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From...
Align those graphics automatically in Word 97
August 21, 1998
Web posted at: 9:00 AM EDT
by George Campbell
(IDG) -- Aligning graphic elements -- text boxes, clip art, AutoShapes, and so on -- on a page can be tedious, especially if you created them by clicking and dragging. But Word 97 makes this job a snap. Just follow these steps to get all your graphic ducks in a row:
- Select all the graphic elements you want to align by holding down Shift as you click each of them in turn.
- Click the Draw button on the Drawing toolbar, select Align or Distribute from the pop-up menu, and choose an alignment or distribution strategy, using the menu icons as a guide.
Add designer colors to headlines
The standard set of colors may suffice for most jobs, but sometimes you want text that's puce instead of red, chartreuse instead of green, or lapis lazuli instead of blue. Headlines and display text, in particular, can benefit from designer colors. Here's a guide to getting just the right shade to highlight your document.
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Word 97: When formatting regular text, Word limits you to a piddly selection of standard colors. Fortunately, you can turn display text into WordArt to access a full spectrum of hues:
- Place the cursor where you want your fancy text to go. Then select Insert, Picture, WordArt. Word automatically switches to Page Layout view, if it wasn't already there.
- In the WordArt Gallery dialog box, choose a style for your text, then click OK. The plain style in the upper left corner works well for most headlines.
- In the Edit WordArt Text dialog box, choose a font and size, type your text, and click OK.
- Drag the text to its final position in the document, then click the Format WordArt button on the WordArt toolbar.
- The Format WordArt dialog box will open with the Colors and Lines tab selected. In the Fill section, click the arrow next to the Color box and select More Colors from the pop-up box.
- In the Colors dialog box, click the Custom tab, then click in the Colors display to choose a basic color, and use the shading slider to the right to pick the exact shade you want. Look at the preview box in the lower right corner as you work. When you are satisfied, click OK.
- Repeat steps 5 and 6 to select a color for the bordering line, if necessary. Then click OK in the Format WordArt dialog box to finish the job.
If you need to change these colors later, make sure you're in Page Layout view, right-click the text, and select Format WordArt from the menu.
WordPerfect 8: WordPerfect 8 lets you add custom colors to regular text.
- Type your text, select it, right-click it, and then choose Font from the menu.
- In the Font dialog box, select the font and size you want.
- In the same dialog box, click the Text Color icon, then click More in the resulting pop-up box.
- In the Select Color dialog box, click a color close to the one you want in the color wheel, then click in the shading bar to get the exact color. Keep an eye on the "Current color" box as you work.
- Click OK in each dialog box to apply the new color and return to the document.
To change the color later, first select and right-click the text, then choose Font from the resulting context menu and repeat steps 3 through 5 above.
Word Pro 97: Word Pro 97 makes it easy to choose from a wide variety of stock colors for your text, but selecting a custom color is not at all intuitive.
- Type your text, then select it and pick a font and font size from the status bar at the bottom of the document window.
- Click the Text Color button on the left side of the status bar.
- Hold down Ctrl as you click a basic color in the pop-up Color palette.
- In the Custom Color Selector dialog box, use the slider arrow to the right of the larger color box to fine-tune your color selection, watching the preview box as you work. You can also change the basic color by clicking anywhere in the palette before moving the slider. When you're satisfied, click Add Color. Both of the color selection palettes will disappear, but your new custom color won't take effect yet.
- Click the Text Color button on the status bar again. You'll find your new color at the bottom of the Color palette. Click it to apply it to your text.
New colors added to the palette in this way will be available on the basic Color palette the next time you start Word Pro.
Straighten curly quotes
Word and WordPerfect automatically change straight quotation marks into curly quotes. But when you want straight quotes -- say, for inch and foot marks -- you can turn off this feature. In Word, select Tools, AutoCorrect, click the AutoFormat As You Type tab, uncheck "Straight quotes" with "smart quotes", and click OK. You can also tell WordPerfect to use straight quotes only after numbers: Select Tools, QuickCorrect, click the SmartQuotes tab, check "Use straight quotation marks after numbers", and then click OK.