Creating lists as I did in Word 97

[Guest]

Hi.

This is a long one. I am a new user to MS Word 2003 Student and Teacher
Edition, having up to now used Word 97. I am working in a weird document
that I have used for 5 years in 97, but can't make it work the same way in
2003. This document was created in 97 in the normal template and is a form
doctors fill out. There are 19 questions, all numbered, and in questions 1
and 18, there are indented numbered lists underneath their answers. In the
list under question 1, I only need to have them numbered from 1 and up and
bolded. No problem in 2003. In the list under question 18, I need to have
them numbered 1 and up, the first sentence after each number bolded and the
subsequent sentences in that number not bolded. In 97, I would space over
about 6 spaces, apply bold, type the number and a period, space over 2 more,
type the first sentence in bold and after the period, take off the bold and
continue unbolded. When I would hit the enter key, the next line would be
numbered as "2" and formatted exactly the same way as the previous number.
As soon as I would place a period at the end of the first sentence, the bold
came off and I would continue typing unbolded until I hit enter and went to
the following number. In 2003, when I hit the enter key, the number and
first sentence are bolded, but when I hit the period key, the bold stays on,
requiring me to manually unbold before I continue typing. I have tried
everything and am at my wits' end. Any clues? Or am I out of luck?

Karen

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

There are a couple of settings that might be in play here. On the AutoFormat
As You Type tab of Tools | AutoCorrect Options, there's a check box for
"Format beginning of list item like the one before it." I'm not sure whether
checking or clearing this box would help. Also, in general, paragraph
numbering takes on the format of the paragraph mark. This can remain bold
even when you have selected text at the end of the paragraph and unbolded
it. You have to select the paragraph mark explicitly and unbold it. Also, if
the end of the paragraph is bold, this formatting will carry over to the
next paragraph, even if it's in a different style (a bug, IMO).

It's also unclear what other AutoFormat settings may be in play. You're
obviously typing your numbers manually and also using spaces instead of tabs
and indents, which is a great waste of Word's resources, but if you have
"Automatic numbered lists" checked, Word may be converting your list to an
autonumbered one, anyway, so this may be an issue.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

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[Guest]

Suzanne,

Actually I am not necessarily typing the numbers manually. That is only one
way I've tried it. I have tried auto formatting, applying styles, etc.
Nothing is working the way it did in 97. The problem is when I create the
blank form, I need to leave everything blank after the number 1 is typed (or
placed there by numbering/list icon) to fill in as the doctor dictates. I
pull up this same "template" for each note he dictates and fill in as he
talks. After typing his first sentence in my list under #18 and ending with
a period is when I would take bold off (in 97), then type unbolded until the
MD would go on to the next number. When I would hit enter (in 97), it would
automatically go to number 2 and be bolded until I placed a period at the end
of that sentence, then become unbolded, where I would type the remainder of
his comments. Again, when I hit enter, it would automatically number the
next line, and so on. I have tried changing different settings in
AutoCorrect and other places, but I'm probably missing something because I
really don't understand formatting very well. I'll keep trying, though,
because otherwise, as you say, I'm doing unnecessary work which doesn't pay
when you're getting paid by the word! I am just trying to make it
faster/fewer keystrokes. Thanks, though.

Karen

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I think the AutoFormat As You Type "Format list item" setting is probably
the relevant one. I seem to recall reading that it works the way you
describe.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

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all may benefit.

 

[Guest]

Suzanne,

Well, nothing I do seems to be working, including your latest suggestion. I
will keep trying because it is imperative that I find a solution in order to
be truly productive. Thanks for trying.

Karen

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I think you need to resign yourself to using Ctrl+B and Ctrl+Spacebar as
needed.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Guest]

I'm afraid you may be right. It's very aggravating that a "new" version of
MS Word would actually cause more work for me. This is why I hung onto 97
for so long.