[Originally appeared 1999.]

After a few weeks pause, let’s return to automatic numbering. The e-mail on this issue continues to include strong expression. There was even a discussion thread on a WordPerfect newsgroup (although not sent to me), citing this column as an explanation why not to change from WordPerfect to Word. This column is not about competition between word processors. The column is devoted to excellent use of Microsoft Word to create, edit, and complete the documents of large organizations, with a focus on those of legal practice. In doing so, it is helpful and essential to understand the relationship of WordPerfect and Word, as last week’s column on Reveal Codes emphasized. If this discussion succeeds, then users of both word processors can learn to do their work better.

The previous columns on numbering became fairly complex, so it would be nice to tackle one “simple” issue, such as restarting a numbering sequence in the middle of a document. Would that “simple” be the proper adjective. Your comments and many others have described a variety of problems that can occur when restarting, including the changes in tabs and indents described in issue Word of Law No. 3. The numbering restarts may disappear when a new numbering scheme is applied. What is happening? Can all these problems be avoided?

Be warned. There is no way to fully explain the issues raised by a numbering restart without getting quite technical about Word’s structure, commands and operation. My aim is to challenge WOW’s readers to understand Word more thoroughly, and the crew at Microsoft to address carefully what they have constructed as they design improvements for Word 10.

Assume that a document has been formatted with a sequence of Heading 1 through Heading 9 styles, with each linked to an appropriate numbering format. Most documents do not require all 9 levels. Somewhere in the middle of the document (such as after the main body of the text ends and the exhibits or appendixes begin), the Heading 1 paragraph numbers need to restart with “1.”

One would imagine some sort of “simple” code that would cause the renumbering to occur. The paragraph where it occurs would need a property that starts the numbering again. Each continuous sequence of numbered paragraphs is a List, so the paragraph with the numbering restart needs to start a new list. So, we need a command that makes the numbering property of a paragraph (its ListFormat) start over. One could imagine a command like :

Selection.Range.ListFormat ContinuePreviousList:=False

Sorry, misplaced imagination. An example of working macro code that permits Word 97 to do restart paragraph numbering, generated (along with much else) from the “Restart” button on the Bullets and Numbering dialog, reads:

Selection.Range.ListFormat.ApplyListTemplate ListTemplate:=ListGalleries( _ wdOutlineNumberGallery).ListTemplates(6), ContinuePreviousList:=False, _ApplyTo:=wdListApplyToWholeList

So, Word must “apply” something called a “ListTemplate” to the paragraph and to the List in order to restart numbering. And, what is that code retrieving the ListTemplate from the ListGalleries(wdOutlineNumberGallery)?

This command opens the window to the core of Word 97’s paragraph numbering. It will take a good deal more than this week’s column to explore it fully.

A ListTemplate is not a template as we know it for other purposes in Word. It is not a separate file, but an object in Word’s object model. It can attach to a document or a template. As one would expect, a document inherits the ListTemplates contained in the template on which it is based. A ListTemplate is a container that groups the numbering and related format controls for a List. Each ListTemplate consists of either 1 or 9 ListLevels, depending on whether the OutlineNumberedproperty of the ListTemplate is true. Each ListLevel has a series of properties that set its numbering format, including the three that conflict with (and override) the similar settings in style formatting: NumberPosition (equivalent to FirstLineIndent), TextPosition (equivalent to LeftIndent) and TabPosition (the source of the Jason Tab).

A document or template can accumulate many ListTemplates, although there is no direct way to view them. The tool we have built into Word for controlling the ListTemplate settings is the Bullets and Numbering dialog. For OutlineNumbered ListTemplates, the Customize dialog of the OutLine Numbered tab of that dialog includes controls for almost all of the ListTemplate ListLevel properties. “Almost,” because the dialog omits a control for the TabPosition property, leaving us to the programmed 0.25 inch setting.

Now look harder at where the macro code example found the ListTemplate it used for the paragraph numbering restart: ListGalleries(wdOutlineNumberGallery).ListTemplates(6). Instead of taking the ListTemplate from the document or its attached template, Word took it from one of the ListTemplates in yet another collection of objections called the ListGallery. There are three ListGalleries, corresponding to the three tabs on the Bullets and Numbering dialog. They each have a default set of ListTemplates associated with their positions. When customized, the settings of the List Gallery, including the associated ListTemplate, are stored in the individual user’s Windows registry.

