Inserting line breaks in outlines

[Blue Max]

How can we insert line breaks in outlines without triggering a new outline
level number? In Corel WordPerfect there is a 'Line Break' code that will
allow the user to insert a line return that does not generate a new outline
level number and assures that multiple paragraphs withing that outline
section remain together.

This is a great feature that allows users to have numbered outline sections,
but any given section can include several paragraphs of narrative as part of
the section. These multi-paragraph sections expand, collapse, and move like
any other outline section. Thank you for any help.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Insert a line break with Shift+Enter. If you want the paragraph to stay
together as a block, format it as "Keep lines together" (Line and Page
Breaks tab of the Paragraph dialog). A paragraph of three lines or less will
by default not be split, however.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Blue Max]

Thank you, Suzanne, that actually seemed to work quite well. Interestingly,
Shift-Enter is what I have used in the past to single-space lines in a title
or heading when the regular <Enter> key forces two lines. Not sure if that
is a proper use, but it seemed to work. I am now wondering, however, if
using the Shift-Enter (line break) in a title forces the second line to take
on the style attributes of the first line or whether we can apply a second
style to the second line?

I also have two more questions related to outlines, if I may:

FIRST, we have been using the Increase/Decrease Indent buttons on the
toolbar to indent our outline levels. However, it is frustrating to have to
grab the mouse and navigate to the toolbar each time we need to change a
level. Isn't there a shortcut key for increasing or decreasing the outline
level? In some other programs the tab key serves this purpose if the cursor
is right next to the outline number.

SECOND, I have created a small sample outline using the default 'Numbering'
outline style. Interestingly, when we increase the indent we can create a
multi-level outline. However, when we choose the outline view, we don't
seem able to collapse/expand levels nor can we use the 'Show Levels' field
to tailor the outline. Why might this be?

Thank you again for your help,

Richard

******************************

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Shift+Enter inserts a line break that is not a paragraph break; this means
that the second line of text is part of the same paragraph and, yes, is in
the same style. If you want two different styles, then you need to use two
different paragraphs. For one approach to this for chapter numbers and
titles, see
http://sbarnhill.mvps.org/WordFAQs/TOCTips.htm#UnnumberedHeadings

Yes, there are keyboard shortcuts to demote/promote outline levels. These
are of two sorts:

1. Alt+Shift+Right/Left will demote/promote paragraphs that are part of the
same list irrespective of other settings.

2. You can also use Tab and Shift+Tab to demote/promote members of an
outline list provided you go to AutoCorrect Options | AutoFormat As You Type
and check the box for "Set left- and first-indent with tabs and backspaces."
AutoCorrect Options is on the Tools menu in Word 2003 and earlier. In Word
2007, reach it via Office Button | Word Options | Proofing.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Blue Max]

Thank you, Suzanne, the information you provided was excellent and we
appreciated the reference to your personal website. You did not answer our
second question, perhaps it was poorly worded. More clearly stated:

Where can we get more information on expanding and collapsing outline levels
in a document? Searching for 'expand outline' in help does not provide any
useful links. Furthermore, the outline features on the toolbar in 'Outline'
page view, except for the 'Move' feature, do not seem to work. The
'Expand/Collapse' buttons do nothing and the 'Show Levels' option simply
collapses the whole outline to nothing, regardless of the level selected.
Furthermore, the outline is formatted different in this view, whereas we
would like to collapse sections in the normal document view. Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Richard

**************************

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Outline view is the only one in which you can show levels, and that depends
on having heading styles applied to text (not just members of an outline
list). You can choose "Show Formatting" in Outline view, which will make it
more closely resemble your document, but it will still be formatted as an
outline, as it is a view designed primarily for organization and management
of document content; see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/UsingOLView.htm

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Blue Max]

Thank you for all your help, Suzanne, I have learned many new things. I do
believe, however, that WordPerfect has implemented its interactive outlining
features much better than Microsoft Word. We have some huge documents, with
extensive outlining, and they are very effectively managed in WordPerfect.
When the user turns on the outline symbols, the document retains its regular
formatting, yet the user can expand, collapse, or move individual sections
simply by clicking or dragging the icons displayed next to each section or
level. Furthermore, the user can instantly collapse all sections to any
given level of detail by selecting the desired level. In this sense,
WordPerfect functions much like Excel when working with outlining. The
WordPerfect approach allows users to see and print a either a basic summary
overview (e.g. only level 1), a fully detailed overview (all levels), or any
level of detail in between. For large outlines this is a great feature. We
wish that Microsoft would incorporate similar outline features.

Thanks,

Richard

***********************

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Provided you print directly from Outline view, you can view and print
expanded or collapsed outlines in Word.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Blue Max]

Thank you Suzanne, your comments have been most helpful. However, I do want
to apologize for our persistance. I hope not to wear out our welcome, but I
hope you will respond to one more aspect of our prior email. I wouldn't
keep pressing this issue, but our frustation with this feature, is becoming
almost intolerable. Either we are brain-dead and simply incapable of
comprehending the obvious, something is broken, or the program design is
extremely poor.

