How to shorten text in table of contents

F

Frank Drost

I would like to create a table of all my figures. All my
figures have the normal captions style, so I can easily
create such a table and all figures, text, pagenumbers etc
are correct. But some of my captions in my main document
are rather long. So these long captions show up in the
table as well. Rather that I shorten the real caption, I
only would like to shorten the wording of the caption as
it shows up in the table. How do I do that?
 
J

Jay Freedman

Frank said:
I would like to create a table of all my figures. All my
figures have the normal captions style, so I can easily
create such a table and all figures, text, pagenumbers etc
are correct. But some of my captions in my main document
are rather long. So these long captions show up in the
table as well. Rather that I shorten the real caption, I
only would like to shorten the wording of the caption as
it shows up in the table. How do I do that?

Hi Frank,

This is going to be a PITA no matter which way you approach it...

When you use the dialog to create a Table of Figures, it inserts a TOC field
with (among others) the switch
\c "Figure"
This picks up all the captions, which use a SEQ field with the "Figure"
identifier to create the figure numbers. There's no way to tell this widget
"oh, but on these few I want the short caption" -- either you get all the
long captions or you get none of them.

You can fake it out as follows:

- First, click the ¶ button so you can see hidden text. This will become
important in the next step.

- Go to the end of a long caption, and press Ctrl+F9 to insert a pair of
field braces { }. (Note that you can't just type braces on the keyboard, as
they won't work to make a field.) Between the braces, type this:

TC Figure Text of short caption

(of course, type your actual short caption there).

- Select the figure number from the beginning of the long caption (this is
actually a SEQ field) and drag it into the TC field after the word "Figure".
Then, in the long caption where the number used to be, type the figure
number as plain text.

- Repeat for all other long captions.

- Press ¶ again to turn off hidden text. The TC fields will be hidden.

- Select the whole document and press F9 to update it. When it asks about
the Table of Figures, tell it to update the entire table. The TOC will read
the short captions inside the TC fields, because they have the SEQ field
with the "Figure" identifier; and it will also read any regular captions
that haven't been altered this way.

This is where the PITA comes in: If you insert or remove figures, the
plain-text numbers in the long captions won't change to reflect that. You'll
have to go through all the captions, making manual changes to the long
caption numbers.

Maybe someone else will contribute a way that keeps the long caption numbers
in sync without also stuffing them into the TOC.
 
R

Robert M. Franz

Hi Jay

Jay Freedman wrote:
[..]
- Select the figure number from the beginning of the long caption (this is
actually a SEQ field) and drag it into the TC field after the word "Figure".
Then, in the long caption where the number used to be, type the figure
number as plain text. [..]
This is where the PITA comes in: If you insert or remove figures, the
plain-text numbers in the long captions won't change to reflect that. You'll
have to go through all the captions, making manual changes to the long
caption numbers.

Maybe someone else will contribute a way that keeps the long caption numbers
in sync without also stuffing them into the TOC.

Two ideas (never really implemented myself):

- Bookmark the SEQ in the TC-field and cross-reference it in the caption
itself (or better: leave the SEQ-field in front and reproduce the same
SEQ-number in the TC-field, IIRC there's a switch for that).

- Use a style separator/hidden para mark.

2cents
Robert
 
J

jay

"Use a style separator/hidden para mark"

Depending on the version of Word you are using, the 'style seperator"
can be pretty useful.
See the thread in this forum titled "Use of Style Separator command? "
for discussion and instructions.
regards
Jay
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

The style separator/hidden paragraph mark was going to be my suggestion.
This is by far the quickest solution and probably the easiest to maintain.



Robert M. Franz said:
Hi Jay

Jay Freedman wrote:
[..]
- Select the figure number from the beginning of the long caption (this is
actually a SEQ field) and drag it into the TC field after the word "Figure".
Then, in the long caption where the number used to be, type the figure
number as plain text. [..]
This is where the PITA comes in: If you insert or remove figures, the
plain-text numbers in the long captions won't change to reflect that. You'll
have to go through all the captions, making manual changes to the long
caption numbers.

Maybe someone else will contribute a way that keeps the long caption numbers
in sync without also stuffing them into the TOC.

Two ideas (never really implemented myself):

- Bookmark the SEQ in the TC-field and cross-reference it in the caption
itself (or better: leave the SEQ-field in front and reproduce the same
SEQ-number in the TC-field, IIRC there's a switch for that).

