properly. After that, when pasting even within Word, the bullets get changed
to plain text and are retained. This is almost as bad as having it format
everything improperly. Now that I use Word 2007 I have cleared the checkbox
next to "Don't add space between paragraphs of the same type" in Word
options. Still they come. It even pastes plain text bullets in Google
search boxes. And, yes. All you need to catch is the first character after
the bullet. Frankly, I think it is a Windows issue, not Word. But how and
where can the behavior be changed?.

I agree that it seems like a bug. Perhaps we should gather more version
information (i.e., does this happen in all Word versions?).

Selecting a whole paragraph and pasting into a text editor (such as
NotePad)

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