Corrupted, Unstable Document

Question

We are putting together a book, the third in a series.  I am experiencing instability.  I tried creating a new document and pasting in the text.  Most of my stylesheet tags were altered.  I fixed that.  I'm now trying to set up section breaks and add in headers.  Most should be 'continuous' breaks.  Word keeps transforming those breaks into 'Next Odd Page" breaks.  It's like we've got gremlins in here running amuck.  I've seen instructions on how to repair a document.  I'm supposed to go to File > Open > then click the document once, then click 'Repair.'  If I click once the document opens.  There is no "Repair" option.  

Why is this app so unstable?  This is not the first time we've had trouble with this.  I had the author upgrade his Word so we would be on the same level.  But this book has an addition from another author as well.  Could this be a factor?  

What other things can I try to get rid of this instability?  At this point, I'd like to throw MSWord out the window.  It's looking damned defective at this point.  Why am I paying a subscription for this?  And its functionality isn't even supported?

Answer 1

I figured out the problem.  In Layouts > Custom Margins > Layout

I had “Section start:” ticked for “Odd Page.”  When I set it for “Continuous” everything started to work normally.  I want Parts and Chapters to start on odd pages and they seem to be stable enough if I go into Layout > Breaks and set them individually, manually.  For some reason, when it’s set globally for “Odd Pages” things become very unstable when you try to set individual sections for "continuous".  This appears to me to be a bug that needs correction.

Thanks for your time and attention.

EDIT:  I was wrong.  The sections I want on "Odd Pages" will not be stable unless I highlight those sections, then go into "Layout > Custom Margins > Layout and set them for "Odd Pages." being sure  Apply to "This Section" is selected. The individual settings available in Layout > Breaks will revert to "Continuous" otherwise.  This isn't at all intuitive.  Some redesign seems called for.  Obviously, using the Layout > Customs Margins > Layout overrides the Layout > Breaks settings, which should be greyed out if the Layout > Custom Margins > Layout is in effect, with an explanation.

Answer 2

If you send me a copy of the document, referencing this thread in the covering email message, I will investigate the issue.

Answer 3

Hi Linda Carter,

Thanks for your valuable feedback, and thanks for sharing detail updates and solution with us. It will also help for others members in this community have similar issue. 

If there is any issue related with the Office applications in the future, please feel free to post back in this community.

We will be here for help.

Best Regards,

Waqas Muhammad

Answer 4

Thanks so much for illustrating that.  Now I know how to access that function.

I figured out the problem with the instability.  In Layouts > Custom Margins > Layout

I had “Section start:” ticked for “Odd Page.”  When I set it for “Continuous” everything started to work normally.  I want Parts and Chapters to start on odd pages and they seem to be stable enough if I go into Layout > Breaks > Odd Pages and set them manually.  For some reason, when it’s set globally for “Odd Pages” things become very unstable if you try to set individual sections for "Continuous..  This appears to me to be a bug that needs correction.

Thanks for your time and attention.

EDIT:  I was wrong.  The sections I want on "Odd Pages" will not be stable unless I highlight those sections, then go into "Layout > Custom Margins > Layout and set them for "Odd Pages." being sure  Apply to "This Section" is selected. The individual settings available in Layout > Breaks will revert to "Continuous" otherwise.  This isn't at all intuitive.  Some redesign seems called for.  Obviously, using the Layout > Customs Margins > Layout overrides the Layout > Breaks settings, which should be greyed out if the Layout > Custom Margins > Layout is in effect, with an explanation

Answer 5

Hi Linda Carter,

I apologize for all the trouble it has caused and sorry about your time.

As per your description,  by default, header (and footer) content is linked when you insert a new section. Please refer to this article and see if help: Configure headers and footers for different sections of a document

To repair a document option is available when you clickFile tab>Open>browse the folder where the document is saved>select the document>Click the drop-down button of Open option>Open and Repair to repair the document. See image below for your reference: 

I appreciate your patience and understanding.

Best Regards

Waqas Muhammad