Annotated report template

[Guest]

I want to create an annotated document template for a large report that has
set headers (no problem there) but also describes the information that should
be included in each section. I have seen this in templates where the text is
colored and has a dotted underline under the annotated text. I haven't been
able to find how to do this in Word's help index. Any ideas?

 

[Guest]

LAC:

Your description "the text is colored and has a dotted underline under the
annotated text" makes me think that the notes use hidden text.

To hide text, you select it and click Format > Font. Then check the Hidden
check box. Hidden text is displayed or hidden according to the setting in
Tools > Options > View. It's simplest just to toggle the Show/Hide button,
but you could build a specific button to just turn the hidden text on or off.

You may not want to use hidden text. You may just want text in a different
color with or without a dotted underline. All these options are also
available in the Format > Font dialog box.

A better approach would be to define a style for your notations. The style
would have the desired font formatting built-in, so you'd only need to style
your notes correctly.

Bear

 

[Guest]

Thanks, is there a way to do this so that the annotated text is removed when
the actual report text is inserted?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

That sounds more like a MacroButton NoMacro field, which can be formatted as
colored and with a dotted underline, but the text typed to replace it would
inherit the same formatting. See
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/TblsFldsFms/UsingMacroButton.htm for instructions.

--
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]

LAC:

When you click File > New, select the Letters and Faxes tab, and create any
letter or fax, you'll get lots of areas that say "[Click here and type the
subject ... etc. etc.]"

If you select one of these right-click, then click Toggle Field Codes,
you'll see that the templates use a MacroButton field in a sort of tricky
way. They don't launch anything, they just hold the notation text, can be
selected, and are completely replaced when the user starts typing.

That would be one way.

The basis of this is that Word is forcing the user to select the notation,
and when Typing Replaces Selection is checked, the user's typing replaces the
selection.

Other ways I can think of all involve incorporating a cleanup macro that
runs on demand.

Bear

 

[Guest]

Both great suggestions, thanks. I'm going to try both and see which works
best for what I'm trying to do.
--
LAC

LAC:

When you click File > New, select the Letters and Faxes tab, and create any
letter or fax, you'll get lots of areas that say "[Click here and type the
subject ... etc. etc.]"

If you select one of these right-click, then click Toggle Field Codes,
you'll see that the templates use a MacroButton field in a sort of tricky
way. They don't launch anything, they just hold the notation text, can be
selected, and are completely replaced when the user starts typing.

That would be one way.

The basis of this is that Word is forcing the user to select the notation,
and when Typing Replaces Selection is checked, the user's typing replaces the
selection.

Other ways I can think of all involve incorporating a cleanup macro that
runs on demand.

Bear
--
Windows XP, Word 2000

Thanks, is there a way to do this so that the annotated text is removed when
the actual report text is inserted?