List Style Woes in Word XP

[Carley Schaffer]

I have two list styles defined and saved in my
normal.dot. Each has nine levels and each level is
associated with its own style. Why is it my documents
become corrupt whenever I use both list styles in the
same document? Is it that Word is designed so that you
are to use one list style and customize it or is there
something wrong with my list styles?

Please advise.

 

[Margaret Aldis]

Hi Carley

I find it difficult to imagine that 'design' comes into Word numbering
somehow <g>.

My assumption (may be wrong) is that List Styles were introduced in XP to
provide a way of applying numbering schemes *without* using linked Paragraph
Styles, but avoiding direct use of the List Gallery disaster area.

So since you say you are using linked paragraph styles, you don't need to
use List Styles at all; just set up each of the outline numbering schemes
from its top-level paragraph style as explained in detail by Shauna Kelly in

http://www.ShaunaKelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html.

I would start afresh in a new document, as you cannot delete list templates
(numbering schemes), even if you delete the List Styles, and you don't want
to leave potentially corrupting elements in place.

If that doesn't do what you want, post back with more detail about how your
styles and numbering are supposed to interact.

 

[Tom Smith]

Margaret--in your reply you suggest

<<just set up each of the outline numbering schemes
from its top-level paragraph style as explained in detail by Shauna Kelly .
.. .>>

Is it possible to have 2 outline numbering schemes in one template? Thx.
TomS

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Yes. See the article Margaret referenced at
http://www.ShaunaKelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html. You can
have as many outline numbering schemes (list templates) as you want, but if
you want them to work properly, they need to be linked to styles.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Tom Smith]

I guess I thought there could only be one outline numbering scheme in a
template because the scheme would be linked to 'outline view' and therefore
you couldn't have two.

Is is the case, then, that you can have an outline numbering scheme that's n
o t linked to outline view?

(Pardon my bafflement. I thought I understood something and now am getting
that sinking feeling that everything I know might be wrong . . .).

 

[Margaret Aldis]

Hi all

Yes, that's my understanding as well. I can't find any current connection in
the object model or behaviour between 'outline numbering' (I prefer to call
this 'multi-level numbering' for this reason) and the 'outline levels' that
can be assigned to paragraphs (via style, direct para formatting, or the
wretched Document Map's bad behaviour).

I suspect the terminology muddle is historical because IIRC pre Word 97 only
the built-in heading styles could have multi-level numbering, and the levels
may even have been preset as per outline levels.

Now just as confusing as Word's new use of the word 'frame' in fact <sigh>.

 

[Bruce Brown]

Tom -

Your comment about Outline View led me to open up a template I had
created with several different list templates, each with a different
name and a linked to a different set of styles, and switch over to
Outline View.

Although the user-defined, non-Heading styles appear as different
levels of an outline, what happens is that they won't promote or
demote the way they would by using Tab or Shift>Tab in the Normal
view. That is to say, when you demote MyOutlineStyle 1 to level 2 you
do not get MyOutlineStyle 2 as you would with the Tab key; instead,
you get MyOutlineStyle 1 at level 2. Same for levels 3, 4 and so on.

But the Heading styles promoted and demoted the exactly way they would
with the use of the Tab key. In fact, the tag in the leftmost arrow
says "Promote to Heading 1" and in the rightmost arrow it says "Demote
to Body Text." So the Outline View is clearly intended for use with
Heading styles.

However, apart from promoting and demoting, the non-Heading styles
could be dragged and dropped exactly like the Heading styles.

I guess the lesson is not that you can't have multiple list templates
in the same document, but that the Outline View's promotion/demotion
feature is one more "perk" that the built-in Heading styles enjoy over
their user-defined rivals. - Bruce

======================================================================

 

[Tom Smith]

My thanks to one and all. It's much clearer now, and after I've read through
your comments again I may even be able to get my lobes securely around the
issue! Again, thx. Tom

 

[Shauna Kelly]

Hi Bruce

For what it's worth, this is not my experience (Word 2002, SP-2). That is, I can create an outline numbered list, attach the levels
to custom styles (say, myOne, myTwo, myThree etc), and give it a name. I can then promote/demote in Outline view (and in other
views) using Alt-Shift-Right / Left or using Tab/Backspace. Word promotes/demotes correctly.

I wonder what's causing the differences in experience?

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word
Melbourne, Australia