TOC within a Word Table, split across columns

Hello there

I use Word 2002, SP3. I have document that acts as a discussion log
containing dozens of topics discussed between myself and my customer. This
document is re-versioned every time I turn the document around with answers,
further questions and so on. Similarly my customer enters his
queries/comments within each topic and mails the document back to me.

Each topic has a brief heading/description. I would like to create a summary
page at the start of the document that will:
a) Show the serial number & heading/description of the topic
b) Provide hyperlinks so that one can go directly to the topic by clicking
on it
c) Show a 'status' which will be manually updated from 'Open' to 'Closed'
whenever a particular topic has been concluded
d) Show a comment section where I can indicate when each topic was started
and when it was closed.

Now I have formatted each topic's heading as a 'Heading Style' so that Word
can provide the automatic numbering and also create an automatic bookmark.

Can Word put the attributes of a TOC within different columns of a table -
i.e.
i) The number of the heading in the first column
ii) The text of the heading in the next column
iii) Leave the rest of the columns for free usage by me, so that I can
update the status, put some comments etc.

I haven't had any luck in doing something like this. Instead, what I have
ended up doing is that create a table with 4 columns, and manually insert
cross-references for each heading in a separate row:
a) Col 1: The paragraph number
b) Col 2: The paragraph text

Now every time a new topic gets added, I have to manually add a row. Is
there a smarter way to do this? What would be wonderful is that I could do an
F9 and just update the table (just like what one does in a TOC)

Many thanks for any guidance that can be provided. Cheers

Originally Posted by srini1275

Hello there

I use Word 2002, SP3. I have document that acts as a discussion log
containing dozens of topics discussed between myself and my customer. This
document is re-versioned every time I turn the document around with answers,
further questions and so on. Similarly my customer enters his
queries/comments within each topic and mails the document back to me.

Each topic has a brief heading/description. I would like to create a summary
page at the start of the document that will:
a) Show the serial number & heading/description of the topic
b) Provide hyperlinks so that one can go directly to the topic by clicking
on it
c) Show a 'status' which will be manually updated from 'Open' to 'Closed'
whenever a particular topic has been concluded
d) Show a comment section where I can indicate when each topic was started
and when it was closed.

Now I have formatted each topic's heading as a 'Heading Style' so that Word
can provide the automatic numbering and also create an automatic bookmark.

Can Word put the attributes of a TOC within different columns of a table -
i.e.
i) The number of the heading in the first column
ii) The text of the heading in the next column
iii) Leave the rest of the columns for free usage by me, so that I can
update the status, put some comments etc.

I haven't had any luck in doing something like this. Instead, what I have
ended up doing is that create a table with 4 columns, and manually insert
cross-references for each heading in a separate row:
a) Col 1: The paragraph number
b) Col 2: The paragraph text

Now every time a new topic gets added, I have to manually add a row. Is
there a smarter way to do this? What would be wonderful is that I could do an
F9 and just update the table (just like what one does in a TOC)

Many thanks for any guidance that can be provided. Cheers

Topics a to c from your original list can be realised by generating a TOC which is automatically updated. This method doesn't require manually adding of rows or hyperlinks, and comes pretty close to what you want I think.
(a) You can enter sub-headings for replies, and sub-sub-headings for replies on replies, like a discussion thread up to 10 levels by using Word's built-in Headings 1-10.
(b) The TOC is hyperlinked by default, and Alt+left Arrow returns to the previous position when a hyperlink is clicked.
(c) You can use different colours indicating the status of the discussion (green = closed; red = pending; pink = waiting for further info, whatever you think is needed). Numbering can be adjusted to your particular coding. Note that the colour is mirrored in the TOC (requires updating of the TOC though).
(d) Comments will not be possible directly in the TOC, but you could insert a Date between [ ] into the title to show close/open dates.