I hope you find that last sentence worthy of a least a week’s thought. It has important implications for numbering standards in an organization and the behavior (or misbehavior) of documents with automatic numbering. Fear not, the exploration will continue.

This 1999 article originally appeared in Office Watch.  Subscribe to Office Watch free at http://www.office-watch.com/.

[Originally appeared 1999.]

The request for suggestions for improvements to Word in a prior issue has yielded a flood of e-mail. I have begun to sort through those. Some have already been forwarded to Microsoft. Others deserve highlighting in the column.

Among the comments from former WordPerfect users, there never ceases to be a desire to “Reveal Codes.” This column will share some tools and strategies for exposing Word’s formatting controls. Beyond that, we all can be helped by considering the functions of WordPerfect’s methods of revealing its codes and whether Word could benefit from further development.

Why are WordPerfect users so devoted to revealing codes? Since the beginning of WordPerfect, users could view the codes that control its formatting in a split window. In this viewing mode, the document text appears in the upper portion of the screen, while the text together with formatting codes is “revealed” in the lower portion of the screen. As a user navigates through the text, the matching codes follow. This function has been maintained from the DOS through the Windows versions of WordPerfect.

Nearly all of the formatting of a WordPerfect document is controlled by the codes revealed in that lower portion of the screen. The WordPerfect user can modify or delete the codes by editing directly in the code window.

Microsoft’s official position about former WordPerfect user’s need to reveal codes was expressed briefly in Chapter 4 of the Office 97 Resource Kit:

In WordPerfect, users reveal codes to find and correct many errors. There is no need for reveal codes in Word 97. Word is WYSIWYG – what you see is what you get. Users see exactly what a document looks like on the screen. Sometimes, however, it is helpful to see what formatting has been applied to text or a graphic image. The Reveal Formats feature allows this. http://www.microsoft.com/Office/ORK/021/021.htm#ORK021C3

Since the release of Word 97, Microsoft has offered a more complete guide in its White Paper: Word 97: Life After Reveal Codes. http://support.microsoft.com/support/downloads/DP2461.ASP

EXPOSING FORMATS AND OTHER CONTROLS IN WORD

There are several tools that help expose the formatting of a Word document. Before a user (especially one who grew up on WordPerfect) can be fully comfortable with these, they must understand the structure of a Word document. The Life After Reveal Codes White Paper emphasizes these issues. By starting The Word of Law column in issue 4.20 with the Laws of Styles, we offer a strategy that maximizes effective use of Word’s document structure, and minimizes the hidden aspects of Word’s formatting. At the start, the WordPerfect user must learn that Word does not have the same kinds of codes as WordPerfect. Learning the way Word really works is the best way to avoid difficulties.

Still, many times it helps to be able to see as much as possible what controls a Word document’s formatting.

One strategy for Word users is to make its Normal View as revealing as it can be . The settings are on the View tab of Tools|Options. In Word 97, these must be set while in Normal View. In Word 2000, the settings on this tab are always visible. In the “Show” group at the top of the dialog, turn on bookmarks and Field Codes. Set Field Shading to “Always.” Set Non-printing characters to “Show All.” At the bottom, set the Style Area Width to a number greater than 0, such as 1 inch.

Together, these settings expose spaces, tabs, paragraph marks, page breaks, section breaks, stylenames and field codes. For documents that follow the Laws of Styles, this approach reveals nearly all of the necessary formatting controls, especially if direct formatting has been minimized. Showing Field Codes can make a document hard to read, so many users will want to turn that function on temporarily for diagnostic purposes. With default keystroke assignments, ALT F9 toggles between showing and hiding Field Codes.

A problem with using the Tools|Options View tab as instructed above is that many of these choices will apply automatically to both Normal and Page Layout View. Page Layout looks much cleaner if nearly all of the formatting controls are not visible. We still recommend leaving the paragraph marks showing. To avoid the problem, the Normal View and Page Layout View settings should be controlled by macros. A really aggressive approach names the macros “ViewNormal” and “ViewPage.” Then they will take over from Word’s standard functions altogether.

The other tool for revealing formats is what the Resource Kit called the “Reveal Formats” feature. That is a good name for it, although you would be hard pressed to find the tool using that name. It can be found on the Help Menu as “What’s This?” and is assigned SHIFT F1 in the default keystroke layout. The macro name for the command is “HelpTool.” When used, it first shows a northwest pointing arrow with a question mark. By clicking the mouse on a character or paragraph mark, a balloon appears that reports the formatting and font applicable to that character or paragraph mark. I have not found a keystroke method for selecting the point revealed. The balloon identifies the formatting and font settings derived from the currently applicable style and those applied directly.

