Inserting information in one place thatupdates all other instances

[Nicholasgross]

Version: v.X
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)

G'day guys,

I'm wondering if someone out there knows how to help. I'm working on some project templates and I would like it to be set-up so that when you enter in the document name and the document version number, the header and the footers are updated accordingly.

I'm thinking this has something to do with field codes but I've only just discovered field codes and I don't really know what I'm doing.
cheers

 

[Clive Huggan]

G'day Nicholas,

Take a look at pages 141-143 (especially the item titled "Header that
displays the edition details, or other details, from the front page"
starting on page 142) of some notes on the way I use Word for the Mac,
titled "Bend Word to Your Will", which are available as a free download from
the Word MVPs' website
(http://word.mvps.org/Mac/Bend/BendWordToYourWill.html).

[Note: "Bend Word to your will" is designed to be used electronically and
most subjects are self-contained dictionary-style entries. If you decide to
read more widely than the item I've referred to, it's important to read the
front end of the document -- especially pages 3 and 5 -- so you can select
some Word settings that will allow you to use the document effectively.]

StylRef fields are a brilliant feature of Word.

"Bend Word to Your Will" itself is formatted to show the edition in the
header, taken from the style "version number,vn" on the front page. I never
bothered to have the front-page document title done as a StyleRef, for no
particular reason.

An explanation for the ",vn" mentioned above: Keyboard shortcuts can be used
to apply styles very quickly: with your insertion point in the paragraph you
want to style, key Command-Shift-s followed by the style name. If you amend
the names of your styles by following the full title with a comma and a
short title (for example, heading styles as “Heading 3,3†etc) then you only
have to key Command-Shift-s » [short title, e.g. “3â€] » [Return]. Similarly,
style "version number,vn" is invoked by Command-Shift‑s » vn » [Return].

I understand that in Word X, the Formatting palette has to be open for the
Command-Shift-s keyboard shortcut to work.

Antipodean salutations,

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is 5-11 hours different from the Americas and Europe, so my
follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
====================================================

 

[Nicholasgross]

Thanks Clive,

So sorry for the lateness in my reply! I'll definitely have a look at this word stuff, it'll be sitting as a little gold-nugget of information in my inbox waiting for when I come back to that project.

Because I'm mainly using desktop publishing I've never really invested any time getting to know the darker arts of Word and that's come back to bite me in the bottom now. Thanks for your help and your generosity,

Very southern salutations
cheers

Nick

 

[Clive Huggan]

Good on you, Nick -- keep at it. Word loses no opportunity to perplex, but
it does have some powerful features. Hanging around here is the best way to
obtain a relatively painless introduction to them.

I'm at the workflow stage just before yours; I develop strategic planning
documents. I rarely produce the finished product out of Word but I have
refined my practices in collaboration with my graphic design colleagues so
that text is pre-styled for maximum affinity with InDesign or Quark XPress.
It allows us to take a longer sniff of the roses... ;-)

Cheers,

Clive
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