corrupted REF fields

E

Eeva O'Mara

I have cross-references created using a REF field to
bookmarked sections. Sometimes, for no apparent reason,
the cross reference shows the entire contents of the
bookmarked area instead of just text.

Can anybody help? This is quite annoying.
 
S

Shauna Kelly

Hi Eeva

You can get problems with cross references if you accidentally put text into the bookmark that was cross-referenced.

Let's say you want a cross-reference to a bookmark. You create the bookmark. And elsewhere in your document, you create the
cross-reference to that bookmark. Later, you decide you'd like to insert a paragraph of text that will appear immediately before the
bookmarked text. So you go to the beginning of the bookmarked paragraph, press Enter, go back to the new, empty paragraph, and type
your text. When you update your cross-reference, Word will include your new text in the cross-reference.

By typing the hard return at the beginning of the caption paragraph, you added it *within* the bookmark. So Word believed you, and
included it in the cross reference.

Could this explain the problem?

If so, the answer is to ensure that you always add text to the *end* of the previous paragraph, rather than the beginning of a
cross-referenced paragraph. And, choose Tools > Options > View and make sure that Bookmarks is ticked.

Hope this helps.

Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word
Melbourne, Australia
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

I find that this is much more likely to occur with bookmarks that Word has
inserted. For example, when you insert a cross-reference to a caption or
heading, Word inserts a bookmark. Even if you display bookmarks, these are
not shown (they're "hidden bookmarks"), making it easier to inadvertently
get text inside them.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://www.mvps.org/word
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

Shauna Kelly said:
Hi Eeva

You can get problems with cross references if you accidentally put text
into the bookmark that was cross-referenced.
Let's say you want a cross-reference to a bookmark. You create the
bookmark. And elsewhere in your document, you create the
cross-reference to that bookmark. Later, you decide you'd like to insert a
paragraph of text that will appear immediately before the
bookmarked text. So you go to the beginning of the bookmarked paragraph,
press Enter, go back to the new, empty paragraph, and type
your text. When you update your cross-reference, Word will include your
new text in the cross-reference.
By typing the hard return at the beginning of the caption paragraph, you
added it *within* the bookmark. So Word believed you, and
included it in the cross reference.

Could this explain the problem?

If so, the answer is to ensure that you always add text to the *end* of
the previous paragraph, rather than the beginning of a
 

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