Sudden issue with automatic TOC using RD fields

Question

My automatic table of contents, using RD fields that pull from multiple Word files, is suddenly malfunctioning (after working previously). When I update the TOC, it says every single section starts on page 1 of the respective chapter (e.g., 1-1, 2-1, 3-1). Nothing changed in the field codes or files. Does anyone know what has caused this, or if there is a way to fix it? Seems to be a Microsoft issue.

Answer 1

Others have experienced this, and it has been reported to the Word product team, but it will help if you also report it directly using Help | Feedback | Report a Problem. You can send sample files, screen shots, etc.

Answer 2

Hi Catherine,

I seldom use RD fields, preferring to keep everything in one document.

However, today I bit the bullet and tested Jonathan West's code shown in my article Using RD and Other Fields to Construct Multi-File Documents in Word. This is old code however, it worked for me.

Word 365 version 2409

• All documents were in the same folder.
• The RD fields did not have the /f switch.

The TOC produced numbered the pages in the separate documents sequentially.

Before running the macro, the pagination for each document started at page 1 and the entries in the TOC produced reflected that pagination. After running the macro, the pagination for each document following the first started after the last number of the preceding document and the TOC reflected that numbering.

Note, running the macro will also hide any hidden text in any of the documents.

Answer 3

I do not know that it will help, but take a look at Jonathan West's material in my article: Using RD and Other Fields to Construct Multi-File Documents in Word