If I Had My Document Way… Numbering Would Include All Levels

If I Had My Document Way… …heading numbering would by default include all previous levels of numbering. What does that mean? Here’s an example of heading numbering (this is BAD, and is used by US government documents like the CFR): 1. This is heading 1 a. This is heading 2 b. Heading 2 again i.… Continue reading If I Had My Document Way… Numbering Would Include All Levels

If I Had My Document Way… Version Control

If I Had My Document Way… …all documents would be in a version controlled central location. This is not about formatting, it’s about keeping track of all the versions of a document, especially one that is being edited by multiple people. Too much of the time, we rely on email and MS Word’s powerful-but-limited Track… Continue reading If I Had My Document Way… Version Control

If I Had My Document Way… Formatting Marks

If I Had My Document Way… …formatting marks would show what formatting would be applied to the text. This is a little more technical, but I think it would solve a lot of problems. I don’t want to be one of these people who claims that WordPerfect 5 (or is it WordStar I’m thinking of?)… Continue reading If I Had My Document Way… Formatting Marks

If I Had My Document Way… Styles Would Be Taught First

If I Had My Document Way… …Styles would be taught first, instead of being reserved for the advanced class. I’ve found that basic MS Word training teaches users to apply formatting directly. But I think they would be better served by teaching them Styles in the first lesson (after the absolute basics like opening, saving,… Continue reading If I Had My Document Way… Styles Would Be Taught First

If I Had My Document Way… Heading Numbering by Default

If I Had My Document Way… …Word’s default Headings would have a proper numbering setup. By default, the headings in Word don’t have numbers. The standard template has a blue Heading 1, then some other font for Heading 2, etc. No numbering. This means the first thing you have to do in an empty document… Continue reading If I Had My Document Way… Heading Numbering by Default

If I Had My Document Way… Paste Formatting

If I Had My Document Way… …paste formatting would be removed. That trick where you can select some text, click the ‘Paste Formatting’ paintbrush button, then paint that formatting on some other text is the cause of many problems I’ve seen in documents. Applying some random formatting to a chunk of text, instead of using… Continue reading If I Had My Document Way… Paste Formatting

If I Had My Document Way… In-line Pictures

If I Had My Document Way… …all images, diagrams, charts etc would be in-line with text, not floating in relation to the page. That little anchor symbol drives me crazy. The image is related to the text, right? Then stick it in the text. Otherwise (from what I’ve seen), the text moves when it’s edited,… Continue reading If I Had My Document Way… In-line Pictures

If I Had My Document Way… Paste Unformatted

If I Had My Document Way… …the default paste setting in MS Word would be “Keep Text Only”. I think this is one of the most important issues. Currently, when someone pastes text from one document into another, the default behavior is to copy the text and the formatting, including whatever styles are attaches to… Continue reading If I Had My Document Way… Paste Unformatted

If I Had My Document Way… Section Breaks

If I Had My Document Way… …section breaks would not exist unless absolutely necessary. The front page would be the first page of Section, and it could be different from the second page onwards. The footers would be consistent, the page numbering would be consistent, weird formatting errors would not arise as a result of… Continue reading If I Had My Document Way… Section Breaks

If I Had My Document Way… A New Series

If I Had My Document Way… …is a new series of posts where I suggest improvements (or just rant) about some of the things which I think should be done to make my life – and all my colleagues lives – a lot easier when using MS Word or other complex tools to create technical… Continue reading If I Had My Document Way… A New Series