When I was in first grade, a magician came to our school, and I've been interested in magic ever since. One thing I've learned is that magic is largely psychological; it depends heavily on what magicians call \"misdirection\"--getting the audience to look at or think about something that furthers the magician's deception.<\/p>\n
This principle can be used in software, too, as I recently discovered when putting together my Author Tools template:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.editorium.com\/ftp\/authortools.zip<\/p>\n
Microsoft Word is notorious for getting automatically numbered lists out of whack, but the Author Tools template handles them quite nicely, mostly because of a little trick--Word's ability to reset the start of a list.<\/p>\n
If you've used Word's automatically numbered lists, you've probably noticed that *any* lists in the document are actually part of the *same* list. So, if you make a list like this--<\/p>\n
1. Bread.<\/p>\n
2. Peanut butter.<\/p>\n
3. Pickles.<\/p>\n
--and then type some unnumbered text after it, as I'm doing with this paragraph--then the next list you make will look like this:<\/p>\n
4. Chihuahuas.<\/p>\n
5. Dachshunds.<\/p>\n
6. Basset hounds.<\/p>\n
The second list is numbered with the first, but obviously it shouldn't be. Fortunately, you can reset the numbering (and apply a numbered style) with this macro:<\/p>\n
\nSub ListNumberedStart()\nWith Selection.Paragraphs\n.Style = \"List Number\"\nWith .First.Range.ListFormat\n.ApplyListTemplate .ListTemplate, False\nEnd With\nEnd With\nEnd Sub\n<\/pre>\n<\/span><\/p>\n
If you don't know how to use such macros, you'll find instructions here:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/lists.topica.com\/lists\/editorium\/read\/message.html?mid=1706922855<\/p>\n
For ease of use, you might want to attach the macro to a keyboard shortcut, as explained here:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/lists.topica.com\/lists\/editorium\/read\/message.html?mid=1713088939<\/p>\n
And now for the magical misdirection: Instead of using the macro to *restart* an existing list, use it every time you need to *start* a new list. If you need to continue an existing list, use Word's automatic numbering feature (which you'd usually use to start a list). Notice that this is exactly the opposite of what you might think should happen. But presto! It works!<\/p>\n
By the way, when I talk about Word's automatic numbering feature, I am *not* talking about the buttons on the formatting toolbar, which will cause you no end of trouble. Instead, I'm talking about using paragraph styles that *include* the numbering--in this case, the one named List Number.<\/p>\n
Rumor has it that Word wizard and MVP Steve Hudson is helping Microsoft solve their numbering problems for the next release of Word. I sure hope so.<\/p>\n
More on Steve's stuff here:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.geocities.com\/word_heretic\/<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
READERS WRITE<\/p>\n
Aaron Shepard wrote:<\/p>\n
\"I came across a bad problem in Word 2004 for Mac. Unlike Windows versions and former Mac versions, this one antialiases all imported graphics, and will even change black-and-white line art to grayscale to do it. That means fuzzy charts and diagrams when printed. It's a scandal.<\/p>\n
\"The only way to avoid it is to insert art as EPS. On the Mac, that also enables you to place a CMYK graphic!\"<\/p>\n
Recently on the Word-PC List, Kristen Ebert-Wagner asked how to keep Word from printing graphics--in other words, how to print text only. I suggested that she try importing the Word document into OpenOffice.org Writer and printing from there:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.openoffice.org<\/p>\n
Kristen reported:<\/p>\n
\"It works! OfficeWriter distinguishes between graphics and drawing objects and, furthermore, allows you to include and\/or exclude either in printing. Word offers this option for drawing objects only. Thanks--this is a fast, easy solution.\"<\/p>\n
I thought this might be worth passing on for others who are faced with the same problem.<\/p>\n
Many thanks to Aaron and Kristen.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
RESOURCES<\/p>\n
Wondering about the upcoming release of Microsoft Office 2007? You'll find the official explanation here:<\/p>\n
http:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/office\/preview\/default.mspx<\/p>\n
But if you want the inside scoop, see Jensen Harris: An Office User Interface Blog:<\/p>\n