[mso] Re: Alphabetizing table of contents- how??
- From: "James S. Huggins \(mso\)" <MicrosoftOffice@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <mso@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 7 Jan 2009 09:44:28 -0600
===========================
I've hesitated about coming in on this one as I didn't want to throw a cat
among the pigeons. But my route would have been not to start in Word at
all, but create the info in Excel and then sort on my chosen fields before
doing a Word mailmerge to a catalog using the Excel file as my data source.
I've done this for years with a lot of success, so long as the field lengths
don't exceed Excel's capacity (if I recall in 2000 they may have been more
limited than more recent versions). It's a really good way to handle lots
of data, including text (Excel is really good at handling text not just
numbers!) and getting a professional version at the end of it. You can then
set the item you want to create your index on each page with an index mark
or link to a paragraph style that achieves the same result.
And just to mix the metaphors, this may be a total red herring!
===========================
Not a red herring at all. A good idea. "Database publishing" which is what
you are describing, creates printed material out of a database, in your
case, the Excel spreadsheet functioning as a simple database. It's a
perfectly acceptable approach.
For me, the subject of this whole discussion threw me from the beginning.
Why? Because Tables of Contents are "by definition" not alphabetized. They
do "by definition" appear in "page order". Indexes are "by definition"
alphabetized.
To me, the need for an alphabetized table of contents shows the need for an
alphabetized book. You would not, for example, create a dictionary with
words in random order, then provide an alphabetical index to find the words.
Just put the information in the most natural order to begin with.
At least, that is how it seems to me.
James S. Huggins
...
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