Forum Discussion
Moving around sections (that are pages)
I have a document and each page is a different section so I can have separate headers. Now I want to move them around. Is there an easy way to do that so I don't have to manually move the headers?
- Actually, there is a way to do this. Go to the View Ribbon and in the Views group (first group on left), select Outline View. The fist field in the upper left allows you to select Heading levels or All text. I'm assuming that not all pages start with headings, so I'd choose "Body Text" in the first column, then "Show All Text" in the second column, AND check "Show First Line Only." This way, you can be sure that you aren't inserting "Chapter 1" into the middle of "Chapter 3."
Now, select the text and the section break that follows it. Then use ALT+SHIFT+UP/DOWN ARROWS to move the pages. The section break contains all the header/footer information and will be relocated along with all the text on that page. You can also use CUT/PASTE if the pages are being moved several pages away. Just click at the beginning of the text that will follow the pasted section, then paste in place.
BTW, the ALT+SHIFT+UP/DOWN ARROW also works great for rearranging paragraphs. Click anywhere in a paragraph, then do the ALT+SHIFT+UP or DOWN. The entire paragraph will be selected automatically. 🙂Colleen Kayter - I am so glad I see another fellow Word lover who uses the other views.
Excellent tip for those unaware of the views' options. Well done, Coleen and thank you for posting!
Word doesn't really "think" in terms of pages. The only practical way to move content around is to use copy and paste, since you can't move the pages themselves.
An alternative approach, if you have structured your document with heading styles, is to move headings (and their subordinate text) around in Outline view.
Usually, having a new section for each new page creates an unnecessarily complex document. Which type of content do you need in headers? There might be another way to "populate" the header which doesn't involve using section breaks.
I have 1 piece of text that I am repeating on each page and two pieces that is unique to each page. One of the unique pieces has a number sequence in it.
Does the unique piece of text appear only in the header? If it is also on the page, you can repeat it in the header with a STYLEREF field. The requirement is that you format the text range in a particular style so that the STYLEREF field knows which text it should retrieve.
