Style Type as Paragraph or List

[Bev]

For Word 2003, is there some advantage to creating a style type of list
rather than paragraph for numbered lists?

I played around with the list type and discovered that each time I apply the
list type style to the steps to be numbered, the sequence always starts out
at a. (I played around with alpha numbering instead of numeric.) That worked
for me because other writers, engineers, and project managers all get to
manipulate these documents at will. Having a style they can apply without
renumbering is going to go a long way to preserve sanity.

These folks don't want to learn keyboard shortcuts for autotext or other
ways that Word users learn to simplify activity. They want buttons to click,
not keyboard strokes. That's why I use macros and other commands on a custom
toolbar.

So far, using the list type seems to work for the renumbering issue. The
only issue I have found is that it is a template, I guess, that is applied to
the paragraph style, which remains intact in the Styles and Formatting list.
I don't know if others who touch these documents would find that to be a
problem.

 

[Stefan Blom]

In Word 2003, I wouldn't use list styles for numbering, since they don't
contribute to the stability of numbering. (In Word 2007, the situation is
slightly different, but far from perfect.)

Creating an outline-numbered list, having a higher level restart the lower
one, would be a safer approach. See
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html. For more on
restart methods, see
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/numbering/listrestartmethods.htm.

 

[Bev]

Creating an outline-numbered list, having a higher level restart the lower

one, would be a safer approach. See

That is not a viable option for our needs. Our procedures do not have
preceding paragraphs, certainly none that are predictable. Our documents are
living and change with each customer. They are customized by contract. No
such thing as one size fits all. They have many contributors from engineers
to PMs, and even a few documentation specialists. Trying to explain the need
for an invisible preceding paragraph would be costly in terms of effort and
wasted in terms of results.

We work from platform template documents that we customize for each
customer. Engineers and PMs add new content as they modify code and
functions. The writers pull together the customization requirements from the
POs and contracts and specifications then work on platform template copies to
create customized documentation.

Our biggest issue is the procedure numbering. Using the List type of "list"
was very helpful in trials, but you say it's not good. I'm just about ready
to hard code all the steps.

 

[RGGVTP]

Refer to the previous posts today under "Styles and Set Numbering Value
problem". The macro solution might just solve your problem because it
automatically restarts numbering.

 

[Bev]

I had already saved the information. Without other options, I may use that.
The only thing is, we have to instruct engineers and PMs to use it on the
last item, and we may end up changing their lists anyway.

 

[Stefan Blom]

Take a look at the other suggestions in the article at
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/numbering/listrestartmethods.htm.