Forum Discussion
Numbering and bullets in Word docs keep disappearing
When working as a team on Word files within SharePoint, I constantly have problems with things like heading numbering disappearing (or changing from numbers to bullets), bullets going missing or bull...
I realize this is an old thread that somehow surfaced again.
Templates stored on SharePoint do not act the same as when stored on a computer.
Bullets and numbering seem to often get broken when the document is edited in the online app. Try to only have it edited in the desktop application.
Bullets and numbering, to be stable, must be tied to styles as set forth in How to create numbered headings or outline numbering in Ribbon Versions of Word by Shauna Kelly. See also Automatic Numbering in Word - my 4-page pdf.
I have a similar problem.
I am working on the Microsoft App on Mac using SharePoint, together with a Windows device (I’m not sure if this could be the issue).
Suddenly, the chapter and subchapter numbers disappeared from the entire file, even though they were correctly displayed until a few days ago.I've been setting my docs up according to Shauna's guide for a decade or more and they will work fine (more or less) in a local environment, but as soon as you introduce SharePoint to the mix and multiple authors it all goes haywire. By now I have a great set of macros that are available in a custom toolbar and the templates themselves, which is why I keep the template on SharePoint too, that will essentially do some version of a "tick/untick".
I have no technical knowledge of the MS Word code but I feel like the co-authoring stuff was built for the online version (which might be entirely new code?) and somehow shoe-horned into the desktop app, and it just doesn't play well with the ancient list style code. The documents can behave themselves for a while, but for instance just before review time now I have 7 people in an 80-page document and it's absolutely blown up: refreshing styles won't fix everything. It won't be until I get everyone else out of the document and run it that it will all settle down.
List styles seem pretty flaky to begin with: I've often had the situation where I've gone in to edit the numbering or indents of the styles in a list style and when I press ok the list style loses all the linked paragraph styles, so I have to go back in and assign them all again.
Numbering is tricky, and finnicky, too! You need to follow Shauna's guidelines. You may want to read John McGhie's articles. It may be that co-authoring busts it, too.
I've done some work using [Quick] Style Sets with numbering as well. Download: [Quick] Style Sets with MultiLevel Numbering attached to paragraph styles and article: [Quick] Style Sets can include multilevel numbering attached to styles. I do not know whether that will assist but they might make for an easier repair. The funny thing is that these sets do not hold list styles.
I never edit these documents in the online app, which I view as inferior. I know it can mess up automatic numbering. My opinions on various Word offerings in a pdf.
