#1
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Heading numbering anomaly
I’m having an issue with heading numbering disappearing in copies of a document sent to a couple of team members. These are .docx files from a custom template I created recently in 2010. I double-checked my heading set-up procedure with Shauna Kelly’s instructions for lists, having learned that lesson a couple of years ago. This is the first reported problem with any docs based on the template.
The user I've spoken with is running Office 2007. When he first reported the issue, he had “Save documents to 97-2003” in his Options. I had him restore the docx setting and reboot. I am attaching the .doc he first returned to me, somewhat stripped down. Note the difference between the numbered Heading 2 in the body and the non-numbered Heading 2 in the Styles pane. Also, the odd numbering of Heading 4 in both places. Since his reboot (to no avail), I have sent him three tests: 1. Original .docx document again 2. A .doc document with a similar heading set-up created in 2007 3. A new .docx document based on the 2010 template but with headings created fresh and individual paragraphs of text brought over unformatted. Results as reported: 1. Numbers of headings 1 and 3 disappear; only the heading text is there; ditto, when updating the TOC, reflecting same. Numbers of headings 2 and 4 are fine. 2. Headings are fine 3. Numbers on headings 1-3 are missing, four is gone. This is what happened originally to bring the issue to my attention. The variability of result leads me to think that perhaps something is wrong on his machine. I am unable to replicate the problem. I’d be grateful for any insights. I have not asked to run Word repair yet, in case there is something wrong with the doc (template) that I ‘m missing. |
#2
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I'd suggest having your friend try the approaches suggested here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/921541 http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/...artingWord.htm and http://windowssecrets.com/forums/sho...hp/32641/page2 for various troubleshooting steps that will help you track down (and hopefully solve) the problem.
__________________
Cheers, Paul Edstein [Fmr MS MVP - Word] |
#3
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New aspect
Paul, my thanks for your suggestions. I scanned the sites you linked, though I was unable to discover directly pertinent information, most of what I found pertaining to 2003 and before, and to crashing issues.
However, I have since discovered a new aspect of the issue. Having sent both good and bad files to my home computer, which Office 2007 and exhibits the same problem experienced by my colleague, I opened the headings list style in one of the problem documents, opened the number formatting dialogue, and found that the list looked fine. After closing it, the document headings instantly regained their proper numbers! This also worked on my 2010 office computer. Does this suggest something specific to anyone? My problem is that final documents sometimes go out to clients, who sometimes specify a certain version of Word. Many may be running 2007; compliance obviates sending instructions for fixing a proposal's headings to clients. If necessary, I can recreate the headings in 2007 and bring them into 2010, of course, and see if that has any effect. I’m just very curious about this and hope to discover the reason. Anyone? |
#4
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Hi Ulodesk,
Whilst most of the troubleshooting relates to crashes, the same steps can be effective even when crashing isn't occurring. The first step one should always undertake when unexplained problems start happening is a repair. The next most common culprit is a damaged Normal template.
__________________
Cheers, Paul Edstein [Fmr MS MVP - Word] |
#5
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Solved
I seem to have resolved the problem by saving the template as a .doc and then reconverting it to a .dotx. As previously mentioned, the template has no modern bells and whistles, so, while I did get a message about compatibility when saving to .doc, only a couple of simple text boxes must triggered it and they survived visually and functionally for our purposes.
Prior to this, opening the template or a document based on it in repair mode worked for my 2007 computer, but not for two other users'. Thus, I took the above-cited step, hoping it would save me, as it seems to have, from having to recreate the entire template in Word 2007. |
#6
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Since resaving in a different format did the trick, it's likely that the template was (slightly) corrupt. For more on document and template corruption, see http://word.mvps.org/faqs/apperrors/corruptdoc.htm.
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Stefan Blom Microsoft Word MVP Microsoft 365 apps for business Windows 11 Professional |
#7
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Corruption
Perhaps so. Along the way in trying to solve the problem, I found that some fixed documents worked on my 2007 machine at home but not on another 2007 user's, so, exactly where the issue lay remains a mystery.
Cordially, Philip |
#8
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Hi Philip,
FWIW, corrupt documents can often be 'repaired' by inserting a new, empty, paragraph at the very end, copying everything except that new paragraph to a new document, closing the old document and saving the new one over it.
__________________
Cheers, Paul Edstein [Fmr MS MVP - Word] |
#9
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Thank you for that reminder of principle regarding the final pilcrow, Paul. I probably should have tried it. I shall keep it in mind in the future.
Cordially, Philip |
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