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IncludeText and how to get stable chapter/subchapter-page numbers based on a multilevel list

Anonymous
2022-10-22T05:35:15+00:00

Hello,

I have an almost-1000 page document mage up of nearly 50 chapters. The chapters are not sequential, but do always increase in numbering. The book is divided into three sub-documents and there is a fourth "master" document emulating the TOC and Indices as a master document would do. I am not using the actual Master Document feature of Word but, rather, the "INCLUDETEXT" field of Word to bring in the three subdocuments.

This all works fairly well except for a couple of problems, the most important of which is page numbering. Each of the chapters is chapter/sub-chapter/page numbered in the subdocuments, and the chapter/sub-chapter numbers are specified by a multilevel list. Those values are based on heading 1 and heading 2. The problem, when updating the IncludeText field, is that the assigned chapter numbers become corrupted in the "master" document, even though they remain fine in the subdocuments. The numbers aren't random as they are always increasing but they are happy to backfill empty chapter slots which causes some of the numbers to be lower than they should be in certain chapters. Trying to edit this numbers back into line in the "master" document frequently lead to table corruption in the preceding chapter, and just for fun, the font point size keeps being changed in the footers to the default 12 point size rather than the configured 10 point size.

Can somebody shed some light on what I've got wrong here. I really want this style of formatting for chapter/subchapter assignment in page numbers.

Thanks in advance!

Chris Johnson

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2022-10-22T05:56:42+00:00

    Is the definition of the multilevel list in each of the documents identical?

    At some point, you should dispense with the use of the Include Text fields and simply copy and paste each of the documents into the master document. In fact, that would be the first thing that I would do.

    What is the process used when "Trying to edit this numbers back into line in the "master" document" I would do it by displaying the Apply Style dialog (CTRL+SHIFT+S) and then select any text that appears to be mis-numbered and assuming that the Apply Style dialog displays the expected style, click on the Reapply button.

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  2. Charles Kenyon 167.5K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2022-10-22T23:27:19+00:00

    Master Documents "Feature" in Microsoft Word

    If you need to keep separate files, you could use the Master Documents feature to assemble them but no editing of the subs should be done in that structure, and it is very difficult to keep from doing so.

    It is also possible using bookmarked hidden Page fields but this is difficult to maintain.

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  3. Doug Robbins - MVP - Office Apps and Services 323K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2022-10-22T20:39:46+00:00

    The reason that I recommend one large document is because it would avoid the issues that you are now facing when combining the documents.

    Instead of changing the style of the headings to Normal and then back to the appropriate Heading # style, use the Reapply button in the Apply Styles dialog

    With Multilevel Numbering properly set up, it should NEVER be necessary to manually adjust the numbering.

    Bwfore combing the documents into one, you might go to the Developer tab of the ribbon and click on the Document Template item and check the box for "Automatically update document styles"

    After combining the documents, UNCHECK THAT BOX.

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  4. Suzanne S Barnhill 277.7K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2022-10-22T15:48:23+00:00

    I'm not sure who the general consensus represents, but I don't think anyone here would recommend it. Keeping everything in a single file is always a lot simpler, though with a long document it does result in a certain sluggishness, especially in Page Layout view; if you don't need to be seeing headers/footers/page numbers, you can edit in Draft view.

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  5. Anonymous
    2022-10-22T15:08:18+00:00

    Hello Doug, thanks for you response!

    I have recognized the need for each multilevel list to be identical, and I believe I have met that requirement.

    To alter the existing chapter/subchapter values I highlight the value with the mouse and then select the "Normal" style on the Style ribbon. This gets rid of the number and then I can re-apply it with the appropriate heading style. This process automatically assigns the next higher, unused number which, if necessary can be increased further by right-clicking, selecting "Set Numbering value. . ." and then selecting "Continue from previous list. . . ". After that, then check box "Advance values, skip numbers. . . " and ultimately select a higher number value. This all works very well in the subdocuments.

    I'm curious as to why you would recommend creating one large document rather than being split up into subdocuments? The general concensus is that fragmenting the document is the right way to go.

    Thank you for your help!

    Chris Johnson

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