Tips, tricks, tools, and techniques for Microsoft Office

OUR FAVORITE WORD TIPS

TIP #1: CONQUERING COLUMNS

An Office Letter reader in Ellensburg, Washington asked for some tips about columns, what many consider an advanced feature.

What first comes to mind when I think of columns, aka frames in Word's help system, is how useful they are when you want to create a newsletter. Their uses are many: in addition to increasing your document's visual appeal, columns make it easier to create a variety of documents, such as a tri-fold brochure. While columns are relatively easy to set up and use -– they aren't the daunting task you might think -- they come with some frustrating limitations.

Word is certainly no substitute for a full-fledged desktop publishing package. Even simple products such as Publisher are better suited to creating newsletters and marketing material (such as those brochures I mentioned). Though Word comes with a variety of templates, I don’t like using them. The results may look good, but the overhead is pretty high. Publisher removes a lot of that complexity.

However, for adding some spice and visual variety to your document, a column or two here and there may be just the thing.

Defining Columns

To keep things simple, I'm going to discuss working with only two columns of text. Even though you can create three or four (or more columns), I'd like to keep things simple here. Everything that I describe also applies to layouts with three or more columns.

There are two ways to work with columns: (1) create the columns then add the text, or (2) the other way around – write your text, then select the text and convert it into columns – my preferred option. I’d rather edit my text in "Normal" view, then turn it into columns. To see your text formatted in columns, you'll use Page view. Making changes in Page view takes slightly longer, because Word has more to do (it has to continually rebalance your columns, for example), and thus it takes slightly longer for your screen to reflect your editing changes.

To turn your existing text into columns:

1. Select the text.
2. Click on the columns button on the toolbar, then drag your mouse over the icons until you have selected the number of columns (from 1 to 4) you want.

(If the Columns icon isn't in your toolbar, you may want to add it. We'll share a reader tip about this subject next week.)

Word switches to Print Layout mode and turns your selected text into a section (switch back to Normal View and you'll see "Section Break (continuous)" inserted above and below your text). Word balances the columns so they're about the same length – as much as possible, that is, since you may be short a sentence or just a few words for the last column. Add text to the left column and text flows to the right column (and so on if you have more than two columns) as necessary. This arrangement is called a newspaper column – when you read to the end of the first column, your eyes move to the top of the second column, just as though you're reading a newspaper.

Go With the Flow

If you want more control over how text moves between columns, you'll use breaks. In the first column, insert a column break (use the command Insert/Break/Column break) within your text. Text after that break will begin in the next column. Since Word continually balances the column lengths, you may end up with empty space in the first column.

When you switch to Normal viewing mode you'll see Word has inserted "Column Break" at the spot where you inserted your break. Incidentally, while you're in Normal mode, you can edit your document as much as you like, though you obviously won't see how the columns balance out. Yet, when you switch back to Page view, Word will rebalance the columns and adjust for your manual breaks.

If you insert a column break anywhere in the right-hand column, text beyond the break continues on the next page. If you want two sets of two-column text on the same page (that is, a two-column story at the top half of the page and a two-column story beneath it), choose Insert/Break/Continuous. I wouldn't advise this, however. Word inserts the new column immediately under the first column of your first story – without any space in between, so you end up with what looks like a longer first column – and the story doesn't seem to "flow" when you read it.

Using one continuous text section with breaks causes balancing headaches, too, and even more headaches if you try to add a couple of extra lines to separate the new story. The bottom line: If you have two stories you want on the same page, it's better to use a separate section for each story.

Another Method

Though creating columns with the Columns button is quick and easy, I prefer to use the Format/Columns command. (If you don’t use the Columns button regularly, you may not even want it on your toolbar, either.)

The Columns dialog box presented after the Format/Columns command offers 1, 2, and 3 columns, plus two layouts with unequal widths (one with a larger left column; the other with a larger right column). There's also the option to add a dividing line between columns, and the dialog box lets you specify the spacing between columns.

