Unexpected Error Exporting a PDF

It is common for people to create PDF files from their Word documents. What can you do, though, if your standard way of creating PDFs doesn't produce the desired results?

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(Thanks to Jos Graindor, Dick Margulis, David French, Sean Flanagan, Jim Guigli, Katy Wensman, Steve Rawcliffe, and Steve Mackey for contributing to this tip.)

Specifying a Table of Contents Entry

If you need to create a specialized table of contents, you need to know how to add TOC entries to your document. It's easy to do using a simple field.

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Use Tables Effectively

Microsoft Word is wonderful at presenting data clearly and easily. Creating a table is one of the ways you can present your data. Creating tables is easy, but using them effectively can be tricky. WordTips: Terrific Tables allows you to get the most from your tables.

Creating a Table of Contents from TOC Fields

If you inserted a bunch of TOC fields in your document, you can create your table of contents quite easily based on those fields. This comes in very handy for creating specialized TOCs that aren't based on your documents outline.

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Footnotes for Chapters

Word allows you to add footnotes to your documents and configure how they are numbered. Sometimes the numbering can get a bit confusing based on your document organization. Here's how to get the numbering you need when your document has lots of different sections in it.

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Determining the Number of Paragraphs in a Document

When using a macro to process a document in some way, you often need to know the number of paragraphs in the document. (This is especially true if you are processing the document paragraph by paragraph.) You can figure out how many paragraphs there are by examining the Paragraphs collection.

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Assigning a Macro to a Shortcut Key

Do you have a macro that you use frequently? Using the File menu to access the macro can be time consuming. This tip talks about how to create a shortcut key that will cut out the menu.

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This section is for those having problems making Word behave. If Word is giving you fits, feel free to submit your own Help Wanted question.

If you have a solution for the problems below, click the link after the problem to send us your answer. (All responses become the sole property of Sharon Parq Associates, Inc., and can be used in any way deemed appropriate.) If your response is used in a future issue, you will be credited for your contribution to the answer.

Protecting Macros in the Normal Template

On our company network, the Normal template is periodically updated, automatically, based on whatever it is that our IT department does. The problem is, the Normal template contains my macros that I've developed, which means they are overwritten. Is there a way to make sure that my macros remain intact even if the IT department decides to update my Normal template?
—Brett Thompson (provide an answer for this Help Wanted question)