How do I refer to page numbers, when the numbers change as I prepare the document?

[StevenD]

Hi,
I have a very long document (500+ pages) that is currently peppered with phrases like this:

"as we discussed in Chapter 12, on page XXX,"

... and I'm planning on filling in the XXX's later. But I just know that I'll be adding and subtracting text, and the pages will change as I modify the document.

What's a good way to handle this? I picture having some field or identified location with each XXX in the text, and perhaps at the very end of the document an area for me -- something like:
page where I explain A and B: ____
page where I explain C and D: ____
... and I'll fill in just those areas, and the correct page will magically appear in the text everywhere it's supposed to.

Is there a good solution for this?
Thanks in advance for any help.


--Steve D.

[JimP]

A method that I use to refer to other paragraphs within the same document is to insert hyperlinks to the paragraphs being referenced. Here is a link that may help you do this (if you prefer): http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/wo...65929.aspx#BM3. Of course, that is my preference. Other posters may volunteer better methods.

[macropod]

Using hyperlinks is not a good way to do this, mainly because the page numbers they display won't update as the page numbers for the content they refer to changes. Plus, you get the hyperlink formatting, which looks unprofessional in a printed document.

If, as I would expect, your 'Chapter 12' heading is created using one of Word's heading Styles, then you can simply insert a cross-reference to that heading, via Insert|Cross Reference - and set the 'insert reference' to the page number. Even if you haven't used a heading Style, you can get the same effect by bookmarking the heading, then insterting a cross-reference to the bookmark.

From then on, all you'll need to do to get the cross-references to update is a print preview. And, if you want to ensure they'll always be updated before printing, check the 'Update fields before printing' option under Word Options>Display.

[eNGiNe]

… but if you're aiming to distribute content as a .pdf, then hyperlink formatting might be just what you need ;-}

Paul, when you say "the page numbers they display won't update", do you mean the user needs to refresh fields to show the current values?

[macropod]

I mean that, if the page number of the content referenced by the hyperlink changes, which is what the OP wants the reference to indicate, the hyperlink won't display the new page # (even though it might go there). No amount of field refreshing will fix that. Therefore, inserting hyperlinks to page #s is not something you'd want to do to a document that's subject to further editing.

[eNGiNe]

Ah, hyperlinks to page number, not page content (for example , a bookmark) Yes, that could lead to confusion <g>