Coping with Word 2007 - Part 2: Drafting for Counsel
Standardising the formatting in WORD 2007
WORD 2007 preserves one of the more irritating aspects of the
older versions of WORD, that it not only formats each paragraph
separately, but tends to format paragraphs differently as well. For
example, cutting and pasting from paragraph A to paragraph B may
alter the formatting of paragraph B, regardless of whether one of
these paragraphs precedes the other (a problem I have described in
an earlier article as the 'dancing margins' problem). There are
many ways of overcoming this problem, but one of the most useful is
by use of the formatting paint-brush.
Assume that paragraph A is formatted the way you want it, but
paragraph B is not. Left-click within paragraph A. Then move your
cursor to the 'Home' tab, and in the Ribbon below, in the first
compartment from the left, you will find in the bottom right corner
an icon of a paint-brush. Left-click on the paint-brush. Then take
the cursor to paragraph B, and left click within it. Paragraph B's
formatting should change to that of paragraph A. You can use the
same method to change a letter, word, or group of words, for
example to make a phrase bold or underlined. Occasionally this does
not work the first time, but if so, it usually does work the second
time you try.
Backsheets without page numbers
Creating a backsheet at the end of an opinion or a
pleading is no great problem. The top of the document can easily be
copied and pasted to the end. You can use the useful shortcuts
<Ctrl>C for copying and <Ctrl>V for pasting, or use the
icons under the Home tab (the first of the tabs above the Ribbon),
first compartment on the left (Clipboard). Alternatively, a
backsheet may be copied from an earlier file, preferably one on
some work prepared for the same instructing solicitor (but don't
forget to change the reference if you have quoted it).
Numbering the pages of the opinion or pleading, but not of the
backsheet, is more complicated. To number the main pages,
left-click on the Insert tab, and in the fifth compartment (Header
& Footer), left-click on the third icon (Page number), and
choose and left-click on the position you want the page number to
appear. You can easily edit the page number, for example to make it
bold or not, or by adding a hyphen each side to make it appear as
"-3-".
To remove the page numbering from the backsheet is a process that
can scarcely be called intuitive. You first need to create a
section break. Left-click at the end of the main text. Left-click
on the Page Layout tab, and in the second compartment (Page Setup)
left-click on the top right icon (Breaks). In the lower part
(Section breaks) left-click on Next Page. That achieves a
separation between the main text and the backsheet for formatting
purposes.
To remove the page number, you must now left-click somewhere on
the backsheet. Then left-click on the Insert tab (this really is
counter-intuitive), and in the fifth compartment (Header &
Footer), left-click on Header if your page number is at the top of
the page, or on Footer if it is at the bottom. A window will open,
and towards the bottom of the window left-click on the Edit
function. This will open a special Ribbon, in the third compartment
of which (Navigation) you need to left-click on the bottom left
corner (Link to Previous) which will separate the page numbering of
the backsheet from the page numbering of the main section. Only
then is it safe to delete the page numbering from the backsheet.
Finally left-click on the far right compartment to complete this
editing process and return to the document.
Removing evidence of previous editing
In earlier versions of WORD, it was difficult to prevent a reader
using the tracking facility to discover changes you had made to
your document, stored with the document as so-called 'metadata'.
The facility provided for removing the metadata rarely worked. So
if your instructing solicitor passed on an electronic version of
your opinion or pleading to the opponents, they might be able to
bring up a version you had since amended, which could be
embarrassing. One of my previous articles suggested a reasonably
simple work-around that prevented this. With WORD 2007 it appears
unnecessary to use this work-around, and the facility provided
seems to work successfully.
When you have finished editing the document, left-click on the
Office Button at the top left of the screen. About two-thirds of
the way down the left column is an icon called 'Prepare'.
Left-click on it, and then simply left-click on the second option
'Inspect document' and follow the instructions.
Peter Susman QC
Chairman, IT Panel