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Outline View Left Hand side bar

Anonymous
2013-02-13T10:38:25+00:00

Using Word 2007.

When I use Draft or Outline view, there is a narrow side bar on the left hand side. This shows Normal, Heading1 Heading 2 etc depending upon the levels chosen. A fine black line separates this "pane" from the main Outline view, where I see the Plus and Minus symbols and the indented structure of my document text. I can mouse over this black line and drag it wider or narrow.

I find this little side pane vey useful, but my colleagues do not see it when they use Outline view.

I have no idea how I switched this on, and none of the help guides I've found online mention it.

Can anyone tell me how to switch this on?

thanks, KK

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. HansV 462.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2013-02-13T11:15:51+00:00

    Click the big Office button in the upper left corner of the Word window.

    Click Word Options (it's near the bottom).

    Select Advanced in the navigation pane on the left hand side of the Word Options dialog.

    Scroll down to the Display section.

    There is a box labeled "Style area pane width in Draft and Outline view".

    Enter a non-zero value in this box, e.g. 1" or 2.5cm.

    Click OK.

    The style area will now appear in Draft view and in Outline view, and as you indicate, it can easily be made wider or narrower by dragging its right edge with the mouse.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-08-08T16:58:04+00:00

    I just found another solution for having Outline View as a sidebar in Word - Office 2016:

    Click on Find (right hand  end of Home ribbon)

    When the Find sidebar opens, there are three view settings, Headings I Pages | Results. Choose Headings and the document outline will be displayed. This is a very useful function that displays the outline view without having to open and close it every time you want to see it.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-08T16:45:53+00:00

    Click the big Office button in the upper left corner of the Word window.

    Click Word Options (it's near the bottom).

    Select Advanced in the navigation pane on the left hand side of the Word Options dialog.

    Scroll down to the Display section.

    There is a box labeled "Style area pane width in Draft and Outline view".

    Enter a non-zero value in this box, e.g. 1" or 2.5cm.

    Click OK.

    The style area will now appear in Draft view and in Outline view, and as you indicate, it can easily be made wider or narrower by dragging its right edge with the mouse.

    This doesn't work with Word Office 16.

    I had the outline sidebar; I don't know how I got it, but now it has disappeared and I can't get it back.

    3 people found this answer helpful.
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  3. Anonymous
    2016-08-09T02:46:40+00:00

    Thank you, Hans. I only need the navigation pane. With it, I can move back and forth in my document and find the chapter I want. Also see at a glance the last chapter number and know which number comes next. Maybe I was using the wrong terminology in my explanation, but I found what I needed.

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  4. HansV 462.6K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2016-08-08T18:51:25+00:00

    In word 2016, you have to select File > Options. Then click Advanced, and scroll down to the Display section.

    The Style Area is not the same as the Headings tab of the Navigation pane: the Style Area displays the names of ALL paragraph styles. The Headings tab of the Navigation pane shows only the text of Heading paragraphs.

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