Formatted Normal-style text automatically converts to heading

[Guest]

I have Word 2000 on Windows XP. We are using heading styles (H1, H2, etc.)
in our reports of Trebuchet MS, right justified. Word is automatically
converting Normal-style text into a Heading when I manually apply formatting
(bold, font size, etc.) that matches an existing heading style. These lines
then show up in my Table of Contents as headings. Here's one example: I do
not want the TOC itself to show up as a line in the TOC, so I use
Normal-style text and then just manually change the boldface, font type, and
font size to match the other headings. That way, it looks like a heading, but
it would not show up in the TOC. However, Word seems to recognize that this
combination of formatting features matches an existing heading style, and it
automatically converts it to the Heading style it thinks it is, and so it
shows up again in the TOC when I update it. Is this a Word feature that I
can disable somewhere, or is it just a bug? (As a side note, I don't
remember having problems with this when we used left justified headings in
the default Times New Roman. ) Help! I need to have a way to manually
format certain lines of text and not have them turn into headings...!

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

On the AutoFormat As You Type tab of Tools | AutoCorrect Options, clear the
check box for "Define styles based on my formatting." Also, avoid using the
Document Map, which can promote Body Text to an outline level. I would also
suggest defining such formatting as a different style and applying it
instead of applying it as direct formatting.

--
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]

Suzanne -- Works like a dream--thanks a million!

On the AutoFormat As You Type tab of Tools | AutoCorrect Options, clear the
check box for "Define styles based on my formatting." Also, avoid using the
Document Map, which can promote Body Text to an outline level. I would also
suggest defining such formatting as a different style and applying it
instead of applying it as direct formatting.

--
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.