June 21, 2011
The Argument against Word, Reason #513
Here’s what’s happening with Microsoft Word 2008 on Mac. Note that I am not looking for help. I am merely venting.
1. Redefined heading2 so that it begins with an auto number.
2. Now when I select Normal paragraphs and apply the “number me” button to them, they all turn into heading2’s.
3. Create a new element called Normal-List, defined as beginning with an auto-number.
4. After the fourth instance of heading2, begin my fourth set of Normal-List items.
5. That fourth set continues the numbering from the third set. Select the first item and choose “Restart numbering.” It is a no-op.
6. Try every thing you can think of. Nothing works.
7. Re-open it in LibreOffice (nee Open Office) and fix the goddamn autonumbers.
Q: How many years will it take for Microsoft to get auto-numbering right?
A: How many years are there?
This is especially frustrating since the software company I worked at from 1986-1994, Interleaf, got this right about twenty years ago. AAAaaarrrrrgggggghhhhh.