IMPROVEMENTS TO WORD

When we combine this understanding of WordPerfect’s and Word’s functions when they reveals codes and formats, potential improvements for Word emerge.

1.   Offer an ability to link navigation in split windows.  Word allows more than one window into a document. They  can be in different Views. If the top view were in Page  Layout and the bottom in Normal, with the configuration  changes described above, AND if the views would scroll  together, Word users would gain a function demonstrated  in WordPerfect’s Reveal Codes.

2.   Name the styles in the HelpTool balloon. The balloon  tells use the settings from the style, but leaves us to  look to the Format toolbar to find the name of the  style. Put all of the information in one place.

3.   Support an option where the HelpTool balloon  automatically appears when passing the mouse over a  paragraph mark. This could function similar to the popup  expansion of comments.

4.   Have the Style Name in the StyleArea Width report  whether the accompanying paragraph has direct  formatting. We know the hook exists, since the HelpTool  can tell us. What we need is to see this dynamically.

This 1999 article originally appeared in Office Watch.  Subscribe to Office Watch free at http://www.office-watch.com/.

[Originally appeared 1999.]

AutoText can be a very powerful element of a well planned Word environment for a law firm or other large organization. Frequently used names and phrases, letterhead mastheads, office addresses, logos, signature blocks, court captions and notarization paragraphs are just some of the types of material that can be stored as AutoText and should be maintained in standard text and format throughout the organization.

At the same time, AutoText can be a very effective personal tool, allowing users to store their own favorite phrases. In a large organization, we would like to enable users not only to personalize Word this way, but have it travel with them if they work on different computers. If more than one person works on the same computer, we would like each to have their own personal AutoText collection.

Word does not make achieving this goal easy.In fact, we have run into some traps trying to get there, and hope this and following columns promote a sharing of techniques to achieve it.

The key issue is where to store the AutoText entries. Word stores AutoText in templates. The fastest way to store an AutoText entry is to select the text, then press ALT F3 (with default keyboard assignments). This stores the entry in Normal.dot. That’s not the best place for an organization’s standard AutoText entries. We recommend they be stored in a separate Global Template. Let’s call it “OrgNameAutoText.dot” where OrgName should be replaced by initials or other name used for the organization in naming templates. That template should be maintained centrally and distributed to users, or kept in a network location. (That’s a topic for a column or two.)

Why not just incorporate these into Normal.dot? One reason is to share the organization standard AutoText entries, while allowing users to keep their own. Putting the organization wide AutoTexts into OrgNameAutoText.dot and allowing users to store theirs in Normal.Dot gets part of the way. Another, perhaps more important, reason, to keep AutoText entries (and, perhaps, nearly all customization) out of Normal.dot is that Normal.dot gets damaged from time to time, under virus attack or otherwise, and must be erased and replaced. This argues against storing personal AutoText entries in Normal.dot.

That leads to directing users to create their personal AutoText entries in a Personal.dot also to be loaded as a Global Template. The ALT F3 technique won’t do that. (By the way, the “New” button on the AutoText toolbar does the same thing.) AutoText entries also can be stored using the AutoText tab on the Tools|AutoCorrect dialog. The “AutoText” button in the first position on the standard AutoText toolbar opens this dialog pointed directly to the correct tab. At the bottom of the screen is an item titled “Look in:” That points to the template in which the AutoText entries are stored.

One needs the right rhythm here. If… a Personal.dot template has been implemented and is loaded as a global template and … if the user changes “Look in:” from “All active templates” to “Personal.dot,” … then Word will store the entry in Personal.dot.

This is too hard!

Can a macro come to the rescue? Yes, but not as easily as we would like. Word dialogs invite the macro writer to help the user by making these kind of detailed and confusing setting changes automatically. Here we would like to change Look in: to personal.dot while storing the personal AutoText, then change it back to All active templates immediately. Otherwise the organization standard AutoText entries will not be accessible. Word 97 does not have a macro setting that supports control of this dialog element, although many other dialogs do allow such control. I have not found a resolution in my explorations of Word 2000, and would welcome direction to one if it exists.

In future issues we’ll explore other macro strategies for AutoText support. We will look at the issues relating to portability of AutoText and multiple users on the same machine. We look forward to hearing about your experience.

This 1999 article originally appeared in Office Watch.  Subscribe to Office Watch free at http://www.office-watch.com/.