Outlines

[Guest]

I've been using Word for several years now and I have never been able to figure out how to make the outline function work. Occasionally, it seems to work but most of the time, like today, it is IMPOSSIBLE. I get to the point where I want to just turn it off and construct my outline manually, but it won't go away. Can anyone help? I keep pulling up the menu and clicking "None" but as soon as I hit return, it is back in outline function.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Are you referring to Outline view or outline numbering?

--
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.

I've been using Word for several years now and I have never been able to

figure out how to make the outline function work. Occasionally, it seems to
work but most of the time, like today, it is IMPOSSIBLE. I get to the point
where I want to just turn it off and construct my outline manually, but it
won't go away. Can anyone help? I keep pulling up the menu and clicking
"None" but as soon as I hit return, it is back in outline function.

 

[Stefan Blom]

On the AutoFormat As You Type tab of the Tools>AutoCorrect
dialog box, deselect everything that automatically applies
numbering or bullets to your document. For more
information about AutoFormat, see:

http://word.mvps.org/faqs/formatting/TameAutoFormat.htm

When you've stopped Word from applying numbering
automatically, you can safely type numbers in a document,
and Word won't try to convert them into numbered lists.
Note, however, that there is a way to take control over
Word's numbering features. It requires that you set up
numbering correctly, using paragraph styles, as described
at:

www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html

If you are unfamiliar with paragraph styles, the same site
has information about these as well:

http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/styles/TipsOnStyles.html

Stefan Blom

-----Original Message-----
I've been using Word for several years now and I have

never been able to figure out how to make the outline
function work. Occasionally, it seems to work but most of
the time, like today, it is IMPOSSIBLE. I get to the
point where I want to just turn it off and construct my
outline manually, but it won't go away. Can anyone help?
I keep pulling up the menu and clicking "None" but as soon
as I hit return, it is back in outline function.

 

[Guest]

Questions concerning Outline View in Word 2003
1) How do you change the margins when in Outline View? That is, when I reset the margins via Page SetUp, nothing changes on my screen unless I switch to Print Layout. The same is true when I switch from Portrait to Landscape
2) When switching to Print Layout from Outline View, the level indentations are inconsistent. That is, sometimes a level 3 starts in the same columns as other level 3's and sometimes it starts in the same column as a level 2. Any fixes
3) Is there an authoritative book on how to use Outline View (not Outline Numbering) in Word 2003?

 

[Graham Mayor]

Outline view is primarily a tool for shuffling paragraphs into an outline.
It does not represent a finished document view (though you can print from
it). The view you see in Print Layout view reflects the settings in the
various heading styles used to layout your outline. What you need to do is
edit the paragraph styles to represent the display characteristics of the
different levels.

You'll find more info at
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/UsingOLView.htm

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

Web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site www.mvps.org/word
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>>< ><<>

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Outline view is not intended to be even remotely WYSIWYG. If you want to
format text to look like an outline for print purposes (unless you plan to
print from Outline view), you need to set up appropriate outline-numbered
styles. See http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html
and http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/UsingOLView.htm

--
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.

Questions concerning Outline View in Word 2003:
1) How do you change the margins when in Outline View? That is, when I

reset the margins via Page SetUp, nothing changes on my screen unless I
switch to Print Layout. The same is true when I switch from Portrait to
Landscape.

2) When switching to Print Layout from Outline View, the level

indentations are inconsistent. That is, sometimes a level 3 starts in the
same columns as other level 3's and sometimes it starts in the same column
as a level 2. Any fixes?

3) Is there an authoritative book on how to use Outline View (not Outline

Numbering) in Word 2003?

 

[Guest]

Many thanks to Graham Mayor and Suzanne Barnhill, both of whom provided excellent answers and guidance to my outline view questions.