Can I reverse the running order of bullet points in a word doc?

frobisher

I have long list of bullet points in a word doc (25 pages of them). The oldest one is at the top of the first page and the run chronologically form there. What I'd like to do is completely reverse that so the newest entry is at the top and it runs towards the oldest. Can I do this?!

Thoie

frobisher wrote: »

I have long list of bullet points in a word doc (25 pages of them). The oldest one is at the top of the first page and the run chronologically form there. What I'd like to do is completely reverse that so the newest entry is at the top and it runs towards the oldest. Can I do this?!

Word won't do it for you, but grab them, paste into Excel, autonumber the column beside the list, then reverse sort on the list, then paste back into Word. Tedious, but not as tedious as doing it manually

Komplett: Marc

I'm sorry not to be able to help, but I'm really curious to see if anyone can find a way to do this, it'd save me a lot of time

Edit: The post explaining how to do it came while I was looking at the quick post box

frobisher

Thoie wrote: »

Word won't do it for you, but grab them, paste into Excel, autonumber the column beside the list, then reverse sort on the list, then paste back into Word. Tedious, but not as tedious as doing it manually

Interesting! I have them in an Open Office spreadsheet but can't find 'autonumber' in any menu!

marwelie

This should work, but create a copy before you do it, just in case ;o)

Highlight all the text that you have bulleted, select Table in the top menu, and then Sort, select Desending and OK, and Bobs Your Auntie.

Thoie

marwelie wrote: »

This should work, but create a copy before you do it, just in case ;o)

Highlight all the text that you have bulleted, select Table in the top menu, and then Sort, select Desending and OK, and Bobs Your Auntie.

That will only work if they're in alphabetical/numerical order.

Thoie

frobisher wrote: »

Interesting! I have them in an Open Office spreadsheet but can't find 'autonumber' in any menu!

In OpenOffice just type 1, 2, 3 (in the appropriate places) then drag it down and it should increment the numbers.

marwelie

Thoie wrote: »

That will only work if they're in alphabetical/numerical order.

True, I forgot to mention that bit. I thought the OP only had 25 bullets though, didnt realise there were 25 pages of them!

frobisher

So is there any way to do it without typing in 00's of numbers beside each bullet point!?

Thoie

frobisher wrote: »

So is there any way to do it without typing in 00's of numbers beside each bullet point!?

Thoie wrote: »

In OpenOffice just type 1, 2, 3 (in the appropriate places) then drag it down and it should increment the numbers.

You'll only need to type three numbers

marwelie

Cut and Paste is about your only option, I reckon, unless you have a date in each point, you may be able to do it that way, as long as the dates are at the beginning of each point.

Thoie

If the data's not confidential stick it up here and I'll do it for you.

Or see the "Fill down" section here which explains how to type the first few numbers and drag the box down to increment.

http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/OOoAuthors_User_Manual/Migration_Guide/Calc_and_Excel

frobisher

Thoie wrote: »

If the data's not confidential stick it up here and I'll do it for you.

Or see the "Fill down" section here which explains how to type the first few numbers and drag the box down to increment.

http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/OOoAuthors_User_Manual/Migration_Guide/Calc_and_Excel

It's my stand-up comedy notebook so I'd rather keep it private! Although if you want to see in action come along to the Boards comedy fundraiser on Saturday! Meanwhile, I still need to sort out my ideas!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055737041

Thoie

frobisher wrote: »

It's my stand-up comedy notebook so I'd rather keep it private! Although if you want to see in action come along to the Boards comedy fundraiser on Saturday! Meanwhile, I still need to sort out my ideas!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055737041

I have no sense of humour. Your notes would be safe with me. *stares at you in a blank, worrying fashion*

wolfric

First do you just want to reverse the order of text or do you need the numbers printed to be in reverse order?

Second i know it's not exactly relevant but i'm just curious... why DO you want to reverse the order of it all?

third congrats if you've got 25 pages worth of comedy stand up that sounds like one awesome show

frobisher

wolfric wrote: »

First do you just want to reverse the order of text or do you need the numbers printed to be in reverse order?

Second i know it's not exactly relevant but i'm just curious... why DO you want to reverse the order of it all?

third congrats if you've got 25 pages worth of comedy stand up that sounds like one awesome show

The numbers are irrelevant to me really. It's the text in the bullet point that matters. The reason I want to do this is that I started the doc and worked down, like the way most docs are laid out, but in reality the ideas that are the most inspiring are the most recent ones so I'd like them at the top of the doc with the older ones getting further away. Am i making sense!?

I'm not sure quantity = quality in comedy! This doc has 25 pages, I have another one with a few hundred bullet points that I will merge with this one. Hopefully there's a small bit of comedy gold in them there hills :-)

wolfric

Sure... but in layman's terms (sorry for mentioning an alternative method to your problem) but could you not just print them off and read them in reverse order?

frobisher

wolfric wrote: »

Sure... but in layman's terms (sorry for mentioning an alternative method to your problem) but could you not just print them off and read them in reverse order?

I don't work with them in print. I keep them in a Google docs account so I can access anywhere then view them on my iPhone where scrolling 25 A4 pages to even get to the most recent note is a royal pain!

Heinrich

Here's a way:

• Make a copy of your document (never work on an original)
• Highlight and Copy all the text you want sorted.
• Edit - Paste Special - Unformatted Text
• Table - Text To Table - Tabs
• Table - Sort - Descending Column 1
• Table - Convert Table To Text - Tabs
• Realign text as original layout

This should take a few minutes max.