Writer Guide

Use AutoText to insert a number range field
You certainly do not want to go through all of that every time you want
to put in a step number. Instead, create two AutoText entries, one for
the Step = Step=1 field (call it Step1, for example) and one for the
Step = Step+1 field (StepNext). Then insert the fields in the same way
you would insert any other AutoText. See “Using AutoText to insert
often-used fields” on page 442.
You can create similar fields for substeps or other sequences that you
want to be numbered with letters (a, b, c), Roman numerals (i, ii, iii), or
some other sequence. In the Fields dialog box, choose the required
format in the Format list when creating the field codes.
Tip
If a user-defined variable is not in use in the document, the
icon next to the Value box is active. You can delete the variable
by clicking this icon. To remove a variable that is used in the
current document, first delete from the document all fields
using that variable (or convert them all to text, as described on
page 453), and then remove the variable from the list.
Using automatic cross-references
If you type in cross-references to other parts of the document, those
references can easily get out of date if you reword a heading, add or
remove figures, or reorganize topics. Replace any typed cross-
references with automatic ones and, when you update fields, all the
references will update automatically to show the current wording or
page numbers.
Tip
Some people use Writer’s Hyperlink feature for cross-
references, but it has the major disadvantage that the visible
text of the hyperlink does not change if you change the text of
the item to which it links. For that reason, you are advised to
use cross-references in most situations.
The exception is when you are creating a document to be
saved as HTML; cross-references do not become hyperlinks in
an HTML document.
The Cross-references page of the Fields dialog box (Figure 388) lists
some items, such as headings, numbered paragraphs, and bookmarks.
If figure captions, table captions, user-defined number range variables,
and some other items have been defined in a document, that type also
appears in the list.
Chapter 14 Working with Fields 445