Reordering an outlined list that has cross references

[Jim]

Is there a way to move items around in an outline list
without messing up cross references? For example (sorry
about the length), suppose you have the following text:
------------------------
1. Line A
2. Line B
3. Line C
4. Line D
5. Cross references
5.1 the a line (1)
5.2 the b line (2)
5.3 the c line (3)
5.4 the d line (4)
------------------------
where the values in the parentheses are from cross
references.
Now I need to move the lines around, say swap lines B and
C. If I move C up, then the cross reference list ends up
as:
------------------------
5.1 the a line (1)
5.2 the b line (2)
5.3 the c line (2)
5.4 the d line (4)
------------------------
If instead I move B down, then the cross reference list
ends up as:
------------------------
5.1 the a line (1)
5.2 the b line (3)
5.3 the c line (2)
5.4 the d line (3)
------------------------
Is there any way to move items without causing problems?
I have a 50 page document that is heavily cross
referenced (average of about 5 a page). Right now,
whenever I move anything, I have to go back through and
reverify that my cross references did not get corrupted.
Thanks for any help.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Are you wanting the cross-reference numbers to stay the same even when moved
or to be renumbered? If the former, note that you may have to update them
manually (it's not clear to me what you're cross-referencing; are the
numbers paragraph numbers inserted using Insert | Cross-reference?). If the
latter, you might try using SEQ fields instead (and they will definitely
have to be updated manually).

--
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.

 

[Jim]

Sorry, I was not clear. The document I have is a
specification document that I am writing. I am writing it
in the Outline view since the format does not really
matter until it is done, but the content does. Each
sentence needs to be uniquely addressable, so the outline
view lets me do this. For example:
3.5.23.1 - User Information Dialog Box
3.5.23.2 - Error Status Window

The cross references are used to refer among the
requirements. For example

"5.23.6 New user information shall be entered using the
User Information Dialog (See 3.5.23.1) with errors
displayed in the error window (See 3.5.23.2)."

- where the numbered references are inserted cross
references to the example items from above.

The problems arise when I need to move items around. If,
in my example, I moved the item 3.5.23.2 up one position,
Word would correctly renumber it to 3.5.23.1 and change
the "User Information Dialog" to be 3.5.23.2. However the
cross references in 5.23.6 would now be incorrect. It
should read:

"5.23.6 New user information shall be entered using the
User Information Dialog (See 3.5.23.2) with errors
displayed in the error window (See 3.5.23.1)."

but actually reads

"5.23.6 New user information shall be entered using the
User Information Dialog (See 3.5.23.1) with errors
displayed in the error window (See 3.5.23.1)."

It appears Word has a bug when moving items in that it
drops the moved text in after the hidden anchor reference
rather than before it. The question is: Can this be
worked around, or should I continue to manually check
every cross reference whenever I move text?

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Okay, I see the problem. I assume you are using outline numbering, correctly
set up according to the guidelines detailed at
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html. Word does
have a chronic problem with getting text inside cross-reference bookmarks,
and this might be aggravated in Outline view. The usual workaround is to
add an empty paragraph before inserting or moving text. Create the empty
paragraph by pressing Enter at the end of the previous paragraph rather than
at the beginning of the following paragraph (which will inevitably be inside
the bookmark).

--
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.