New and infuriated!!!

[XmisterIS]

Hi all,

I am new here and I am furious with Microsoft Word!!!

RANT
I am a die-hard Linux user and I am being forced to use MS Word because
the University wants all documents in that format *grumble*.

Anyway, I have no idea what version of word I am using because the
interface is completely nuts. Gone is the nice little "version"
pull-down that plainly and simply tells you what software version you
are using!

Also, why is it so darned complicated??!!! It seems to be taking me 10
minutes to do with the wretched GUI what it would take me 1 minute to do
using the command line in Linux. Furthermore, the GUI layout is
completely different from every other word processor I have ever used.
How come I can do things so fast in freeware like OpenOffice, but it
takes me ages in MS Word??

I have nearly smashed the mouse ...
/RANT

*ahem*

Anyway, here is my question:

Please note, I can do this in 2 or 3 seconds in OpenOffice on Linux ...
I can't do it AT ALL with MS Word, I've been trying for half an hour.
It is so simple it makes me want to cry. All I want is level two
headings numbered 1, 2, 3, etc and paragraphs under them numbered 1.1,
1.2 .... 2.1, 2.2, etc and I want it so that when I use tab or tab+ctrl
it adjust the indent and numbering appropriately.

Any ideas?

If there is no simple way, I will go back to OpenOffice and submit my
work in PDF format. I hate windows, word, office, you name it, if it
is called "Microsoft", I hate it!!!!!

This post is brought to you from Firefox

Ok ... My rant is truly over!

To perhaps make things clearer, here's what I want to do, were I to do
it in XHTML:


<ol>
<li style="heading1">Kitchen</li>
<ol>
<li style="heading2">blue cupboard</li>
<ol style="bodytext">
<li>pot</li>
<li>pan</li>
<li>skillet</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<li style="heading1">Kitchen</li>
<ol>
<li style="heading2">blue cupboard</li>
<ol style="bodytext">
<li>pot</li>
<li>pan</li>
<li>skillet</li>
</ol>
</ol>
<!-- etc, etc, etc -->
</ol>

 

[Gordon]

Hi all,

I am new here and I am furious with Microsoft Word!!!

RANT
I am a die-hard Linux user and I am being forced to use MS Word because
the University wants all documents in that format *grumble*.

Err Open Office will save in MS Word format.

 

[Gordon]

Hi all,

I am new here and I am furious with Microsoft Word!!!

RANT
I am a die-hard Linux user and I am being forced to use MS Word because
the University wants all documents in that format *grumble*.

So will Abiword - save to *.doc format that is.

 

[Graham Mayor]

Your problem is with the University not Microsoft and you are
unrealistically expecting to be instantly up to speed in an application that
bears little resemblance to what you are used to and haven't taken the time
to learn. However OpenOffice, while bearing little resemblance to Word
operationally will produce Word format output, so use that if you are
happier with it.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP


<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Yves Dhondt]

Considering that you can't find anything, I'm guessing you are using Word
2007. Version information can be found by clicking the 'Office orb', 'Word
Options', 'Resources', 'About'. Alternatively, in Windows, you can just
right click the executable, and pick properties. There you can find detailed
version information about the executable.

The easiest way in Word 2007 to do what you want is to on the "Home" tab in
the "Paragraph" group, click the "Multilevel List" button. You can either
define your own or use one of the predefined ones (there is one with your
requirements).

Switching levels can be done by clicking the "Increase Indent" and "Decrease
Indent" buttons right next to "Multilevel List" button. Default you can use
the combinations Alt+HAO and Alt+HAI but you can of course assign shorter
shortcuts if you want.

Yves

 

[Marsh]

You should quit you position with the University. Imagine the gall to want
documents to be opened in Word. They should mandate that everyone switch to
Linux. They are just a bunch of naricists.

 

[Gordon]

They are just a bunch of naricists.

What's a "naricist"?

 

[Marsh]

I made a major typo and meant narcissist. Just a sarcastic comment.
People should learn to adapt and learn rather than complaining.
It is not un

 

[XmisterIS]

Oh yes, I have tried saving to MS Word format in Open Office. Open
Office will display the resulting file correctly, however in MS Word it
looks like a *-wretched abomination-*. A *-wretched filthy
abomination-* and nothing less.

Yes, the world would be a better place if we all used Linux! In fact,
the world would be a better place if we used a bank of interchangeable
syndicated XML feed formats with memory efficiency being provided by an
automatic tag indexing system (like a "tag palette").

They shall have their documents in PDF format and damned be their
*-eyes-* and *-teeth-* if they don't like it.

 

[Yves Dhondt]

Your solution for making the world a better place is in fact the cause of
the problem. By decoupling the data (xml) from the way the data is displayed
(html with css, rtf, plain text, ...), you allow for different programs to
display the data in a different way.

The success of PDF is mainly because it tightly integrates the content and
its formatting. It has serious downsides of course: hard to update,
predefined page size (and thus unaware of the paper size of your printer),
....

You have to choose what you want, ultimate freedom to manipulate your data,
or always the same "correct" display. You can't have both.

On a side note, I find it funny that you argue that OpenOffice displays Word
documents correctly, while Word does not. You are turning the world upside
down. Microsoft invented and implemented the format (probably at the same
time and thereby letting one thing influence the other) while OpenOffice
only came much later with its implementation. Although they have done a
tremendous job considering the lack of documentation on some parts, you
can't expect OpenOffice to be 100% compatible with Word.

Yves

 

[CTURNER82]

A naricist is someone who is in love with himself and can't spell. (But what
does spelling matter when you're so darned good looking?)

p.s. Marsh--good points!

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I figured since "nares" = "nostrils," perhaps a naricist was someone who
looked down his nose at others, or a nose picker, or someone who gets up
others' noses.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Gordon]

I figured since "nares" = "nostrils," perhaps a naricist was someone who
looked down his nose at others, or a nose picker, or someone who gets up
others' noses.

ROTFL!

 

[JoAnn Paules]

Or maybe someone who picks other peoples' noese.


(Yuck)

 

[SteveH]

Or maybe someone who picks other peoples' noese.


(Yuck)

Like a plastic surgeon?

 

[Brian Mailman]

Like a plastic surgeon?

No, in that case you pick your nose and the surgeon puts it on.

B/