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Cathy,
First off, sorry for your pain and frustration. The three problems you
describe have always been in Word and I have fought with them off and on
over the years. I will try to give you some insight from my experience.
I am not familiar with Visio but I have heard second hand that if you are
trying to insert the Visio graphic file, I don't think Word likes them
every well. Does Visio have the ability to convert its format to .bmp,
.gif, tiff, or jpg. If it does you might try one of those. Another problem
with graphics it that they are embedded in the work file and cause the file
size to grow very rapidly. Word does not like large graphic intensive
files.
The bullet and number issue is a nightmare. I have a lot of respect for
someone who tries to establish a custom set of styles in Word. I have tried
to do the same thing with the same results. Unfortunately, I don't have a
good answer for you. Paragraph and procedure numbering in Word has never
been a stable feature. If I have to work in Word, I use the default
paragraph headings and the Number button in the tool bar and use the Normal
style for number procedures. I have tried to create specific styles for
this and have not been successful with it. Another problem with numbered
procedures is that you cannot place unnumbered paragraphs between numbered
steps. Yes, it might work as long as you have the file open, but as soon as
you save or print it, Word automatically updates them and it blows all your
hard work out the window. In some cases I have even manually numbered them,
but Word wants to make them automatic which puts you back to where you
started. I know you don't want to hear my fix for this problem, but for the
record, I do my manuals in FrameMaker for this very reason, among a lot of
others. I have been using FrameMaker for over 6 years and never have I had
to worry about this problem; sorry.
I would be nerves about the file size. Word does not like large file sizes.
Finally, your two problems are not related.
Sorry if I didn't give you any solid answers, but you are not alone.
Sincerely,
Joe
I have been hovering for the past 3 weeks and have been dazzled by the
depth/scope of knowledge in this group. I need some of that knowledge in
trying to resolve a few persistent Word problems I have been having.
My first Word problem involves inserting Visio drawings. I copied the
drawing from the first draft of a Hardware Installation Guide and pasted it
into the updated version of the Guide. It pasted into the document fine,
it
saved alright but after I closed it and reopened the document the Visio
drawings were replaced by big red "X"s.
My second Word problem involves setting styles that include bullets and
numbering. I created a comprehensive list of styles before beginning the
new version of the above Guide. However, in creating my "procedure" style,
when I added the numbering to the style setup, I would lose my margin
settings. I tried setting the numbering and then changing the margins.
This seemed to work until I reopened the document and found strange
numbering/margins occurring.
Third problem is my numbering is all over the place. It continues where it
should restart and vice versa. Again, I set the renumbering in the
different sections, looked created, saved and reopened to find a
nightmarish
hodgepodge of numbering. My document is 1.97 MB - I don't think it's too
large or is it? Is there a way to have numbering restart automatically
when
a certain heading is selected?
I wonder whether the problems I am having with styles is related to the
Visio drawings disappearing. Any ideas/helpful hints?
Thanks,
Cathy
+==========================+
Joe Halleman
Senior Writer
Mantra
Tel: 301 540-5777 (x 246)
Fax: 301 540-5836
jhalleman -at- mantranet -dot- com
www.MantraNet.com
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