Problem with Style in Normal template

[Chris Kuhn]

I have Mac Book Pro, Snow Leopard (10.6.2) and Office 2008 (Word:mac 12.2.3)

I am trying to edit the Normal.dot template.

I have styles linked to headings and automatic numbering for the styles.

I cannot modify the style that I have named Heading 4 which is supposed to
be Level 1 of the numbering. When I attempt to "Modify Style", I "Format
(drop down) Numbering...", and it opens the "Bullets and Numbering" dialog
box. I click on the first box next to "None" (which is highlighted), then
"Customize." The "Customize outline numbered list" dialog opens, already at
Level 4 (I want it to be Level 1)

I change the level to 1, and the formatting is correct: numbering is right,
font is right, alignment is right, and it links to Heading 4.

I hit OK, then OK (but I can see in the preview that the numbering is still
level 4, not level 1 as I want) and the style has not changed.

I have tried checking the "add to template" box, but that does nothing.

What am I doing wrong? Is my Normal template corrupt? If so, how do I fix?

Any help appreciated.

Gitbo
(e-mail address removed)

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Chris:

Any Word document contains nine built-in styles, Headings 1 to 9.

They are the most reliable way to do heading numbering, because their
numbering level is hard-coded, it cannot be changed.

So: You are not doing anything wrong, you cannot change the Level property
of these styles, by design.

What you should do instead is REMOVE the numbering from Levels 1, 2, and 3.

That way, your numbering will start with the Heading 4 style, and it will
"just work".

The Heading 4 style will have an Outline Level of 4 that cannot be changed,
but Level 4 in your scheme is the first level that should have a number: the
first three levels have no numbering.

Trust me... It will work fine

Cheers

I have Mac Book Pro, Snow Leopard (10.6.2) and Office 2008 (Word:mac 12.2.3)

I am trying to edit the Normal.dot template.

I have styles linked to headings and automatic numbering for the styles.

I cannot modify the style that I have named Heading 4 which is supposed to
be Level 1 of the numbering. When I attempt to "Modify Style", I "Format
(drop down) Numbering...", and it opens the "Bullets and Numbering" dialog
box. I click on the first box next to "None" (which is highlighted), then
"Customize." The "Customize outline numbered list" dialog opens, already at
Level 4 (I want it to be Level 1)

I change the level to 1, and the formatting is correct: numbering is right,
font is right, alignment is right, and it links to Heading 4.

I hit OK, then OK (but I can see in the preview that the numbering is still
level 4, not level 1 as I want) and the style has not changed.

I have tried checking the "add to template" box, but that does nothing.

What am I doing wrong? Is my Normal template corrupt? If so, how do I fix?

Any help appreciated.

Gitbo
(e-mail address removed)

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

 

[CyberTaz]

..... But I understand where the Chris is coming from When you do as
described it does in fact give the impression that the level is changed. It
seems like such a small thing to have the Levels Control in the Format
Paragraph dialog dim/deactivate when modifying one of the built-in Heading
styles. I don't recall ever seeing anything in print that explains this...
At least not anything that's at all near the surface.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[John McGhie]

Oh, I know where he's coming from too

I was one of the main protagonists who spent ten years bullying anyone at
Microsoft who would listen to have the change made.

They grudgingly changed the styles, but so far, have not managed to explain
this in the Help in any of the past five versions of Word

Cheers

.... But I understand where the Chris is coming from When you do as

described it does in fact give the impression that the level is changed. It
seems like such a small thing to have the Levels Control in the Format
Paragraph dialog dim/deactivate when modifying one of the built-in Heading
styles. I don't recall ever seeing anything in print that explains this...
At least not anything that's at all near the surface.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

 

[Chris Kuhn]

Oh, I know where he's coming from too

I was one of the main protagonists who spent ten years bullying anyone at
Microsoft who would listen to have the change made.

They grudgingly changed the styles, but so far, have not managed to explain
this in the Help in any of the past five versions of Word

Cheers




This email is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless you intend to pay!

--

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word); Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd, Sydney, Australia.
Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410; mailto:[email protected]

Thanks to you both for your help. I think I understand and I will give it a
try.

At least I am not crazy; Word just makes me feel that way!

Chris