So to repeat a familiar song, in the outline view, why can't we expand (+)
and collapse (-) sections or use the 'Show Levels' feature to view only the
levels desired?

We have done everything possible to activate these controls, but they do
nothing! All the other features on the outline toolbar seem to work great.
But we simply cannot get the three controls, we need most, to work. We have
tried simply selecting the controls with no text highlighted, have selected
text and then applied the controls, and everything else imaginable
inbetween, but cannot get them to work. What is the secret?

The expand (+) and collapse (-) buttons on the toolbar simply do nothing and
the 'Show Levels' option simply hides the entire outline when anything other
than the 'All Levels' option is chosen. The context help tells us what
should happen when chosing these controls, but the expected never happens.
We are not experiencing any system problems, problems with other
applications, or even problems within the Microsoft office suite, other than
we cannot seem to get these three controls to work as expected.

Please help! What in the world are we overlooking?

**********************

 

[Blue Max]

Thank you Suzanne, your comments have been most helpful and I do want to
apologize for our persistance. I hope not to wear out our welcome, but I
hope you will respond to one more aspect of our prior email. I wouldn't
keep pressing this issue, but our frustation with this feature, is becoming
almost intolerable. Either we are brain-dead and simply incapable of
comprehending the obvious, something is broken, or the program design is
extremely poor.

So to repeat a familiar song, in the outline view, why can't we expand (+)
and collapse (-) sections or use the 'Show Levels' feature to view only the
levels desired?

We have done everything possible to activate these controls, but they do
nothing! All the other features on the outline toolbar seem to work great.
But we simply cannot get the three controls, we need most, to work. We have
tried simply selecting the controls with no text highlighted, have selected
text and then applied the controls, and everything else imaginable
inbetween, but cannot get them to work. What is the secret?

The expand (+) and collapse (-) buttons on the toolbar simply do nothing and
the 'Show Levels' option simply hides the entire outline when anything other
than the 'All Levels' option is chosen. The context help tells us what
should happen when chosing these controls, but the expected never happens.
We are not experiencing any system problems, problems with other
applications, or even problems within the Microsoft office suite, other than
we cannot seem to get these three controls to work as expected.

Please help! What in the world are we overlooking?

**********************

Provided you print directly from Outline view, you can view and print
expanded or collapsed outlines in Word.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

*********************

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Well, if you're trying to show specific levels that don't start at the top,
then you're doomed to disappointment. You can show just Level 1, or Level 1
and Level 2, or Levels 1-3, etc., but you can't display just Level 3. When
you click on Show Level 3, you're actually choosing to show everything down
to Level 3, i.e., Levels 1-3.

And of course, in order to have these levels at all, you have to have used
styles whose paragraph formatting includes these levels. For example, I can
create an outline with List Number, List Number 2, and so on, and they will
look like an outline in Outline view (because I have applied outline-list
numbering to them), but unless I show All Levels (including Body Text), I
won't see them at all. If I redefine the styles so that List Number is Level
1, List Number 2 is Level 2, and so on, then I can use Outline view as
intended. If you create an outline using Word's built-in heading styles
(with or without outline numbering applied), then you can view them in
Outline view because the heading styles have the corresponding outline
levels by default.

Note that the outline numbering level (the level of numbering you've
assigned in the Outline Numbering or Multilevel List Numbering dialog) is
not the same as the outline level that is defined in the Paragraph dialog.
The latter is what determines what you see in the Document Map and Outline
view and what appears (by default) in a TOC.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Blue Max]

Hello Suzanne,

Thank you so much for taking time with us, we know you must have many such
demands on your time. I think you finally shed some light on our dilemma.
If I understand correct, level codes control how outline styles
expand/collapse or show levels. Furthermore, the shipping Microsoft outline
styles are NOT pre-assigned to levels. As such, they do not respond to the
outline controls.

This is the part that surprised us, as our current application's outline
styles are all associated with levels. I really cannot understand why a
shipping outline would not come formatted in levels?

I am also still a little confused on how levels relate to the table of
contents, but I'll figure this out shortly. I certainly hope that assigning
levels to my outline styles does not start placing every outline item in the
table of contents? Our current application supplies separate codes for the
table of contents so the user does not worry about how levels are assigned
to outlines.

I'm giving Microsoft Word a real run for the money and it has many great
features, however, I am also finding a number of features that are much
better implemented in other applications. Perhaps, that will change as we
become more familiar with the program.

Thanks,

Richard

**********************

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If styles have outline levels that permit them to work with Outline view and
Document Map, then yes, they will by default appear in the TOC, but they
don't have to. If you clear the check box for "Outline levels" in the Table
of Contents Options dialog, leaving only "Styles" or "Table entry fields"
(depending on which you're using), then you'll get just what you want in the
TOC.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org