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Re: Word 2003: TOC in document is failing if the template is not inits original folder
Subject:Re: Word 2003: TOC in document is failing if the template is not inits original folder From:"Jonathan West" <jwest -at- mvps -dot- org> To:TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Mon, 3 Mar 2008 16:23:44 +0000
>
>
> Yes, that document consistency requirement is what pulled me in. That
> and having seen similar things to what Sylvia saw.
> What's the desired workflow if you are creating and maintaining the doc,
> and want your own minimalist and well-crafted(?) array of styles to
> prevail, but other people (reviewers, SMEs) might be getting their
> undisciplined little mitts on the document?
Well, I would say whatever works for you. There are a variety of
possibilities. For instance:
1. If everyone has Acrobat (not just the reader), convert to PDF and
invite people to add comments
2. Lock the document for comments before sending it out as a Word
document, so that comments are the only things people can add.
3. Protect the document so that only certain styles can be used.
>
> Say, for instance, that a reviewer has made changes (small and
> not-so-small) on 100 out of 400 pages (a comma here, a new paragraph
> there, a table imported from gawd-knows-where), track-changes is on,
> many of the changes include the use of spot formatting or the creation
> of new (unwanted by me) styles.
>
> In what condition should the document go out - i.e., with which
> pre-emptive settings engaged?
If you are going to send the document out in Word format, it depends
on your preferences and to a certain extent which version of Word is
in use in the company. For instance, with Word 2003, it is possible to
lock down the document so that only a predefined list of styles can be
used and no manual formatting. That might be a bit too radical - it
means that you have to have character styles in order to make an
individual word bold or italic or to change the font size or tab
settings.
> How should it be handled when it comes back, marked up, in order to
> accept the reviewer's changes into the doc (assume that they are almost
> all acceptable in terms of their content additions/changes/deletions,
> but _not_ their formatting), without accepting any of the reviewer's
> format-or-style-related changes, and without having any new styles
> appear in the style list?
Again, it varies according to taste and circumstances, and what power
you have to impose your preferences on the reviewers. In this
circumstance, I would be inclined to protect for comments, let people
make as many comments as they like, but you are the sole person to
will incorporate changes into the document. That way, you can ensure
that all the changes are done with formatting correctly applied.
Comments can include formatted text and even tables, so a reviewer can
paste his preferred text into the comment.
>
> I can think of a couple of blunt, brute-force methods that involve a lot
> of hands-on remedial work by me, but I assume there's a straightforward
> way to import just the content changes while excluding anything
> formatting-related.
Ctrl-Space and Ctrl-Q will respectively remove all manual font
formatting and all manual paragraph formatting from selected text.
After that, it becomes easier to apply your styles over any others
that might be present.
>
> It used to be that I didn't have to worry about this sort of thing,
> since I lived/worked with the people who designed and built the products
> that I documented. But when we inherited the product lines of an
> acquired company, we also inherited their tools, their docs, and their
> way of doing reviews, as well as distance and timezone and cultural
> separation from said reviewers and SMEs.
>
> I've had to start poking around with settings that I previously just
> left undisturbed, and have been running into what might be mutually
> exclusive interactions, including some that seem a lot like what SB was
> getting.
>
> I don't care that the remote tinkerers can-or-can't update the ToC,
> because it's not important that the ToC be accurate until I'm nearly
> done with the document and update it one last time. But I can't count on
> them not to know where to look if they want to make it update for their
> own perverse reasons. I just need to be able to undo or ignore their
> setting changes and any formatting they've done, while still receiving
> or importing the benefit of their valuable content changes.
>
> So, in summary, what's the best, most efficient way to do it?
> A) You have written a document, it looks and works (content) the way you
> want it to, and now you are about to send it to somebody who will
> inflict their knowledgeable but different perspective on it. How do you
> protect it as you ship it?
Tools Protect Document. In Word 2003, the Protect Document taskpane
appears. You can either set "Allow only this type of editing in the
document" to be set to "Comments" or you can "Limit formatting to a
selection of styles" and then click the Settings link below to select
the allowable styles. When you have set then document as you wish,
click "Yes, Start Enforcing Protection" and enter a password.
>
> B) You get it back, with the hundred changes. On your left monitor you
> have the original document open, in all the glory of its pristine
> styles, but with slightly deficient content. On your right monitor you
> have the reviewer-modified document with upgraded content, but with
> extraneous formatting and some weird new styles. What's your next step,
> and why?
Either of the protection techniques above will prevent you from
getting the extraneous formatting in the first place
Regards
Jonathan West
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