If you've used the Columns button to set up your tables and want to make adjustments, click anywhere within your columns and choose the command: Format/Columns. You can then check the "Line between" option to insert a vertical line between columns.

You can change column widths manually by using the ruler bar. With the Ruler displayed at the top of your screen (use the command View/Ruler if the ruler is not visible), note the dark gray bar between your two columns. The process is intuitive – but difficult to describe.

Move your cursor over the left edge of the gray bar (look for a short vertical bar there) and drag your mouse to change the width of the left column. Use the standard margin control to control the left margin of this column.

To modify the dimension of the RIGHT column, drag your mouse over the right edge of the gray bar in the ruler area. To change the right column's right margin, drag the leftmost edge of the right gray bar.

Whew! See -- I know this sounds complicated, but it's not. Just position your mouse over an area in the ruler bar above the margin you're trying to change, and drag. You can, of course, resort to the Columns dialog box and enter the precise margin settings, but I prefer drag-and-drop, which is what Windows is all about, after all.

When You Can't Use Columns

Columns can't be used in headers, footers, comments, or frames. Microsoft suggests you use a table instead.

Now that we've looked at columns, experiment with them. You may encounter some of the limitations of columns, but don’t let that stop you – they are useful.

Ironically, Microsoft's Word templates for newsletters don't employ columns. Instead, they use text boxes, which were added in Word 97. Text boxes offer more extensive ways to control and manipulate text. I'll discuss them next week.

-- James E. Powell

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Works with Word 97, 2000, 2002

Have you wanted to create a list in Word so that the text lined up exactly? Have you noticed in a Table of Contents the dot leaders before the page numbers?

Tab settings are the answer to setting up basic type of formatting. Tabs have various uses within a document. We'll discuss the different types of tabs, how to set and change tabs, and offer some tips for getting the most from this Word feature.

TAB STOP BASICS

A tab stop is a formatting feature within Word that allows you to line up text to the left, right or center of a point on the horizontal axis. A special kind of tab also lets you align numbers to the decimal point.

When using tabs, you can also set a leader before the tab. A leader is a string of specific characters, such as periods or dashes, which appear before the tab stop.

You can easily set your tab stops using the ruler. On the far left side of the horizontal ruler you should see a gray square with a character in it that looks like an "L". This button is called the Tab button, and what you see is the setting for creating a left tab stop. This means that text will line up to the left of a tab when this tab stop is inserted on the ruler bar. This is the default tab style – it's the one you may be used to from typewriters (remember those?).

If the character in the Tab button is the mirror image of that "L", with the lower portion pointing to the left, clicking on the ruler bar will create a right tab stop. This means the text will line up on the right where you set the tab stop. As you type, the text moves to the left, so that the right-most letter is directly under the right tab stop.

If the tab character looks like an upside-down "T", it is a center tab. This means the text will line up around the center where you put the tab stop.

If the character looks like a center tab with a dot to the right, it is a decimal tab. The decimal tab will line up text at a decimal point.

Note: If your ruler isn't visible, use the View/Ruler command to toggle its display "on."

SETTING TABS

To set a tab stop:

METHOD 1: Use The Ruler Bar

1. Select the paragraph(s) in which you want to set a tab stop.

2. Go to the box at the far left of the horizontal ruler. It displays the character representing the last type of tab stop set. If no tab stops have been set, it appears as an "L" (a left tab stop). Click the box until you select the tab you want (left, right, center or decimal).

3. Click the place on the ruler where you want the tab stop to go.

Tip: By default, the ruler has grid marks every one-eighth inch. You can control the position of a tab stop more precisely by holding down the Alt key as you drag a tab stop. When you do so, Word displays guides precise to hundredths of an inch.

Now when you're entering or editing text, press the Tab key and Word's cursor moves to the NEXT tab stop to the right of your current position on the line.

For example, if you've set a left tab at 2" and you're typing at the 1.6" position on a line, pressing the Tab key jumps you to the 2" point. Text you type will appear to the right of the tab mark.

