[comp.sys.mac.apps] Table of Contents entries in MS Word

jer@nvuxk.uucp (23171-janice rathmann(7684)) (08/21/90)

I have a problem with using the Table of Contents entries in MS Word.
First let me describe what I want to accomplish.  In my document I need
a normal type of table of contents (I use up to 4 levels of headings, i.e.,
.c1. through .c4.), a list of figures (I use .c9.), a list of tables (I use
.c8.) and a new type of list, a list of what we call requirements.  I have
been able to do the first three of these items (normal table of contents,
list of figures, and list of tables) with the Table of Contents
commands in the past, with no problems. I first run the TOC command for my
list of figures (specifying only level 9), then run the TOC command for
my list of tables (specifying only level 8), etc.

Now I am trying to compile a list of requirements (our company writes
"Requirements" documents for telecommunications manufacturers) in the
same way.  A "requirement" may be a sentence or even a short paragraph.
I used .c7. in front of each requirement like I have done for other
lists (list of figures, etc), and then run the TOC command for level 7 only.
Word compiles a nice list of "requirements" for me, with one little problem,
some of the requirements are missing!!
I know some are missing because we found a way that we can number each 
requirement sequentially.  There doesn't seem to be any pattern to which ones
are missing.  For example in the document I am working with now, requirements
8, 13, 25, 39, 52, 115, 117, 119 are missing (a total of 151 requirements).
I have tried using level 6 and level 9 TOC entries and it appears (I haven't
checked real closely) that the same numbered requirements are missing.
Is there some problem with MS Word TOC command handling that much text?
(there ends up being about 12 pages of requirements, single spaced,
10 point New Century Schoolbook font)

Has anyone else encountered a similar problem?  It makes me worry a little
about the TOC command in general - maybe some entries in my regular Table
of Contents are missing and I don't even know it.
I could obviously work around the problem by doing some copying and pasting
after the document is done to put in the missing entries  --  but I find
this problem mystifying and troublesome. I'd rather it be automatic.

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can give me on this problem.

Janice Rathmann
Bellcore

jer@nvuxk.uucp (23171-janice rathmann(7684)) (08/22/90)

In article <574@nvuxl.UUCP>, jer@nvuxk.uucp (23171-janice rathmann(7684)) writes:
> I have a problem with using the Table of Contents entries in MS Word.
> First let me describe what I want to accomplish.  In my document I need
> a normal type of table of contents (I use up to 4 levels of headings, i.e.,
> ..c1. through .c4.), a list of figures (I use .c9.), a list of tables (I use
> ..c8.) and a new type of list, a list of what we call requirements.  I have
> been able to do the first three of these items (normal table of contents,
> list of figures, and list of tables) with the Table of Contents
> commands in the past, with no problems. I first run the TOC command for my
> list of figures (specifying only level 9), then run the TOC command for
> my list of tables (specifying only level 8), etc.
> 
> Now I am trying to compile a list of requirements (our company writes
> "Requirements" documents for telecommunications manufacturers) in the
> same way.  A "requirement" may be a sentence or even a short paragraph.
> I used .c7. in front of each requirement like I have done for other
> lists (list of figures, etc), and then run the TOC command for level 7 only.
> Word compiles a nice list of "requirements" for me, with one little problem,
> some of the requirements are missing!!
> I know some are missing because we found a way that we can number each 
> requirement sequentially.  There doesn't seem to be any pattern to which ones
> are missing.  For example in the document I am working with now, requirements
> 8, 13, 25, 39, 52, 115, 117, 119 are missing (a total of 151 requirements).
> 
> Janice Rathmann
> Bellcore

I have done some further testing with the problem I described above.  I 
isolated a small piece of my document which had 7 requirements (with 
level 7 table of contents entries), but when I run the TOC command, 
requirements 3, 5, and 7 do not print out (the part of the document I
used had requirements 115, 117, and 119 from the complete document I 
described in my previous post - and these were the same ones [with
different numbers of course] that disappeared when I ran the TOC
in the small piece I am now using).  After some further testing,
I realized that it there was nothing wrong with the requirements
that are missing.  The problem seems to be caused by the previous
requirement (i.e., there is something in requirements 2, 4, and
6 which causes the problem).  

My theory is that the problem is lies in the amount of text of the
entry - if an entry is only a single line there is no problem at all.
If the length of the requirement exceeds 256 characters (including spaces),
the next requirement gets skipped when I run the TOC command.  Curiously,
it appears if the length of the line is greater than 2x but less than
3x (where x is about 256 characters), the next requirement is printed
when I run the TOC command. (And when the length is greater than 3x
but less that 4x, the next requirement disappears again, and so forth.)

Is this a known feature of the MS Word application?  Is there some way
I can fake out Word so I don't have this problem??

Thanks in advance.

Janice Rathmann
Bellcore