- Use a style separator/hidden para mark.

2cents
Robert
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | MS
\ / | MVP
X Against HTML | for
/ \ in e-mail & news | Word
 
J

Jay Freedman

As near as I can tell, the TOC field for the Table of Figures (using the \c
"Figure" switch) picks up any paragraph that contains a SEQ field using the
"Figure" identifier. It doesn't even have to be in Caption style.

BUT... The point of this was to have only the long caption visible in the
document, and to have only the short caption appear in the TOF. Having a
hidden paragraph mark or a style separator doesn't do any good unless the
short caption that follows it is hidden. I know I was able to get this to
work by using the TC field before I posted my first answer, but now I can't
repeat it. :-( If the SEQ field is hidden, either by putting it in a TC
field by by directly applying Hidden formatting to the short caption, the
TOC field doesn't see it at all.

Sorry -- forget I was even here...

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
The style separator/hidden paragraph mark was going to be my
suggestion. This is by far the quickest solution and probably the
easiest to maintain.


Robert M. Franz said:
Hi Jay

Jay Freedman wrote:
[..]
- Select the figure number from the beginning of the long caption
(this is actually a SEQ field) and drag it into the TC field after
the word "Figure". Then, in the long caption where the number used
to be, type the figure number as plain text. [..]
This is where the PITA comes in: If you insert or remove figures,
the plain-text numbers in the long captions won't change to reflect
that. You'll have to go through all the captions, making manual
changes to the long caption numbers.

Maybe someone else will contribute a way that keeps the long
caption numbers in sync without also stuffing them into the TOC.

Two ideas (never really implemented myself):

- Bookmark the SEQ in the TC-field and cross-reference it in the
caption itself (or better: leave the SEQ-field in front and
reproduce the same SEQ-number in the TC-field, IIRC there's a switch
for that).

- Use a style separator/hidden para mark.

2cents
Robert
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | MS
\ / | MVP
X Against HTML | for
/ \ in e-mail & news | Word
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

I think you misunderstand what we are suggesting, which is:

Figure 1. Short caption to be included. <SS or HPB> Rest of caption in a
different style (not Caption).



Jay Freedman said:
As near as I can tell, the TOC field for the Table of Figures (using the \c
"Figure" switch) picks up any paragraph that contains a SEQ field using the
"Figure" identifier. It doesn't even have to be in Caption style.

BUT... The point of this was to have only the long caption visible in the
document, and to have only the short caption appear in the TOF. Having a
hidden paragraph mark or a style separator doesn't do any good unless the
short caption that follows it is hidden. I know I was able to get this to
work by using the TC field before I posted my first answer, but now I can't
repeat it. :-( If the SEQ field is hidden, either by putting it in a TC
field by by directly applying Hidden formatting to the short caption, the
TOC field doesn't see it at all.

Sorry -- forget I was even here...

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
The style separator/hidden paragraph mark was going to be my
suggestion. This is by far the quickest solution and probably the
easiest to maintain.


Robert M. Franz said:
Hi Jay

Jay Freedman wrote:
[..]
- Select the figure number from the beginning of the long caption
(this is actually a SEQ field) and drag it into the TC field after
the word "Figure". Then, in the long caption where the number used
to be, type the figure number as plain text.
[..]
This is where the PITA comes in: If you insert or remove figures,
the plain-text numbers in the long captions won't change to reflect
that. You'll have to go through all the captions, making manual
changes to the long caption numbers.

Maybe someone else will contribute a way that keeps the long
caption numbers in sync without also stuffing them into the TOC.

Two ideas (never really implemented myself):

- Bookmark the SEQ in the TC-field and cross-reference it in the
caption itself (or better: leave the SEQ-field in front and
reproduce the same SEQ-number in the TC-field, IIRC there's a switch
for that).

- Use a style separator/hidden para mark.

2cents
Robert
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | MS
\ / | MVP
X Against HTML | for
/ \ in e-mail & news | Word
 
J

Jay Freedman

Ah, yes, I did misunderstand. I had in mind that the short caption would be
sufficiently different from the long caption that you would want to see only
one or the other:

Figure 1 When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things,
you sometimes find that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is
quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking
at it. { TC Figure 1 A Bear of Very Little Brain }

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
I think you misunderstand what we are suggesting, which is:

Figure 1. Short caption to be included. <SS or HPB> Rest of caption
in a different style (not Caption).


