Level 1 section numbering automatically reset to 1 when document is opened

[Alf P. Steinbach]

I'm using Office XP (I guess that means 2003).

Each chapter is in its own Word file.

Each chapter consists of one level 1 heading with sub-headings (level 2,
level 3).

In chapter 2, say, I want that level 1 heading to be numbered "2". When
I change it to "2", in the bullets-&-numbering dialog, it's "2" until I
save, close and re-open the document. Then it's changed back to "1",
and in about half the cases Word has also changed some of the general
options, such as setting fields to always have shading.

I suspect this has something to do with bullet lists being some
secondary kind of paragraph style and having Unholy Unintended
Interactions with paragraph styles, and further that it has to do with
having selected that styles should be automatically updated from the
document template when I open a document.

I want styles to be updated, because I want consistent styles, and I
want per-document settings of numbering etc. to be _retained_.

Do I have to stop usign the built-in numbering and instead simulate the
same using e.g. SEQ-fields? (If so, what utter crap!)

Help.

 

[Stefan Blom]

in message

I'm using Office XP (I guess that means 2003).

Actually, Office XP includes Word 2002. You can get version
information from Help>About Word.

Each chapter is in its own Word file.

Each chapter consists of one level 1 heading with sub-headings (level 2,
level 3).

In chapter 2, say, I want that level 1 heading to be numbered "2". When
I change it to "2", in the bullets-&-numbering dialog, it's "2" until I
save, close and re-open the document. Then it's changed back to "1",
and in about half the cases Word has also changed some of the general
options, such as setting fields to always have shading.

I suspect this has something to do with bullet lists being some
secondary kind of paragraph style and having Unholy Unintended
Interactions with paragraph styles, and further that it has to do with
having selected that styles should be automatically updated from the
document template when I open a document.

I want styles to be updated, because I want consistent styles, and I
want per-document settings of numbering etc. to be _retained_.

These two settings conflict, I'm afraid. For each document with
"Update document styles" checked in the Templates and Add-Ins dialog
box, Word will match the style settings to those of the attached
template when you open the document; this includes settings for
numbering schemes with linked styles. In other words: If you must use
"Update document styles", don't try to change the "Start at" value,
since it'll just revert to the "Start at" value of the template the
next time you open the document.

Do I have to stop usign the built-in numbering and instead simulate
the
same using e.g. SEQ-fields? (If so, what utter crap!)

Using SEQ fields is one method. It certainly keeps you in charge of
numbering. It could be tricky, depending on the number of heading
levels. If you've only got two, it's simple enough: { SEQ h1 } for
Heading 1 paragraphs. Add the \r switch whenever you need restarts.
Use { SEQ h1 \c } and { SEQ h2 \s 1 } for Heading 2 paragraphs.

A second method is to leave numbering starting at 1 for each separate
document and then use Insert>File, Insert as Link to bring the
documents together for (say) TOC creation and printing. The numbering
of the combined document will be continuous across Heading 1
paragraphs.

 

[Alf P. Steinbach]

* Stefan Blom:

in message


Actually, Office XP includes Word 2002. You can get version
information from Help>About Word.


These two settings conflict, I'm afraid. For each document with
"Update document styles" checked in the Templates and Add-Ins dialog
box, Word will match the style settings to those of the attached
template when you open the document; this includes settings for
numbering schemes with linked styles. In other words: If you must use
"Update document styles", don't try to change the "Start at" value,
since it'll just revert to the "Start at" value of the template the
next time you open the document.

Hm, okay. Or rather, that's what I was afraid would be the case.

Using SEQ fields is one method. It certainly keeps you in charge of
numbering. It could be tricky, depending on the number of heading
levels. If you've only got two, it's simple enough: { SEQ h1 } for
Heading 1 paragraphs. Add the \r switch whenever you need restarts.
Use { SEQ h1 \c } and { SEQ h2 \s 1 } for Heading 2 paragraphs.

A second method is to leave numbering starting at 1 for each separate
document and then use Insert>File, Insert as Link to bring the
documents together for (say) TOC creation and printing. The numbering
of the combined document will be continuous across Heading 1
paragraphs.

Thank you very much for taking the time to answer this.

For now I've just turned off the automatic updating of styles; a bit
more work to ensure consistency manually, but hopefully I'll manage.

I plan on using RD fields to generate the TOC and possibly index and so
on (have tested TOC generation with one chapter, RD field in other doc).
Previously I have had some very unpleasant experiences with Word master
documents, and found subsequently that that's documented everywhere on
the web, except by Microsoft. Also, with embedded objects. I'm afraid
that possibly Insert File as Link will embed something OLE-like and work
like master documents. In other words, are you sure that's safe?

 

[Stefan Blom]

in message

For now I've just turned off the automatic updating of styles; a bit
more work to ensure consistency manually, but hopefully I'll manage.

As long as you can convince users to apply styles instead of
direct formatting, this should work fine.

Note that for Word 2003 and later improved document protection allows
you to force the use of styles, which cannot be modified by the user.
Of course, this is not backward compatible; if such a document is
opened in a previous release it won't be editable at all (for those
who don't know the password).

I plan on using RD fields to generate the TOC and possibly index and
so
on (have tested TOC generation with one chapter, RD field in other
doc).

See the following article if you need more on RD fields/TOC creation:

Creating a Table of Contents Spanning Multiple Documents
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=148

Previously I have had some very unpleasant experiences with Word master
documents, and found subsequently that that's documented everywhere on
the web, except by Microsoft. Also, with embedded objects. I'm afraid
that possibly Insert File as Link will embed something OLE-like and work
like master documents. In other words, are you sure that's safe?

Insert>File, clicking the arrow next to the Insert button and choosing
Insert as Link won't embed an OLE object. It just inserts an
IncludeText field.