Re: MS Word question - text flow problems

[Roger Bell <abraweb -at- HOME -dot- COM>]

I have been using MS Word for about 10 years. While my experience has not
been perfect, I have not had the huge problems with Word I see discussed in
this forum.  Yes the numbering is buggy.  Never had a problem with tables
though.

Graphics can be a problem if the graphics files you are inserting are very
large.  A competent graphic artist should be able to help you reduce those
files.  If your computer is not a Pentium II system with lots of RAM, you
should probably edit the Word files in Normal mode, perhaps even using
picture placeholders to view during the edit. I almost never use frames.  I
have a style tag I use for all my graphics, and virtually never have a
graphics problem in Word.  I firmly believe the size of the graphics file is
paramount here.

I haven't found the master document mode to be very reliable either.  I
recommend multiple chapters, each saved as a stand-alone file.  You can
create macros in a template to then create a table of contents and index for
the book.  Also, keep chapter files to 30 pages or fewer if you can,
especially if you have lots of graphics.

For reference, I am currently using Word 97 with SR-1 in a Windows 98,
Pentium II, 450 MHz, with 128 MB of SDRAM.  My system until last Dec. was a
Pentium (pre-MMX) 133 MHz, with 24 MB of RAM in Windows 95.  The only
difference I see now is increased speed.

Hope this helps.

----------
From:   Diane Williams[SMTP:diane_williams -at- YAHOO -dot- COM]
Sent:   Monday, February 01, 1999 11:15 AM
Subject:        Re: MS Word question - text flow problems

>>Jacque said: I share the frustration with Word. When I prepare a
document for a client to update on his/her computer, I am often asked
to create the first document in Word. And I usually get the job
because the client has experienced text flow aggrivations.

The only way I have found to keep text from reflowing all over the place
and graphics to stay in place is to use individual frames. The page
title is in a frame. Each graphic is in a frame. Text is grouped and
placed inframes.<<

I had a horrible problem with text and tables and text-based screen
shots moving all over the place in a 54-page Word 95 document. I
discovered under Tools - Options - Compatibility there is an option to
check called "Don't add leading (extra space) between rows of text."

I have no idea what leading Word adds when this option is left
unchecked. I need to hunt around for any information that might
describe what the default leading might be, if such info exists. Does
anyone know? When I use Times New Roman 12 point, for example, the
unchecked default seems to set the line at 12 on 14. But this can vary
from printer to printer and even print job to print job because the
Windows printer driver, I believe, regulates the leading for each font.

When I checked the item to *not* add extra leading, it came out what
appeared to be 12 on 12 when the Line Spacing option under Format -
Paragraph was "Single." So if I want to ensure a fixed amount of
space, I define the Line Spacing in each paragraph style so Word
doesn't monkey around with it.

The jumpy text might also be caused by a corrupted printer driver.
I've had to have mine reloaded a few times because some of my graphic
elements (shaded table header rows) were printing out solid black! I
assumed the driver was corrupted and maybe it wasn't. Could've been
the file.

HTH.
==
~~Diane Williams
(703) 305-2973 at USDA Food & Consumer Services




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