Help With Formatting a Document

  • Thread starter Thread starter JD
  • Start date Start date
J

JD

I'll try to describe my problem concisely.
I want to print awards students. The setup is landscape. I will print on 11
x 8 1/2 sheets that have filigreed borders, so my margins are at least one
and one-half inches all around.
There are six to eight lines, of different font sizes, and within the
printable area I have no problem getting everything centered and looking
good.
Here's the rub. I'd like to add a soft "shading" behind the text.
I can get the shaded area to stay with the left and right margins, but not
with top and bottom.
If I want the top line of my text brought down 24 or 36 pts., the shading
follows the text. I've tried space "before," but it doesn't help. I've also
tried vertical alignment settings at "Top" and "Centered."
The whole thing must fit into a picture frame and I want the shaded area to
cover the whole picture area, not just surround the text.
Put another way, I want the shading to extend to the margins on all sides,
no matter what I do with the text.
I hope I've been clear.
I've tried Word help, but just can't "get it."
 
1. View | Header and Footer. This puts you in the header pane; the filled
object you will create must be anchored to the header.

2. Display the Drawing toolbar and select the Rectangle tool.

3. Draw a rectangle the size of your document body, following the margins;
this is easier if you have text boundaries displayed (Tools | Options |
View).

4. Fill the rectangle with your desired color.

5. Make sure the wrapping on the rectangle is set to Behind Text.

6. Close the header pane.

You could also draw the rectangle directly on the page, but if you put it in
the header, it will repeat on every page, allowing you to create several
certificates in the same file if desired. It's also less likely to be
disturbed while you are editing the text.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

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Thank you, Suzanne. I'm going to give it a go. I'm wondering--should I have
been able to figure this out by reading the Word Help files? I surely tried.
 
Well, it looks pretty good on the screen--but it won't print. The Normal and
Print Preview views are blank, and nothing comes out of the printer but
blank paper. What am I missing?
 
I figured out how to get the document to print. It really doesn't look too
bad. However, I have some solid lines at the bottom, across and down,
looking almost like the Header box, that also print and that I can't delete.
Can you give me an idea how they got there and how I can get rid of them?
Thanks.
 
By default, a rectangle has an outline. You probably just need to set that
to No Line.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
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