Tips, Tricks, and Answers

The following articles are available for the 'Section Formatting' topic. Click the article''s title (shown in bold) to see the associated article.

   Adding a Background to Your Document
Document backgrounds come in handy if you plan on converting the document to a Web page. Here's how you can add a background of your choice to your document.

   Adding a Break to Your Document
Want to modify the way your text flows between pages in a document? Word allows you to insert several types of breaks that control the flow for you.

   Adjusting Bottoms of Pages
When you allow Word to naturally flow your text through a document, you may find that the text on each page ends at a different vertical position. If you want each page's text to end at the same place, you need to adjust the vertical alignment for the document, as described in this tip.

   Adjusting Margins in Print Preview
Print Preview is a great way to give a document the final "once over" before printing. Word allows you to do some minimal editing in Print Preview, such as adjusting document margins. Here's how to make the change.

   Avoiding a Section Break Booby Trap
Section breaks got your document formatting all messed up? It could be because of the way you added the section breaks in the first place.

   Changing Page Margins
Part of determining page layout is to specify the size of the margins that surround the text on a page. Word allows you to easily modify the margins used on your pages.

   Changing Sections
When you divide your document into sections in order to change page layout attributes, you need to give some thought to what Word will do if you later delete some of those sections. Here's the info you need to make an intelligent decision about deleting sections.

   Determining a Column Width
When laying out your document, you may wonder what width you should use for your text. An old typographers trick may help to provide the answer.

   Determining Page Layout
Getting your document onto paper is the whole purpose of word processing. Here are some concepts that are important when considering how your page should be laid out.

   Formatting a Cover Page
Formal reports look better when they are set up with an introductory cover page. Here's how you can add a cover page in a snap.

   Getting Identical Margins
Need to get the margins on your document exactly right? It can be a challenge to get the Word settings where you need them and then wrestle with the printer so it does what you expect. Here are some things to keep in mind.

   Getting Rid of Section Breaks, but Not Section Formatting
Word allows you to change the character of how your pages are designed by using multiple sections in a document. If you want to get rid of a section, yet maintain the formatting associated with that section, it can be a real challenge.

   Making Wider Footer Margins
Want the margins used in your footers (or headers) to be wider than the margins used in the rest of your document? There are a couple of tricks you can use to get the desired width.

   Moving Section Breaks
Section breaks are used to divide a document into two or more sections that can be independently formatting. If you want to move a section break, it's easy to do using the same techniques you use to edit your document text.

   Putting Your Index after Your Endnotes
Endnotes are supposed to be at the end of your document, right? Not necessarily. You may want something else at the end, such as an index. Here's how to make sure that your endnotes end up where you want them.

   Quickly Displaying the Page Setup Dialog Box
The Page Setup dialog box is indispensable in setting up the overall look of your document. You can display the dialog box quickly by knowing where to click on the rulers, as described in this tip.

   Removing Breaks
Word allows you to add several types of "breaks" into your document. If you later want to remove any of them, you can use editing techniques you are already familiar with.

   Selecting a Paper Size
Most of the time we print on whatever is a standard paper size for our area, such as letter size or A4 paper. However, Word allows you to select all sorts of paper sizes. Here's how you specify the size you want to use.

   Shifting Margins Evident in Word 2002
When you open a document in one version of Word and compare it to what you see for the same document in a different version of Word, you may notice some differences. Many times these differences are caused by "rule changes" from one version of Word to another. This tip explains how you can use the compatibility options in Word to help documents be treated the same.

   Squeezing Everything In
Do you have just a line or two of text that "spills over" onto another printed page? Here are some ways you can compress your text and squeeze it all by that extra page.

   Starting a New Section on an Odd Page Number
A common pagination convention used in publishing is for new chapters (and sometimes new sections) to start on an odd-numbered page. Word makes such pagination easy; just follow the steps outlined in this tip.

   Two Page Numbering Schemes in the Same Document
Word is great at numbering pages if you only need a single, consistent numbering scheme through the document. If you need two separate numbering schemes, you need to apply some workarounds described in this tip.

   Unable to Set Margins in a Document
If you find that you cannot set the margins in a document, chances are good that it is due to document corruption. Here's how to try to recover the document.

   Understanding Mirror Margins
Rather than have the margins of your documents always be the same, you can use what Word calls "mirror margins." Here's how to set those margins and how they will affect your printed output.

   Understanding Sections
Sections are handy if you want to subdivide a document so you can apply different document formatting to those subdivisions. Word provides several different types of breaks that you can use to signal the start of new sections.

   Understanding the Gutter Margin
Most everyone knows that Word allows you to set top, bottom, left, and right margins for your document. There is another type of margin that may be helpful, as well. Known as the gutter margin, it has a very specific purpose in your page layout.