If you've set a center tab at 2", press the Tab key and the next text you type will center itself about the 2" mark.

METHOD 2: Use The Format Command

1. You may also set a tab stop location by choosing Format from the menu bar. Use the Format/Tabs command.

2. Under Tab Stop Position, set the position of the tab.

3. Under alignment, select left, right, center, or decimal.

4. Choose Set.

LEADING THE WAY

To set leaders with your tabs:

1. Choose Format/Tabs from the main menu.

2. Set a new tab stop or select an existing tab stop.

3. In the Leader section, choose the type of leader you want to appear before the tab stop (such as dots or dashes).

4. Choose Set.

MOVING, REMOVING OR MODIFYING TABS

When changing the location of a tab stop (or removing it entirely), be sure you first select the text to which your changes should be applied. If you forget to do so, only the tab(s) for the current paragraph will be changed.

METHOD 1: Use the Ruler

To remove a tab stop on the ruler, click and drag the tab stop down (off the ruler).

Tip: Notice as you're dragging the tab stop that the tab stop in the ruler bar turns a light grey. If you change your mind, do one of the following:

(a) move the tab stop back to its original position
(b) press Ctrl+Z
(c) use the Edit/Undo Tabs command
(d) keep holding down the mouse button and press the Esc key

To move a tab stop on the ruler, click and drag the tab stop to the desired location on the ruler.

To remove ALL tab stops quickly, double-click on any tab stop on the ruler. The Tab dialog box opens; choose Clear All.

METHOD 2: Use the Tab Dialog Box

1. You may open the tab dialog box by selecting Format/Tabs or by double-clicking the tab stop.

2. Make changes following the instructions in "METHOD 2: Use The Format Command" above to change the tab and/or set the leader.

3. To delete a single tab stop, choose it in the "Tab stop position" list and click on Clear. To remove all tabs, click on the Clear All button.

DEFAULT TAB STOPS

Tab stops default to every .5 inches if there are no tabs set in a document. Default tab stops are always left tabs, and they're set for every paragraph in which you haven't defined custom tab stops.

If your paragraph already has one or more custom tab stops, default tab stops are set to the right of the right-most custom tab. Thus, if your last (right-most) tab stop is at 3", Word adds default tab stops at 3.5", 4", 4.5", and so on, to the right margin.

Prove it to yourself. Open a brand new document. Notice those very small (almost imperceptible) vertical lines under the .5", 1", 1.5", 2" (and so on) points on your ruler? That's Word's way of indicating default tabs. If you set a tab at 2", you'll notice that the tabs at .5", 1", and 1.5" disappear.

TAB TIPS AND TRICKS

1. If you're formatting a paragraph, you'll also find a way to the Tab dialog box. Using the Format/Paragraph command, click on the "Tabs…" button in the lower-left corner of the Paragraph dialog box. You'll now see the Tabs dialog box, the same one you'd see if you'd used the Format/Tabs command.

2. Tab marks appear in your text when the show/hide feature is turned on. These characters appear as right-pointing arrows, no matter what type of tab stop is set, since the character only implies that the Tab key was pressed. To see tab characters within your document, use the Tools/Options command, choose the View tab, and in the Formatting marks section check the Tab characters box. Otherwise tab stops appear only in the ruler bar.

3. You may use tabs in styles. The most common use in styles is to set the space between outline numbering and the text itself.

4. Tabs can also be used for paragraph formatting, though I recommend setting the paragraph formatting and indents rather than using tabs.

5. Word uses tabs to separate the number or letter of a bulleted lists from the text of that list. The tab space can be changed by clicking and dragging the tab on the ruler. If you need to change the tab stop for an entire bulleted list, highlight the list first, then click and drag the tab stop.

6. Tab stops can be used inside table cells as an additional formatting tool.

7. Ordinarily pressing the Tab key moves the insertion point to the next cell in a Word table. (If you're at the end of the table, in inserts a new row.) To insert a tab character into a table cell, press Ctrl+Tab.

