Posts Tagged ‘tab’

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Transparent Text Boxes in Word

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012

Everyone knows you can create text boxes in MS Word.  They certainly come in handy at times. I have clients in law offices that use them to create line numbering in a sidebar and other clients who use them to box text, like I do when creating a tutorial that includes screen shots. There could be a time however, when you might like whatever is behind your text box to be visible.

There are a couple of ways to accomplish this:

  • You can make your text box partially transparent; or
  • Completely transparent.

Follow the steps below to learn how:

  1. Create your text box as you normally would.
  2. Right-click on your text box to display a Context menu.
  3. Select Format Text Box from the context menu to display the dialog box.
  4. Be certain the Colors and Lines tab has been selected.

  1. Click the Semitransparent check box for a ghosted image of what is behind your text box to be visible.
  2. If you want your text box to be fully transparent, use the Color setting in the Fill area to select No Fill.
  3. Display the Layout tab.

  1. Be certain the Wrapping style is set to None or In Front of Text.
  2. Click on OK.

Versions 2003, 2007, 2010

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Posted in Microsoft Office Word, Word 2003, Word 2007, Word 2010 | No Comments »

Keep your Table on One Page in MS Word

Monday, January 30th, 2012

When you create large, complex documents (i.e., technical manuals, theses, etc.) you will find that you are adding tables to them. It has been my experience that most tables in these documents are not very long and can very easily fit onto one page. Having said that, it can be problematic when there is a page break smack dab in the middle of your table.

Follow the steps below to prevent such behavior:

  1. Select all rows in your table.
  2. Display the Paragraph dialog box by clicking on Format | Paragraph in version 2003 and in versions 2007-2010, click on the Home tab of your Ribbon and click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Paragraph group.
  3. Be certain the Line and Page Breaks tab is selected.
  4. Select the Keep Lines Together check box.
  5. Click on OK.

Having done that, you now need to repeat the steps, with two very minor changes.

  1. First, in step one, select all the rows in your table except the last one.
  2. In step four, make sure the Keep with Next check box is selected.

This will make sure that your table stays together as a unit rather than staying with teh paragraph that follows it.

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Posted in Microsoft Office Word, Word 2003, Word 2007, Word 2010 | No Comments »

Quickly Display the Tabs Dialog Box in MS Word

Thursday, January 12th, 2012

As anyone who subscribes to my newsletter or blog knows, I am the queen of saving time and keystrokes.  Why on earth would one want to do something the long way??

So in that regard, here is a handy little shortcut you can use to display your Tabs dialog box:

Simply double-click on your Ruler just below the markings that appear there.   Be certain that you double-click ONLY at the bottom of your Ruler.  If you click at the top the Page Setup dialog will appear instead of the Tabs dialog.

Please note that when you double-click on your Ruler, you may also find that you have accidentally created a tab stop. Don’t fret though. You can quickly and easily remove that inadvertent tab stop by dragging if off your Ruler. Of course, you can also do it in the Tabs Dialog box by clicking Clear All.

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Posted in Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office Word, MS Word 2000, MS Word 2002, MS Word 97, Word 2003, Word 2007, Word 2010 | 1 Comment »

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