#27200
This article tells you how to create a template to produce a software manual.
McGhie, John. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27201
How Do I Generate an Index in Word?
The Microsoft Word Help suggests that you can automatically generate an index. Sorry, but you can't (the 'result' looks like an index, but the reader can't use it). You can automatically mark index entries: however, the amount of work required to edit the result into a usable index is usually double the effort required to manually mark the index entries one-by-one.
McGhie, John. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Indexing>Microsoft Word
#27208
How to Recover a Master Document
Notice how this article starts off with the cheerful assumption that you want to 'recover' a Master Document? I bet you were hoping that we would tell you how to 'fix' one! We can't. If you are having a problem with a master document, the problem is the master document. Any attempt you make to repair one will inevitably make your problem worse.
McGhie, John. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27206
How Word differs from WordPerfect
WordPerfect considers a document to be a 'type stream.' If you picture WordPerfect sitting on the end of the printer cable, sending characters one-by-one, and every now and again inserting a COMMAND to change what the printer is doing, you'll get the idea. For example, WP sends the commands for 'Arial' font and 'bold'. It then expects the printer to print every character that way until it tells the printer to do something else. Word, on the other hand, considers a document to be a 'container.' Within this container are more containers and, within them, still more. Into each of these containers, Word inserts objects. The objects can be bits of text, or bits of pictures, or complete files created by other applications.
McGhie, John. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27242
I Want to Include the Chapter Number with the Page Number in the Header
If you insist on doing this – and if you do, don't say I didn't warn you! – then the best procedure is as follows.
McGhie, John. Word MVP Site, The (2002). Articles>Word Processing>Document Design>Microsoft Word
#27185
Microsoft Word 2004 Document Corruption
If your problem manifests with just one document (or a specific subset of documents), but not with all documents, it is probable that you’re suffering from document corruption. Symptoms may include weird page numbering (drag the thumb down the right vertical margin and watch the page number counter – it will go crazy when you pass a corruption) infinite repagination, incorrect document layout and formatting, unreadable characters on the screen, hangs or crashes when you load or view a particular file. Such corruption is generally carried in the very last paragraph mark in a document, which is the marker for a hidden container in which Word stores all document properties including formatting information.
McGhie, John and Beth Rosengard. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27209
The complete explanation would be a book in itself. For now, it is enough to know that a Word document is a great big 'list' of objects. An object can be anything you can put in a Word document. Each of these objects has many, many 'properties' that determine how it appears and how it behaves.
McGhie, John. Word MVP Site, The (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Software>Microsoft Word
#27236
Numbering in Word is difficult to understand because Word attempts to hide 'complexity' from us. In many cases, it provides insufficient detail in the explanation of features. Regrettably, a simplistic explanation does not help understanding of a complex subject. It fills our heads with loose ends, which makes the problem worse!
McGhie, John. Word MVP Site, The (2002). Articles>Word Processing>Information Design>Microsoft Word
