Hello:

I am trying to create a Data Definition documentation using MS Word that explains the various column headers in a report.  The issue is that due to space limitation, many of the column headers have to start with the pound sign (#).

Using those column names starting with the # sign as a Heading in MS Word causes no issues for the Table of Contents reference.  However, if the body has to have a link to that references the Heading section that starts with the # sign, the hyperlink breaks and will take the user back to the top of the document instead of the correct section.

For example, if the name of the Heading is:
# of Missed Appointments

This will work correctly in the Table of Contents section and the user can click on it to go to the correct section in the Word document.  However, a link in the body that specifies the following will have issues:
For more information, refer to the "# of Missed Appointments" section.
If we set the hyperlink to the document itself to reference the "# of Missed Appointments" section, the link never takes the user to the correct section.

Yes, I realize that the # sign is a reserved character for hyperlinks.  However, what is the work around so that we can still keep all of the Headings that have the # pound sign in it?

There should be a work-around as renaming all of the Headings to "Number of ..." instead of "# of ...", "Average Number of ..." instead of "Average # of ...", "Total Number of..." instead of "Total # of...", etc. in the Data Definition documentation seems counter-intuitive when the user tries to navigate and easily scan through the long Word documentation.  We don't want to have to replace all of the # signs to "Num" either.

Thank you in advance!

• Moved by Cindy Meister MVPMVP Friday, June 26, 2015 3:47 PM not developer-related