Mac Forum / Applications / Word / February 2006

This is an interesting thread for people like me who have not used Document
Map for a long time because of problems that include some of Trilby's.  It
was rumoured (at least on the Windows Word NG) that Document Map had
improved in recent versions, though I hadn't bothered to look (I just use
Outline View for my needs).

In particular: in the past, Document Map used to apply "heading" status to
one-line paragraphs that only went part-way across the page. Maybe that
still applies.

Maybe it hasn't improved ­ I just don't know (although I think CyberTaz has
inferred the main reason you're experiencing problems, Trilby).

<Ahh: Just did a "Document map" search on Google newsgroups and found this
post by John McGhie:>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Document Map uses a rather complex algorithm for stuffing up your document

You are quite correct: it will guess that any paragraph that is less than a
complete line is a heading.  Just how it goes about that has been fine-tuned
a bit from version to version of Word, and is further modified by the
settings in Tools>AutoCorrect.

I believe that in versions of Word 2000 and up, it is relatively safe to use
Document Map if the document has a recognisable regular structure using the
built-in Heading styles.

In other words, if it's a technical manual or report formatted the way a
technical writer or web master would format it, Document Map will probably
take the author's word for it and leave it alone (at least, it's supposed
to...)

The last time I actually used it in Word 11, it seemed to function very
well, and it's a handy little tool when it works right.  Word XP/11 users
are coming to rely on it as a view for posting public documents on the
corporate intraweb, and it's becoming quite valuable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anyway, Trilby, adding a couple of minor points to CyberTaz's excellent
advice:

1.  You may find that opening the Style Area (from Normal view only) to show
the styles applied gives you a quicker understanding of which paragraphs
have what styles. To reveal the Style Area, choose the Word (or Edit in
earlier versions) menu => Preferences => View => in the field titled "Style
area width" enter say 2.5 cm => OK. You can double-click in the Style Area
(on the name of the style you want to modify) and the Modify styles window
will appear with that style selected (saving the need to go Format menu =>
Style => Modify => select).

2. If you want more information on management of styles, including "Style
for following paragraph" and the advantages of applying space above/below
paragraphs as part of the style ("leading"), have a look at 'Styles and
templates ‹ the keys to consistency and saving time' starting on page 81 of
some notes on the way I use Word for the Mac, titled "Bend Word to Your
Will", which are available as a free download from the Word MVPs' website
(http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/Bend/BendWord.htm).

[Note: "Bend Word to your will" is designed to be used electronically and
most subjects are self-contained dictionary-style entries. If you decide to
read more widely than the item I've referred to, it's important to read the
front end of the document -- especially pages 3 and 5 -- so you can select
some Word settings that will allow you to use the document effectively.]

Cheers,
Clive Huggan
============

On 6/2/06 6:41 AM, in article C00BBF0E.D765%onlygeneraltaz1@com.cast.net,

Hello, CyberTaz:

Thank you for getting back to me. This continues to be a mystery--I did
go into my document and eliminate some spacing between paragraphs, but
this nudged the headings in the Map up only one or two spaces. There's
still a wide blank gap between headings.

My document is an author letter. I'm doing some developmental editing
on several essays. I send an author letter to the writers that is
organized by headings, such as "THEME," "ORGANIZATION," "NARRATIVE
TECHNIQUE." Subheadings might be things like, "Pacing," "Language," and
so forth.
The discussion under each head or subhead is in normal
text--single-sentence paragraphs.

My current author letter is the one where everything suddenly changed.
The previous project's Doc Map is a compact little thing--heads and
subheads one right under the other, no blank lines between them and
certainly no huge gaps. I always write author letters in the same
style, so I know I didn't do anything differently.

The mystery includes a font change, as well, in the Map. All previous
project Maps show up in a serif font. The current project's Map shows
up in a sans serif font. Since I have no idea how to format, let alone
reformat, my Document Map, I am innocent of this font change!

By the way, the instructions for formatting the appearance of the
Document Map came from a Microsoft online help site that I found by
doing a Google search under "Document Map." There were several steps:
1. View > Document Map
2. Format > Styles and Formatting
3. Custom > in Category List, click on All Styles
4.  Styles to be visible > Document Map > OK
5. Styles + Formatting Task Pane (pick formatting to apply) > Document
Map (click arrow) > Modify Format > Font...

As I mentioned, I could not get past step #1, as "Document Map" is not
on my View drop-down menu (and Navigation Pane is only about getting
the Map to appear or disappear).

(I love the former appearance of my Document Map, because, before
sending out an author letter, I could see at a glance how
well-organized the flow of topics was. This obviously is equally
important to any writer receiving the letter.)