Working with a Document Formatted Using the Numbering Assistant

These tips were written to help those working with a document to which the MSCD first-line-indent enumeration scheme was applied using the Numbering Assistant. That scheme is more complicated to automate than the hanging-indent enumeration scheme.

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To apply one of the MSCD enumeration schemes to contracts, Ken Adams uses the Numbering Assistant, Payne Group’s enumeration software. You can go here for tips on using the Numbering Assistant to apply the MSCD enumeration scheme.

The best way to revise a document formatted using the Numbering Assistant would be to have the Numbering Assistant installed on your computer. Formatting new language—for example, adding the enumeration (a) used to designate the first subsection in any section in a document formatted using the MSCD first-line-indent scheme—would be a simple matter.

Those who don’t have the Numbering Assistant might welcome guidance to working with documents formatted using the Numbering Assistant. That’s what this page offers.

Unlike a document with basic formatting, one to which the MSCD first-line-indent scheme has been applied with Numbering Assistant will contain after every section heading a Word “style separator”—a paragraph mark that allows you to include two Word styles in a single paragraph. The style separator is red. It looks like a regular paragraph mark, but it behaves differently.

The principal function of the style separator is to make it easier to create a table of contents, but it also facilitates making each section heading bold. You should have Show/Hide (on the Home Ribbon) in Show mode, so you can see the style separators.

Even without the Numbering Assistant, you can revise a Word document that contains style separators. But if you’re not familiar with style separators, be prepared for the document to behave in unexpected ways. For example, don’t create a new block of text by hitting Enter with the cursor at the beginning of a section; instead, hit Enter with the cursor at the end of the previous block of text. Perhaps the safest way to add text would be to copy and past a block of text from the contract, then revise it.

Any document to which the MSCD first-line-indent scheme has been applied with Numbering Assistant would use a field code for the enumeration (a) that designates the first subsection in any section. If you want to add to the document one or more additional sections with subsections, you can create the enumeration (a) by copying and pasting it, or you can use Word’s Listnum field through the Insert tab on the Home Ribbon, selecting QuickParts, then Field, then ListNum, then MSCD Sections.

Otherwise, when supplementing the output document you can apply its formatting to new language by using Word’s styles functionality. Perhaps the simplest way to do that would be to use the Format Painter function, which you can find on the Home Ribbon.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact Ken.