Renumbering footnotes

  • Thread starter Thread starter Joshua Kreitzer
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Joshua Kreitzer

I'm using Microsoft Word 2002 and I have a document in which I would
like footnotes to be numbered consecutively: 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. However,
the footnotes contain stretches of numbers that are decimals (for
example, footnote 3 might be followed by footnote 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, etc.)
and other sequences that are just plain out of order. Is there any
kind of macro or other method that can be used to automatically
renumber the footnotes starting with 1 and continuing in whole numbers
until the end of the document?

Thanks for any advice you can provide.
 
If these are bona fide "footnotes" created using the Insert | Reference |
Footnote function in Word, it would have been very difficult in the first
place to have numbers such as 3.1, 3.2, etc. (they'd have to be done
manually), and they would still update automatically (though if you're
tracking changes you won't see the right numbers till you accept the
changes). You may need to cut the footnote content, delete the footnote,
reinsert it, and paste the content.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org
 
The decimal-numbered footnotes were inserted using the Insert/
Reference/Footnote function in Word and numbered manually, and yes, it
was a fair amount of work to do them that way. Also, I am tracking
changes.

Cutting the footnote content, deleting the footnote, reinserting it,
and pasting the content will work, but it would be very time-
consuming. That's why I'm looking for an easier way.

Joshua Kreitzer
(e-mail address removed)
 
It actually isn't that time-consuming when you get into a rhythm, but it's
possible you can get the existing numbers to update by selecting 1, 2, 3
numbering in the Footnote and Endnote dialog and specifying it is for "Whole
document."

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

The decimal-numbered footnotes were inserted using the Insert/
Reference/Footnote function in Word and numbered manually, and yes, it
was a fair amount of work to do them that way. Also, I am tracking
changes.

Cutting the footnote content, deleting the footnote, reinserting it,
and pasting the content will work, but it would be very time-
consuming. That's why I'm looking for an easier way.

Joshua Kreitzer
(e-mail address removed)
 
Hi Joshua,

So how did the author get footnotes 3.1, 3.2, etc into to footnote area? By creating new paragraphs for footnote 3 and manually
numbering them? If so, it seems you're after a macro to:
.. go through the footnotes, finding paragraphs beginning with 3.1, 3.2, etc;
.. cut any such paragraphs from the existing footnotes;
.. find the corresponding entry in the body of the document;
.. find & replace the corresponding entry in the body of the document with a genuine footnote;
.. paste the cut text into the new footnote, deleting the old 'manual' footnote number.

Do-able, but you'd need to have many such footnotes to process to make the coding effort worthwhile. For an idea of what's involved,
see my post on a somewhat-related issue at:
http://www.techsupportforum.com/mic...office-support/474419-pdf-word-footnotes.html

--
Cheers
macropod
[Microsoft MVP - Word]


The decimal-numbered footnotes were inserted using the Insert/
Reference/Footnote function in Word and numbered manually, and yes, it
was a fair amount of work to do them that way. Also, I am tracking
changes.

Cutting the footnote content, deleting the footnote, reinserting it,
and pasting the content will work, but it would be very time-
consuming. That's why I'm looking for an easier way.

Joshua Kreitzer
(e-mail address removed)
 
For the record, the way these footnotes got into the footnote area was
that for each decimal-numbered footnote, the "Insert-Reference-
Footnote" function was used, the appropriate decimal number was typed
into the "Custom mark" box, and "Insert" was clicked.

The reason the footnotes were numbered this way is that this is the
manuscript of a book which has gone through several revisions. In each
revision, some more text was added, which required the addition of
decimal-numbered footnotes between the existing footnotes to avoid
having to renumber all the later notes. However, at this time it is
desired to clean up the numbering and just have whole-numbered
footnotes.

Each chapter is a separate document and the footnotes start over with
1 at the start of each chapter, so at least I don't have to be
concerned with continuous numbering from chapter to chapter.

Joshua Kreitzer
(e-mail address removed)

Hi Joshua,

So how did the author get footnotes 3.1, 3.2, etc into to footnote area? By creating new paragraphs for footnote 3 and manually
numbering them? If so, it seems you're after a macro to:
. go through the footnotes, finding paragraphs beginning with 3.1, 3.2, etc;
. cut any such paragraphs from the existing footnotes;
. find the corresponding entry in the body of the document;
. find & replace the corresponding entry in the body of the document witha genuine footnote;
. paste the cut text into the new footnote, deleting the old 'manual' footnote number.

Do-able, but you'd need to have many such footnotes to process to make the coding effort worthwhile. For an idea of what's involved,
see my post on a somewhat-related issue at:http://www.techsupportforum.com/microsoft-support/microsoft-office-su...

