Multilevel Lists Lose Link to Styles

[MrTodd]

In our corporate templates, we use heading numbering that is linked to the
heading styles as follows:

Section 1 (Heading 1 style)
1.1 (Heading 2 style)
1.1.1 (Heading 3 style)
1.1.2 (Heading 3 style)
etc.

We created the templates in Word 2003, but are now frequently using them in
Word 2007 as well. From time to time someone alerts me that the multilevel
numbering list in their document has become unlinked from the heading styles.
(That is, the headings are numbered, but only with direct formatting, which
can easily get lost.)

As far as I can tell, this problem only happens when User A creates a
document in Word 2007 and saves it in Word 2007 format (*.docx), and then
User B opens that document in Word 2003. I think the problem happens as Word
2003 converts the document from the .docx format into the Word 2003 format.

I have seen others mention this problem in the newsgroups, but the cause has
not been described in detail. Do you think I have correctly found the cause?
And has anyone found a “solution,†beyond telling our users to avoid this
chain of events?

Thanks.

 

[Pamelia Caswell via OfficeKB.com]

(That is, the headings are numbered, but only with direct formatting, which
can easily get lost.)

Please explain what you mean by direct formatting.

Do all headings lose numbering, all of one level, or isolated headings?

Pam

 

[MrTodd]

Pam, by "direct formatting" I mean that a multilevel list is still applied to
all the headings, but it is not linked to the heading styles. The problem
comes when someone re-applies the heading style to a heading -- that's when
the numbering disappears (whereas, before, applying the heading style would
apply the number to the heading).

The other reason this is a problem is that in our page numbers, we use the
chapter number ("1-1"), which references the numbering of the Heading 1
style. Now that the numbering is not linked to the style, we get no chapter
number in the page number.

-Todd

 

[Stefan Blom]

How was numbering created in the first place? If you recreate the numbering
in Word 2007, via Home tab | Multilevel List | Define New Multilevel List
(be sure to link levels to paragraph styles!), can you then open the
document in Word 2003 without losing the numbering?

 

[Pamelia Caswell via OfficeKB.com]

What you are seeing is the expected behavior. When numbering levels are
linked to a style, applying or reapplying the style also applies the
numbering; if they are not linked, applying a style can eliminate manual (or
direct) formatting. Chapter numbering of page numbers only works when built-
in heading styles are linked to numbering.

Your solution could be as simple as going to the first heading 1 in the
document and applying one of the items in the multilevel list library that
has headings already linked to it. If you need to change any of the setting,
go back into the multilevel list gallery and choose define new multilevel
list. You can make adjustments in the dialog.

Pam

Pam, by "direct formatting" I mean that a multilevel list is still applied to
all the headings, but it is not linked to the heading styles. The problem
comes when someone re-applies the heading style to a heading -- that's when
the numbering disappears (whereas, before, applying the heading style would
apply the number to the heading).

The other reason this is a problem is that in our page numbers, we use the
chapter number ("1-1"), which references the numbering of the Heading 1
style. Now that the numbering is not linked to the style, we get no chapter
number in the page number.

-Todd

(That is, the headings are numbered, but only with direct formatting, which
can easily get lost.) [quoted text clipped - 30 lines]

Thanks.

 

[Pamelia Caswell via OfficeKB.com]

Apologies, my response was to your reply. I did not reread your original post
in which I think you say that the headings are originally linked to numbering
levels but that they are getting unlinked during revisions.

I haven't had numbering problems caused by Word's conversions to and from
2007 and 2003, but I have had problems caused by char styles created in W2003.
(...The number level is linked to Heading 1 not Heading 1 char)

Check the headings to make sure they are applied to the whole paragraph and
that the "right" heading 1 (for example) is applied. (In W2007, linked
styles don't break, but if the unlinked (or char char) styles are present,
they can cause the same havoc they do in W2003.)

If cleaning up the styles (a step I take whenever documents come back to me
with revisions) and running open and repair do not correct the problem, you
could also attempt to fix this by first turning off the numbering and then
turning it back on.

You might advise your writers working in W2003 to carefully select paragraphs
when applying styles or to the use paste special when pasting text into part
of a paragraph.

HTH & have a happy Thanksgiving
Pam

 

[MrTodd]

Stefan,

This is a *.dot file created in Word 2003. I created the numbering in the
manner described by Shauna Kelly
(http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html), which is
often recommended in these forums.

I took your advice and tried re-creating the numbering in Word 2007, and at
first no luck, but on the second try it looks better. On the first try, I
opened our current template in Office 2007, confirmed that the multilevel
list settings looked good, and then resaved it as a *.dot file from Word
2007. This did not help.

The second time, I started with a new, blank document in Word 2007, created
a multilevel list linked to Heading styles, and then saved it as a *.dot
file. This time I was able to create a new document from the template in
Word 2003, save it as a *.docx file, and when I opened it again the levels in
the multilevel list were linked to the heading styles.

Looks like the next step is to re-create our template in Word 2007, which
will be a longer process. I hope this prevents the problem from occurring.

Thanks for your help and I will repost if this problem comes back.

-Todd

 

[Stefan Blom]

The fact that recreating the template worked might indicate some sort of
corruption in the original file.