Thanks Beth, that seems like a possible solution. I'm about to leave for the
day but I'll give it some thought tonight. I am wondering though how this
will affect my headings/numbered lists/and styles. I've used autotext pretty
sparingly, so I wasn't sure how that was bound to all of the other Word
functions. Does it need to be set or included in any styles in any way or
would it just assume whatever style the text is currently operating under?
The other question is if the toolbar would be set as default in the document
template? I thought toolbars were user settings. Thanks for the insight, I
hadn't even thought of this route.
Ps. I currently have about 8 solutions written up that I have to take to the
committee for final approval, but if I can figure out those questions above,
it will likely be in my top recommendations.
--
-Beeler
"Beth Melton" wrote:
Thanks for the explanation, that helps me understand it better. I don't
think you need to put it all in a table, just the portion you are using the
columns for.
If I were setting this up for others I'd create an AutoText entry for the
References using a borderless one row, two column table. Then I'd add the
AutoText entry to a custom toolbar so when the user needs to add a
reference, they click the button and the borderless one row, two column
table is added for them at their insertion point. Then all they need to do
is type the content. If they need more rows then pressing Tab in the last
cell will add additional rows if necessary. The custom toolbar could even
include other common tasks or frequently used content.
If you think this method might work and need additional instructions just
let us know. :-)
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email cannot be acknowledged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP
Coauthor of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/boo...x#AboutTheBook
Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
"Beeler" wrote in message
...
Thanks for your response Beth. I had thought about tables, but I am
reluctant for a few reasons. The first is that everywhere I've read
states
that a large one row column makes the document unstable. I'd like to make
the document as consistent as possible and trying to determine when to add
a
new row would be near impossible. I've thought about making it every
heading
change, or every 5 paragraphs or something, but the complexity of the
manual
creates too many inconsitencies.
To give some more information. I am very limited by the IT department in
the interoperability of the network. As far as I can tell they have no
file
update function which makes for creating a global template pretty near
impossible. The document template that I am designing is for creating a
1000+page manual (about 200 pages are complete, but are roughly formatted
and
I have to follow something close to the way it looks). Various sections
will
be edited by different departments, thankfully most of the departments are
in
the same building. The document needs to require as minimal training as
possible since the average user has nary even an introductory knowledge of
Word functions. To make matters even more complicated, some departments
have
a high turn over rate so whoever's editing the document now may not be in
5
months, so whoever I train has to train them. To be frank, the word
template
puts half the people on the committee uneasy. The reason for the two
columns
is to put references to some procedures, the references will be somewhat
short, but need to be visibly accessible as they reference Governing
documents.
(Things were going smoothly until the supervisor said, "Find a way to
include those references") 
--
-Beeler
"Beth Melton" wrote:
Is there a reason you can't use a borderless Word table? Attempting to
use
the Columns feature, created for snaking newspaper style columns, as
blocked/parallel columns is a nightmare! I think if we knew more about
why
you're unable to use a table we might have other suggestions. :-)
Also, if you are setting up a template for others then the nonprinting
characters won't help since this is a user preference and isn't stored in
the document.
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email cannot be acknowledged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP
Coauthor of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/boo...x#AboutTheBook
Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
"Beeler" wrote in message
news
In word 2002 how does one view just the breaks, ie. column break,
section
break? There are options to view seemingly every other type of hidden
character or code. Ideally I would like only column breaks to be
visible
by
default for a template.
(For those interested, or with additional suggestions, I'm trying a
workaround for parallel columns in word w/o using tables, linked
textboxes
etc.)
--
-Beeler