Objectives of this Tutorial

Generally: To use the paragraph formatting tools to change the appearance of blocks of text.

Specifically: On completion of this lesson, you will be able to:

• Set margins
• Use indentation options
• Align text in paragraphs
• Set line and paragraph spacing options
• Change tab stop settings
• Set tabs with leaders
• Remove paragraph formats

Using spacing and alignment effectively can make a document much easier to read.

Set Page Margins

The white space around text on the printed page is the margin area. You can change the top, bottom, left and right margins. You can set margins in two different ways: by dragging margin markers on the Ruler bar, or by setting margins in the Page Setup dialogue box.

Do not confuse page margins with paragraph indents. Changing a paragraph's indents pushes the text in or out from the left and right margins. The margins establish the overall width of the main text and the space between the main text and the edges of the page.

Note: Moving the margins moves the indents at the same time. The indents will stay the same distance from the margins as before.

To change page margins using the Ruler bar

• Position the mouse pointer over a margin border

Tip: This is the border between the grey and white sections on the ruler line.

The pointer will change to a double-headed arrow and a ScreenTip is displayed.

Setting the left margin

• Click-and-drag the margin to the new location

To change page margins using the Page Setup dialogue box

• From the File menu, select Page Setup...

The Page Setup dialogue box is displayed.

• Click the Margins tab, if necessary

Page Setup dialogue box

• Set the Top:, Bottom:, Left: and Right: margins as required by clicking in the box and typing a value or by using the spin arrows to adjust the value

The Preview panel displays the effect of the new margin settings.

• Click OK

Tip: To keep the selected settings as standard for all new documents (based on the Normal template) click the Default... button.

Note: To display values in units, from the Tools menu, select Options and click the General tab. Click the drop-down arrow on the Measurement units: list box and select the units you want.

What are Paragraphs?

A paragraph may be a character, a word, a line or multiple lines. What defines text as a paragraph is the fact it is ended with the Enter key.

Tip: To force a new line to start without starting a new paragraph, press Shift + Enter.

If you are going to format one paragraph, you do not have to select the entire paragraph. All you need to do is position the insertion point in the paragraph you want to format. If you want to format several paragraphs, position the insertion point in the first paragraph and drag the mouse pointer through the text you want to format, then release the mouse pointer in the last paragraph.

When formatting paragraphs, it can be useful to see exactly where a paragraph ends. The paragraph mark () represents the end of a paragraph.

To display paragraph marks

• On the Standard toolbar, click Show/Hide (SpeedKey: Ctrl + Shift + *)

The position of paragraphs on a page are determined by several factors:

• Margins determine the overall width of the main text area (that is, the space between the text and the edge of the page).
• Indents determine the distance of the paragraph from either the left or the right margins.
• Horizontal alignment determines the appearance of the edges of the paragraph: left aligned, right aligned, centred or justified (where both edges are flush with the margins).
• Vertical alignment determines the paragraph's position relative to the top and bottom margin (This is useful when setting up a title page on the front cover of a report).

Continued...