8. We've warned above that you must select the text to which you want to apply your custom tab stops (or changes will apply to the current paragraph ONLY). However, if you've just opened a new document and no custom tabs have been set, set tab stops immediately and they will apply to the entire document.

9. When using a decimal tab, numbers are aligned along the decimal point, whether there's an actual or an implied point. For example, 11.22 has an explicit decimal point, but the number 33 doesn't. If you aligned both using the decimal tab, you'd find that the decimal point in 11.22 lines up underneath the tab stop, and the "33" of the second number is aligned under the "11". That is, the "33" aligns with other digits in the column – aligning to the left of the decimal point, even though it doesn't actually HAVE a decimal point.

10. A fifth type of tab stop, the Bar, places a vertical bar in the position of the tab stop. No text can appear in this location. The Bar tab appears as a vertical line in the Tab button (the button to the left of the ruler bar).

-- Jennifer Wilkinson and James E. Powell

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Works with Word 97, 2000, 2002

AutoFormat is an easy way to format your entire table at once. Word has several pre-set styles that will allow you to format your table quickly and easily. You may also save your own table styles and reuse them later in Word 2002.

You can change many table properties by selecting the table, a cell, column, or row; right-click your mouse and choose the Borders and Shading option to change grid lines or add a light background color to the selected cells, for example. (Just be sure the “Apply to” option on the Borders tab is either Table or Cell, depending on what you want to change.)

Microsoft has created some eye-pleasing automatic formats that you may prefer. In Word 97 and 2000 you can apply these pre-defined styles; in Word 2002 you can also modify them or create your own as well.

APPLY A PRE-DEFINED TABLE STYLE (ALL VERSIONS)

1. Create your table in Word.

2. Choose Table/Table AutoFormat from the main menu.

3. In Word 97 and 2000, choose your style from the Formats list. In Word 2002, choose All Available Styles (this is the default) and choose whichever Style looks the best from the Table Styles list. For all versions, you will be able to see what the style will look like for your table in the Preview section.

4. Choose Apply. Your table will be formatted to the style you have chosen.

To change the table style used, click anywhere inside your table (or select the entire table), then follow steps 2 through 4 above and choose the desired style.

You’ll also want to follow steps 2 through 4 to reapply a style. For example, if you’ve chosen a style that alternates colors for table rows, then add a row to your table, Word isn’t smart enough to readjust the colors. You’ll need to reapply the style so colors alternate appropriately.

TIP: If you know the style you want to apply when you create a table, use the Table/Insert Table command and click on the AutoFormat button to select your style.

MODIFY A PRE-DEFINED TABLE STYLE (WORD 2002 ONLY)

1. Create your table in Word or select an existing table.

2. Choose Table/Table AutoFormat from the main menu.

3. Under Category, choose All Available Styles.

4. Under Table Styles, choose the style you want to change, then choose the Modify button.

TIP: Change the Table Style Name if you want to create a new Table Style based on the pre-defined style.

5. You may modify any of the table attributes. Use the Format button to access table formatting dialog boxes. Choose OK when you are finished.

6. Choose Apply. Your table will be formatted to the style you have chosen.

Note: You can also use the Styles and Formatting task pane to view the table style. Choose “All Styles” in the Show pull-down list at the bottom of the task pane. Right-click on the table style and choose Modify.

CREATE YOUR OWN TABLE STYLE (WORD 2002 ONLY)

1. Create or select your table.

2. Choose Table/Table AutoFormat from the main menu.

3. Under Category, choose All Available Styles or choose “User-defined table styles”.

4. Choose the New button.

5. Create the Style attributes according to your preferences. Use the Format button to access table formatting dialogs.

6. Enter a name for the style and choose OK.

7. Choose Apply. Your table will be formatted to the style you have created.

8. To View or modify the table styles you have created, choose Table/Table AutoFormat and choose “User-defined table styles” under Category.

-- Jennifer W. Taylor

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