Re: newbie question:borders in word

[kcronin -at- daleen -dot- com]

Sonya wrote: 
> I am brand new to tech writing.  I am documenting procedures for my office.
> I am inserting files into a single Word document.  There is a single border
> around all of the text in the files I am inserting.  When the file is
> inserted into the new doc, the border breaks into three boxes.  It seems to
> happen around text that is in heading one style.  I have tried modifying
> the styles in the original document to no avail.  I have also changed the
> document format of the documents I am inserting from Word 6 to Word 2000.
> I need help and fast.


I have two suggestions:

1) Lose the borders. They're making your job unnecessarily difficult. If
you really want then, add them after all the text in the doc has all been
written/inserted and is reasonably stable.

2) Rather than *inserting* files, try this. 
? COPY the text of the file you want to add to your main document.
? In the document you're creating, select Edit, Paste Special, and then
choose the option that pastes "plain text" or "unformatted text." This
will paste the text you copied, WITHOUT FORMATTING, in the default style
of the paragraph into which you pasted this text. Then go through the
newly pasted text, applying formatting as needed, preferably in the form
of paragraph styles.

This second suggestion can be tedious, but it ensures that you're not
inadvertently pasting some Hidden Voodoo Garbage (or HVG - that's a
technical term <g>) from the other documents, which might not play nicely
with the doc you're creating.

You've said you're new to tech writing; I don't know if you're also new to
Word. If you are, spend some time learning about how paragraph styles are
applied. They will simplify the task of making documents look the way you
want, but it takes some effort to master the concept. In any case, it is
MUCH easier to start out simple, and add the bells and whistles later.
Hence my first suggestion.

Good luck!


Keith Cronin
Using Word is like alligator wrestling, except nobody will pay to watch
you do it.



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