Mouse Clix

 

By:  Hobie Lunin          

 

I’ve got a little list (The Mikado, Act1).

 

Well, it is not the Operetta by that famous duo, but just this past week I heard from a woman who had to make a “little list” at work.  She prepared a Word document such that she got three columns exactly the way she wanted on the paper by using the tab key to space the words evenly on each line.  The problem began when she went to make some changes and the columns got all out of kilter requiring a lot of time to get it all even again.  The question to me was why does it do this.  Frankly, I discovered the same thing the first time I tried to make columns in a Word Processor.

 

The first thing to understand is that it IS a word processor and that the columns really are not columns but a continuous line of words that is wrapping around from line to line and that the appearance of columns has been generated by adding spaces at the appropriate places.  When you see it as a continuous line of text with lots of spaces, it becomes clear that if you start making changes, all the “columns” start disintegrating as the lines expand or contract as words or letters are added or deleted.

 

Well then, how would I do it, she inquired.  There is more than one choice.  When it comes to columnar lists, my preference is to use a spreadsheet.  The lines can be adjusted and the cells will stay where they are even if you change the text in them.  I usually get the response from people that they do not want the page in landscape nor do they do want to see the grid lines.  It is an easy matter in Page Setup to put the page in portrait position and indicate that the grid lines are not to be printed.  The length and height of the cells can be easily changed, giving you the option of any spacing between horizontal lines.

 

There are, however, several ways to accomplish this in a word processor and in the following, I have chosen to use Microsoft Word.  On the standard toolbar there is an icon that looks like a two-column list.  If you point to this icon, the description that pops up is “Columns.”  When you click on it, you will see four columns.  To get two columns set up on your page you would click on the second column (from the left).  The page will be divided into 2 columns and if you have Ruler checked in View, you will see that there is a left and right margin for each column.  In this arrangement you would be able make a list in the first column and then when you get to the bottom you would start down the second column.  If you do not want to go all the way to the bottom of the first column before you start the second one, you must make a column break by clicking on Insert, Break and then clicking in the Column radio button in the resulting dialog box.  This technique may still result in some problems depending upon what your list looks like.

 

If you want more columns or you want to work on them going across before you start down, you can try using Tables.  This icon looks like a table with a 4 wide by 3 high grid.  The pop-up description is Insert Table.  When you click on it, you see a grid that is five wide by four high.  To make a table that is 3 wide by 3 high, place the cursor in the 3rd box to the right in the 3rd row down and click.  The resulting table will be boxes that are wider than they are high.  You can move the vertical lines by dragging them.  Place your cursor on the line and it will change to a double line.  Click and drag the lines where you want them.  As for the height of the boxes, they expand downward to encompass all the words you place in them.  If you need to make the table longer, look back at where you clicked to get the table.  The icon has changed to one giving the appearance of adding cells.  Just click on the icon and it will add a line for each click.  To type in any box, click in it first.

 

This is a very effective table for lists; however, I have never learned how to have the list print without the lines.  I would love to hear from a reader who has figured that out.

 

Next, you can make a specific sized table by going to the icon that has four little boxes and looks like there is a pencil drawing a vertical line.  This is labeled Tables and Borders.  Click on this icon and you get a tool bar to help you make a table made to order.  In this tool bar, first click on the little pencil on the left end (Draw Table) and then, using your cursor, make the outline of the table that you want.  Then click on the icon just below it and to the right (Split Cells) and you can select the number of cells you want horizontally as well as vertically.  To type in any of these cells click in it first.  Check out some of the other options in the tool bar.  You can color all the boxes or just one box and have the lettering vertical instead of horizontal.

 

With some of the ideas above, you have an assortment of ways to make lists or tables in your word document that will unaffected when you make some changes.

 

Hobie Lunin is a Computer Instructor and Consultant, and can be reached at mouseclix2@yahoo.com  Previous articles are at http://mouseclix.tripod.com.