An MS-Gotcha?

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This is either an MS-Gotcha or a “We Will Make You Feel Stupid – Resistance Is Futile”

I have a landscape tri-fold brochure originally created in an older version of word. I am editing it in Word 7. It was created for Letter size, and I am reformatting text and also changing settings to make it work on A4 paper.

I have .25″ margins left and right, and want to make them wider. Word displays a message telling me that my changed settings are “… too large for the page width in some sections” and will not accept margin setting until I change them back to .25″ Word will not let me adjust margins to a setting narrower than the total dimension of the column widths I have set.

So, I go into column settings, thinking that I will shrink the column widths first, so that I can then return to the margin settings. When I shrink the columns, Word automatically increases the “space” settings with a dimension that has a little asterisk behind it. If I shrink the space setting, Word increases the column width. Word will not allow me to create a total width of columns and spaces that is narrower than the margin settings of the page.

Around and around it goes.

If I am missing the obvious then so be it. I’ll stand up and be stupid: “HELP!”

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…NOBODY ???

I mean, was my humor too dry, or my stupidity too great to merit even an insulting reply, or the problem so deep that wise men lower their faces, stupfied and ashamed??

I’ve kept on poking away at this and can’t find a solution or workaround.

Could this be caused by the fact that the doc was created in an older version of Word? The original doc is from 2003, so it could be word 2000, 2003 or XP.

If anybody has any idea of how I can adjust the page margin, without deleting the columns I would be very grateful.

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“or the problem so deep”

Yes, I think that was it! 🙂

Well, I cheat a lot in Word, so I would probably just roll my eyes at it (yet again), and then, assuming you are talking about “columns” as a “Page Setup” feature rather than in a table, move my text into a 3-column table, with borders not showing. Or a 5-column table, with the 2nd and 4th columns being small, and acting as margins between the 1st, 3rd, and 5th column. No Page Setup columns at all — take that, Word!

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Please don’t take the lack of a quick response as a reflection on the quality of either the post or the poster! It’s more likely that no one who’s read your post (so far) has encountered the same set of conditions you’re reporting.

First question: Are you working in Word 2007?

Second question: Could you post a sample document (with any confidential information removed) which illustrates the problem you’re getting? – that would be a quickest way to allow someone else here to take a look at the problem, maybe come up with a solution….

Gary

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I have .25″ margins left and right, and want to make them wider. Word displays a message telling me that my changed settings are “… too large for the page width in some sections” and will not accept margin setting until I change them back to .25″ Word will not let me adjust margins to a setting narrower than the total dimension of the column widths I have set.

Hmmm, that’s an odd message. Do you have multiple sections in the document? Perhaps use “Draft” view to see whether there are section breaks between columns rather than column breaks. If so, it would be a good idea to clean those up first.

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All,

Sorry for my impatience… I was concerned that I would cause permanent damage to the building, what with all my head banging…

One error in my original posting: the space settings don’t have a little asterisk – it’s the ” mark for inches. Feeble eyes…

I am attaching the file with dummy text.

The file was modified in 2003; likely created in 2000. What version of Word I was using then I don’t know. I am using Word 07 now.

I have of course found the workaround: reduce the text to one single column (i.e. “normal” layout), then format the margins, then re-apply the three columns. Well ok. This is sooo much better than clay smudges everywhere from writing in cuneiform.

In any case, this is how it looks: Adjusting page margins will adjust the text width – IF the text is one single column. If the text has multiple columns, then Word’s margin settings will defer to the column settings – and the column settings will defer to the margin settings. Catch-22.

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I have a landscape tri-fold brochure originally created in an older version of word.

Did you use a Microsoft template to create it? (‘Tri-fold brochure’ makes it sound likely.) If so, then you might examine the latest templates for one that matches your needs – A4 and all that – and simply copy the contents to the newer template and make your adjustments in that.

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A Microsoft template ??? Fraternize with the enemy???

Look, real men don’t use MS templates. We eschew fake fire and instead rub sticks together! We eat broken glass and flagellate ourselves with nettles.

Uh… coff coff, so there’s a ready-made template, huh? Mebbe worth looking into.

I’ll report back.

I’ll love it if the MS template has the same problems…

By the way – I can’t see the attached file. I’ll have a go at attaching it again.

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I’ll report back.

By the way – I can’t see the attached file. I’ll have a go at attaching it again.

Office 2007 and 2010 have templates by the truckload, and there are many more to be had online. Just click the Office logo and New (document), and you can use a template that is already on your computer, or download as many more as you like.

As for your attachment, that came through perfectly well this time around.

Good luck.

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The tri-fold brochure gehaves as it should. I changed the margins to 0.5cm all round without a hitch. So it is something strange to your installation and I would look at the printer driver first. Make sure you have th elatest driver, then delete and reinstall the printer.

PS A quick tip, go to Word Options, Advanced, Layout Options (at the bottom of the dialog) and check the option ‘Do Justification like WordPerfect 6.x for does’. Full justification will then both shrink spacing as well as increase spacing to fit the text. It looks much better.

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I did get the same message you get, but it’s because the column widths are user set. Put a check in the equal column width box in the columns dialog, …and change your margins at will, ’cause Word will calculate the column widths for you on the fly.

Pam

Edited to clarify what Word will calculate.

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Put a check in the equal column width box in the columns dialog

Pam

WORKS !!!

Pam = My Hero

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Apart from MIcrosoft-supplied templates, it is always worth an online search, as there are many other sources, some free, some not. You can even get templates for Works, if you happen to have that.

If your version of Office (assuming you have a suite) includes Publisher, you will probably find that a more powerful application for the type of thing you appear to be doing, with a tri-fold the simplest of the possibilities. You can really impress them with work done with that application, although you will in no way be immune from going crazy when things go wrong. It’s just more satisfying when things go right. My own first project was a business card, which took no time at all and gave a highly satisfactory result, but which recently had to be changed for contact details which led to frustration. I first did that with (the original) Publisher 97, which was a standalone product at the time.

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You’re welcome.

Pam

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