Gridlines & Labels

[andyjim]

I've been designing and printing product labels using Power Point 2000. PP
acts inconsistently in ways that frustrate me. Sometimes I cannot place a
guide line exactly where I want it; no matter how carefully I nudge the mouse
it jumps several increments. Once it's in the mood to do this, no number of
repeated tries brings a different result; it always jumps the same number of
hundredths. Yet in another session I can place the guideline where I want it,
to the hundredth of an inch. I've noticed a similar problem at times when I
want to move an object. No matter how incrementally little I move the mouse,
the object won't move with the mouse at first, then jumps further than I
wanted to move it.

In a perhaps related problem, I'm having trouble laying out ten 2x4 labels
to print on a sheet (using Avery type labels) such that they print in
accurate size and alignment for the blank label sheet. That's why I'm trying
to tweak the label placements carefully using grid lines, but now cannot
place grid lines where I want them. But if anyone has ideas on why the labels
might be a little off when I print...

 

[Lucy Thomson]

Hi

Try holding alt while you drag gridlines/objects.

Out of curiosity, why are you using PowerPoint rather than Word? Word comes
with templates for most Avery labels and Avery's site has additional ones
you can download (as Word docs).
http://www.avery.com/avery/en_us/Templates-&-Software/Templates/Labels/_/Ns=Rank&Rpp=15

Lucy

 

[andyjim]

Thanks Lucy, I'll try that, but in the meantime I stumbled across something
(which maybe accomplishes part of the same thing as the Alt-Drag). I removed
the rulers, just for the heck of it, and then I could suddenly incrementally
move the grid line by hundredths again (even after putting the rulers back),
at least for this session. Hope that works every time. I think I can now
tweak things to where it will print in good alignment.

Why I'm not using Word: I want to do more with the label I can do in Word
(or maybe it's more than I know how to do in Word). I want to use a 2-colored
background, rotate some text boxes 90 degrees, some 30 degrees, etc. If you
can do these in Word 2000, I'd like to know how.

 

[andyjim]

Well, now it's back to the same thing again, and taking the rulers off does
not help, as it did less than an hour ago. Holding Alt while dragging the
guide line does let the increments change by hundredths, but then when I
release either the Alt key or the mouse button it snaps back where it was.
And this is during one session that this change occurred. Beats me.

 

[andyjim]

Yes, I did finally discover that Snap to Grid needs to be unselected, and
that seems to be the thing that ended up making the guidelines and object
dragging work. I also at one point removed the rulers, and that helped at the
time, though later made no difference. So my conclusion is that Snap to Grid
OFF is the factor that allows guidelines and dragging to work right.
Thanks all, problem seems to be solved (fingers crossed that it is
consistent now).

 

[Lucy Thomson]

Glad to see 'snap to grid' turned off works for you. Normally using alt
overrides the snap to grid so I'm not sure what was happening. But as long
as the issue is solved I'm happy

Lucy

--
Lucy Thomson
PowerPoint MVP
MOS Master Instructor
www.aneasiertomorrow.com.au