Question

Can't change margins for entire document - possible user error

Asked by: fredo783

Hi:

I've been using Word forever, but am not a heavy duty power user.  I'm having problems setting margins:

I created a new large document by concatenating a dozen smaller documents.  These all had printed text in single narrow columns approximately 3" wide. I want to expand the margins to have the text print on standard paper, while retaining paragraph first line indents.

In Print Layout, I selected All, then manually moved the margin settings at the top of the page.  It expanded the text as desired on all except the first page, but... page breaks still behave as if the document has 3" wide text columns.  

Please see the attached screen shot.  Note that in the top margin bar, the shaded margin indicators do not correspond with the margin settings.

I then went to file->page setup and set margins to:
top: .8"  bottom .7"
left 0.9"  right 0.9"

... which really screwed up the document - text then disappeared off the left side of the screen.

I have encountered this problem before, but have never found a solution.

Any advice would be appreciated.  

Thanks!

Fred

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Asked On
2008-09-16 at 12:04:45ID23736275
Tags

Microsoft

,

Word

,

2002 (10.3416) SP-1

Topics

Microsoft Office Suite

,

Microsoft Word

Participating Experts
2
Points
125
Comments
12

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Answers

 

by: efficaciousPosted on 2008-09-16 at 12:16:24ID: 22492177

try to reset the margin selection on the screen back to its default. then change the margins in page setup.. do a print preview and see if the text has been adjusted.. in my exp word will "lie" to you, meaning the print preview usually is different then the normal editing view.

 

by: fredo783Posted on 2008-09-16 at 13:11:39ID: 22492732

Hi:

Thanks for your response.  

I went to file -> page setup and then set margins and clicked the "default" button.  Word then said it would effect all documents using the "normal" template and I clicked on ok.  (Probably should not have done so).  However, nothing changed in my document.

Then... I fixed the problem!

I moved the top left indent square to the right of the shaded margin bar (into the white area).  Then dragged the shaded margin bar to the left.  Then dragged the indent square to the left, but still in the white area to the right of the left margin.  Then I had to manually delete white space at the bottom of a number of pages in order to eliminate undesired residual page breaks.

Fred


 

by: JOrzechPosted on 2008-09-16 at 13:22:46ID: 22492846

It looks like your paragraphs are manually formatted to be indented.... click in one of the top paragraphs, and go to Format, Paragraph, and look and see if it's set to indent on the right.

 

by: fredo783Posted on 2008-09-16 at 13:40:24ID: 22493048

Yes, they are indented by .25".  But this is a global setting - at least it applies to all pages except the TOC.  Are you saying that I should change this indent?  I do want the indent.

 

by: efficaciousPosted on 2008-09-17 at 08:07:24ID: 22499542

I'm objecting because the author basically used my solution not a solution of his own.

He said the problem wasn't fixed until he went through and reset the margins like I told him to do.

 

by: fredo783Posted on 2008-09-17 at 11:45:42ID: 22502237

efficacious:

I appreciate your responses to this problem.

In my response to your post, I described how I went to file -> page setup and then set margins and clicked the "default" button. Then I changed the margins again, but this did not fix the problem.

So what I discovered on my own was that somehow the process of concatenating the documents and then doing a global margin change had left indentation set at a position left of the left margin.  By moving the indent to the right of the left margin, the problem was solved.

Now if that's what you meant in your original response, that's fine with me.  Perhaps I interpreted it differently than you intended it.  My only concern is that the most accurate description of the solution be left in the thread.  I don't care whether points are awarded (and I understand that you do) - but if they are awarded, I believe it would erase my solution.

So I don't know what to do at this point.  I presume that since an objection was filed, a moderator will chime in?

Fred

 

by: efficaciousPosted on 2008-09-18 at 10:56:11ID: 22513526

sry not meaing to pt grub, I think I misread your comment.

 

by: efficaciousPosted on 2008-09-18 at 12:37:45ID: 22514521

Oh man, I had to go and open paradora's didn't I...
apologies all round..

 

by: fredo783Posted on 2008-09-18 at 12:41:26ID: 22514560

Hey, not a problem!  I'm just happy that I got the problem resolved.  Thanks for your input.

Cheers,

Fred

20120131-EE-VQP-002

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