Jay Freedman said:
As near as I can tell, the TOC field for the Table of Figures (using
the \c "Figure" switch) picks up any paragraph that contains a SEQ
field using the "Figure" identifier. It doesn't even have to be in
Caption style.

BUT... The point of this was to have only the long caption visible
in the document, and to have only the short caption appear in the
TOF. Having a hidden paragraph mark or a style separator doesn't do
any good unless the short caption that follows it is hidden. I know
I was able to get this to work by using the TC field before I posted
my first answer, but now I can't repeat it. :-( If the SEQ field is
hidden, either by putting it in a TC field by by directly applying
Hidden formatting to the short caption, the TOC field doesn't see it
at all.

Sorry -- forget I was even here...

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
The style separator/hidden paragraph mark was going to be my
suggestion. This is by far the quickest solution and probably the
easiest to maintain.


Hi Jay

Jay Freedman wrote:
[..]
- Select the figure number from the beginning of the long caption
(this is actually a SEQ field) and drag it into the TC field after
the word "Figure". Then, in the long caption where the number used
to be, type the figure number as plain text.
[..]
This is where the PITA comes in: If you insert or remove figures,
the plain-text numbers in the long captions won't change to
reflect that. You'll have to go through all the captions, making
manual changes to the long caption numbers.

Maybe someone else will contribute a way that keeps the long
caption numbers in sync without also stuffing them into the TOC.

Two ideas (never really implemented myself):

- Bookmark the SEQ in the TC-field and cross-reference it in the
caption itself (or better: leave the SEQ-field in front and
reproduce the same SEQ-number in the TC-field, IIRC there's a
switch for that).

- Use a style separator/hidden para mark.

2cents
Robert
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | MS
\ / | MVP
X Against HTML | for
/ \ in e-mail & news | Word
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

Umm, good point. I'm a bear of very fuzzy brain lately (now on Day 9 of the
crud).



Jay Freedman said:
Ah, yes, I did misunderstand. I had in mind that the short caption would be
sufficiently different from the long caption that you would want to see only
one or the other:

Figure 1 When you are a Bear of Very Little Brain, and you Think of Things,
you sometimes find that a Thing which seemed very Thingish inside you is
quite different when it gets out into the open and has other people looking
at it. { TC Figure 1 A Bear of Very Little Brain }

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
I think you misunderstand what we are suggesting, which is:

Figure 1. Short caption to be included. <SS or HPB> Rest of caption
in a different style (not Caption).


Jay Freedman said:
As near as I can tell, the TOC field for the Table of Figures (using
the \c "Figure" switch) picks up any paragraph that contains a SEQ
field using the "Figure" identifier. It doesn't even have to be in
Caption style.

BUT... The point of this was to have only the long caption visible
in the document, and to have only the short caption appear in the
TOF. Having a hidden paragraph mark or a style separator doesn't do
any good unless the short caption that follows it is hidden. I know
I was able to get this to work by using the TC field before I posted
my first answer, but now I can't repeat it. :-( If the SEQ field is
hidden, either by putting it in a TC field by by directly applying
Hidden formatting to the short caption, the TOC field doesn't see it
at all.

Sorry -- forget I was even here...

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP

Suzanne S. Barnhill wrote:
The style separator/hidden paragraph mark was going to be my
suggestion. This is by far the quickest solution and probably the
easiest to maintain.


Hi Jay

Jay Freedman wrote:
[..]
- Select the figure number from the beginning of the long caption
(this is actually a SEQ field) and drag it into the TC field after
the word "Figure". Then, in the long caption where the number used
to be, type the figure number as plain text.
[..]
This is where the PITA comes in: If you insert or remove figures,
the plain-text numbers in the long captions won't change to
reflect that. You'll have to go through all the captions, making
manual changes to the long caption numbers.

Maybe someone else will contribute a way that keeps the long
caption numbers in sync without also stuffing them into the TOC.

Two ideas (never really implemented myself):

- Bookmark the SEQ in the TC-field and cross-reference it in the
caption itself (or better: leave the SEQ-field in front and
reproduce the same SEQ-number in the TC-field, IIRC there's a
switch for that).

- Use a style separator/hidden para mark.

2cents
Robert
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | MS
\ / | MVP
X Against HTML | for
/ \ in e-mail & news | Word
 

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