automatic numbering to fixed text

users
#1

Hi,

I picked up your thread on the web but I couldn't find the wiki it came
from so please excuse this direct email.
It appears you've both been dealing with much more complex problems than
mine which I set out as [on the ubuntu forums]:

"People send me big documents with paragraphs auto-numbered.
I need to work on them, add paras, alter paras, delete paras and comment
and debate content.
So I need to preserve the original paragraph numbering so that when I
return the altered document the recipient can see and find what has been
abstracted, added or altered.
I can of course use Track Changes which helps a bit but ......
How do I preserve the numbers auto-allocated to the paragraphs by the
originator so they become part of the text: ie so they survive my edits?

I am using LibreOffice 3.5.7.2 Build ID: 350m1(Build:2) on Ubuntu 12.04"

I received some help and needed to explain:
"Auto-numbering is inappropriate for such work [as is all imposed
Default Formatting]. The choice to apply auto-numbering is the
originator's, not mine. I'd rather they didn't but they do! If the draft
goes through, say, 3 revisions [it can be many more] you get nonsense
such as "Bill, do you think Matty will accept 'at' not 'on' in the 3rd
line of para 5.2.3.8 which was 5.3.3.9 in my response and 4.3.3.22 in
your original?" etc.. Auto-numbering is of course very useful for the
final version, which we would create by taking the accumulated
amendments. We would know exactly where to apply them [with great care]
to the Auto-numbered original draft because we would be working with the
same para numbers.
BUT, you seem to have the answer ... Please HOW DO YOU "convert all
automatic numbers into constant text". It is most certainly desired, and
what I need to do on receipt of these documents!

He said:
"To be honest: I have not tried converting automatic numbering to fixed
text in libreoffice yet, but only on MS office, and there it can be done
with a quite complicated key combination (as far as I can remember
something like ctrl-alt-shift-f9)."

Do either of you happen to know the correct key combination in Writer
please?

any help would be very gratefully received.
regards
Barry

#2

People send me big documents with paragraphs auto-numbered. I need to work on them, add paras, alter paras, delete paras and comment and debate content. So I need to preserve the original paragraph numbering so that when I return the altered document the recipient can see and find what has been abstracted, added or altered. I can of course use Track Changes ...

Er, that's Record Changes.

... which helps a bit but ...... How do I preserve the numbers auto-allocated to the paragraphs by the originator so they become part of the text: ie so they survive my edits?

[Someone] said:
"To be honest: I have not tried converting automatic numbering to fixed text in libreoffice yet, but only on MS office, and there it can be done with a quite complicated key combination (as far as I can remember something like ctrl-alt-shift-f9)."

That's Ctrl+Shift+F9, I think.

Do either of you happen to know the correct key combination in Writer please?

I don't think there is a process to achieve exactly what you want. But here is a close workaround:
o Select all the text (Edit | Select All or Ctrl+A).
o Cut all the text (Edit | Cut or Ctrl+X).
o Backspace to remove the empty first numbered paragraph.
o Go to Edit | Paste Special... (or Ctrl+Shift+V), choosing "Unformatted text" in the Paste Special dialogue.

How are the people who are sending you these documents preparing them? If it happens that they are using Microsoft Word, you could teach them how to "unlink fields" in the documents before sending them to you. That way, you'd preserve any formatting that you *did* want.

I trust this helps.

Brian Barker

#3

Hello,

Your email is a bit long and I am very busy now. Let me take some free
time to completely read your email and answer it properly.
I will answer you in the coming days.

Regards,