--
Cheers
macropod
[Microsoft MVP - Word]


The decimal-numbered footnotes were inserted using the Insert/
Reference/Footnote function in Word and numbered manually, and yes, it
was a fair amount of work to do them that way. Also, I am tracking
changes.

Cutting the footnote content, deleting the footnote, reinserting it,
and pasting the content will work, but it would be very time-
consuming. That's why I'm looking for an easier way.

If these are bona fide "footnotes" created using the Insert | Reference|
Footnote function in Word, it would have been very difficult in the first
place to have numbers such as 3.1, 3.2, etc. (they'd have to be done
manually), and they would still update automatically (though if you're
tracking changes you won't see the right numbers till you accept the
changes). You may need to cut the footnote content, delete the footnote,
reinsert it, and paste the content.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Since the later footnotes would have renumbered themselves automatically
when you inserted new ones, I don't think "avoid having to renumber all the
later notes" is a very good rationale; now if you wanted to keep the
footnote numbers the same to avoid confusion, I can understand that
argument.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

For the record, the way these footnotes got into the footnote area was
that for each decimal-numbered footnote, the "Insert-Reference-
Footnote" function was used, the appropriate decimal number was typed
into the "Custom mark" box, and "Insert" was clicked.

The reason the footnotes were numbered this way is that this is the
manuscript of a book which has gone through several revisions. In each
revision, some more text was added, which required the addition of
decimal-numbered footnotes between the existing footnotes to avoid
having to renumber all the later notes. However, at this time it is
desired to clean up the numbering and just have whole-numbered
footnotes.

Each chapter is a separate document and the footnotes start over with
1 at the start of each chapter, so at least I don't have to be
concerned with continuous numbering from chapter to chapter.

Joshua Kreitzer
(e-mail address removed)

Hi Joshua,

So how did the author get footnotes 3.1, 3.2, etc into to footnote area?
By creating new paragraphs for footnote 3 and manually
numbering them? If so, it seems you're after a macro to:
. go through the footnotes, finding paragraphs beginning with 3.1, 3.2,
etc;
. cut any such paragraphs from the existing footnotes;
. find the corresponding entry in the body of the document;
. find & replace the corresponding entry in the body of the document with
a genuine footnote;
. paste the cut text into the new footnote, deleting the old 'manual'
footnote number.

Do-able, but you'd need to have many such footnotes to process to make the
coding effort worthwhile. For an idea of what's involved,
see my post on a somewhat-related issue
at:http://www.techsupportforum.com/microsoft-support/microsoft-office-su...

--
Cheers
macropod
[Microsoft MVP - Word]

message
The decimal-numbered footnotes were inserted using the Insert/
Reference/Footnote function in Word and numbered manually, and yes, it
was a fair amount of work to do them that way. Also, I am tracking
changes.

Cutting the footnote content, deleting the footnote, reinserting it,
and pasting the content will work, but it would be very time-
consuming. That's why I'm looking for an easier way.

If these are bona fide "footnotes" created using the Insert | Reference
|
Footnote function in Word, it would have been very difficult in the
first
place to have numbers such as 3.1, 3.2, etc. (they'd have to be done
manually), and they would still update automatically (though if you're
tracking changes you won't see the right numbers till you accept the
changes). You may need to cut the footnote content, delete the footnote,
reinsert it, and paste the content.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
This was for a book with looseleaf updates. In prior revisions, the
goal had been to change only those pages that needed to be changed due
to new content.

It's true that new footnotes could have been inserted with automatic
renumbering. However, that would have effectively required the
looseleaf update to have every succeeding page in the chapter
reprinted in order to take account the changes in footnote numbering.
By inserting decimal-numbered footnotes, the content that wasn't being
changed in a given update would not need to be reprinted for that
update.

Now, however, a completely revised edition is being prepared and so
the footnotes are to be cleaned up to use consecutive whole numbers.

Joshua Kreitzer
(e-mail address removed)
 
Fair enough, though there's a link to a cautionary tale wrt insert pages at
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Numbering/ChapterNumber.htm

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

This was for a book with looseleaf updates. In prior revisions, the
goal had been to change only those pages that needed to be changed due
to new content.

It's true that new footnotes could have been inserted with automatic
renumbering. However, that would have effectively required the
looseleaf update to have every succeeding page in the chapter
reprinted in order to take account the changes in footnote numbering.
By inserting decimal-numbered footnotes, the content that wasn't being
changed in a given update would not need to be reprinted for that
update.

Now, however, a completely revised edition is being prepared and so
the footnotes are to be cleaned up to use consecutive whole numbers.

Joshua Kreitzer
(e-mail address removed)
 
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