Problems with Wordpad - anyone have a guide?

[Guest]

I'm learning how to use wordpad and for the life of me I can't figure out how
to change the ruler to a different location so lines aren't too short or too
long. I've found information on how to change margins but I don't print that
often. All I'm concerned with is the look on the screen. I'd like to get
the text to extend out to the very end of the ruler (about 7") Can anyone
help me?

While I'm asking, I can't get text to paste in wordpad as rich text either.
There may be something wrong with it, but I'm hoping it's just a setting
that's off. Any help is appreciated! Thanks

 

[Andrew McLaren]

long. I've found information on how to change margins but I don't print

that
often. All I'm concerned with is the look on the screen. I'd like to get
the text to extend out to the very end of the ruler (about 7") Can anyone
help me?

Go to the View menu and choose Options

Select the Rich Text tab

Under Word Wrap, choose "Wrap to Window"

The text will now keep going to the right-hand edge of your window, and then
wrap to next line. You can also set theis for plain text format, if you
like.

While I'm asking, I can't get text to paste in wordpad as rich text
either.
There may be something wrong with it, but I'm hoping it's just a setting

I can't reproduce this problem - pasting RTF works fine for me. Maybe you
don't have RTF set as the default format? Go to File, Save As, and select
Rich Text Format from the Save as Type drop-down list. If it is already the
default, the "Save in this format by default" checkbox will be checked, and
greyed out. If the checkbox is clear, check it and press Save.

For more help with WordPad, go to the Start Menu, Help and Support, and
seach for the string "Using WordPad". The online help isn't always very
helpful (as has been discussed in this forum) but actually, the help for
WordPad is quite extensive. If you don't find answers there, come back and
ask the group here.

Good luck, hope this helps,

 

[Guest]

Go to the View menu and choose Options

Select the Rich Text tab

Under Word Wrap, choose "Wrap to Window"

The text will now keep going to the right-hand edge of your window, and then
wrap to next line. You can also set theis for plain text format, if you
like.

Ok, I've tried wrapping to the ruler and wrapping to the window. One is too
short and the other too long. The way the ruler is currently set up the
"white" part ends around 6 inches but it keeps going until 7". That's about
where I'd like it to end. I have no idea how to set it to that though.
Wrapping it to the window puts too many words on each line, making it harder
to read. 7" would be about perfect, but I could even live with it around 8"
too (even though that's not on the ruler). With the wrap to window the words
almost fall off the page.

I can't reproduce this problem - pasting RTF works fine for me. Maybe you
don't have RTF set as the default format? Go to File, Save As, and select
Rich Text Format from the Save as Type drop-down list. If it is already the
default, the "Save in this format by default" checkbox will be checked, and
greyed out. If the checkbox is clear, check it and press Save.

It's already set to default. It may just be broken.

 

[Cal Bear '66]

To increase the ruler to 7-inches, go to File > Page Setup and decrease the
margins to 1/2-inch, and View > Options, Rich Text tab, click Wrap to Ruler,
Text tab, check Wrap to Ruler, Embedded tab, check Wrap to Ruler.

To past rich text: Edit > Paste Special, select Rich Text (RTF).

 

[Guest]

Ok, I've tried wrapping to the ruler and wrapping to the window. One is too
short and the other too long. The way the ruler is currently set up the
"white" part ends around 6 inches but it keeps going until 7". That's about
where I'd like it to end. I have no idea how to set it to that though.
Wrapping it to the window puts too many words on each line, making it harder
to read. 7" would be about perfect, but I could even live with it around 8"
too (even though that's not on the ruler). With the wrap to window the words
almost fall off the page.


It's already set to default. It may just be broken.

I'm afraid I had no luck with the online help for wordpad. My system's Help
& Support is through E-Machines and no longer under warranty. If anyone has
the solutions for my problems, please help. Thanks

 

[Charles W Davis]

JC,
The product is minimalist in nature by design. For a real free word
processor, try http://www.openoffice.org

 

[Andrew McLaren]

I'm afraid I had no luck with the online help for wordpad. My system's

Help
& Support is through E-Machines and no longer under warranty. If anyone
has
the solutions for my problems, please help. Thanks

Sorry, I don't know what "E-Machines" means .... is that the shop you where
bought the computer? The Windows online Help system should still work okay,
no matter what the warranty status of the machine.

Go to Start Menu, then click on "Help and Support" in the right-hand column.
The "Windows Help and Support" window should appear. Across the top of the
window is a field marked "Search help". Click once in this field and type
the words:

"using WordPad"

...complete with quotation marks. Then click the little "magnifying glass"
icon at the right-hand end of the field. It should come back with something
like:

3 results for "using WordPad"

1. Using WordPad
2. Adjust the default size of windows
3. Windows Basics: all topics

Click on the first link "Using WordPad" and you should get quite a long
article about how to use WordPad, with further links to:

See also
Formatting text in WordPad
WordPad: frequently asked questions

and so on. Does this not work, on your machine? (I'm curious, because I'm
not sure why it would be broken ...)

Now, what problems are you still having? It sounds like the Ruler is still a
problem? I'm not sure what this "7 inches" is, of which you speak - *my*
ruler shows 17 centimetres . If you don't care about the printed size of
the document, you can just hide the ruler altogether:

- go to View Menu
- third option down is "Ruler" with a check mark against it
- select this third option
- the Ruler will disappear from your Window.

The length of the Ruler reflects the Paper size you have configured. If you
are in the USA, the paper size will probably be "Letter" by default. Go to
the File menu, and choose Paper Size. WordPad only gives you a fairly
limited set of paper size options. If you select Orientation, Landscape, you
will get a wider page size (and hence, a wider ruler). Or set the paper size
to A4: which might not fix your ruler, but A4 is the page size known and
used by 96% of the world's population. So you'll be with the majority.


As for the pasting Rich Text problem ... I'm probably not understanding
exactly what this problem is. When you say "I can't get text to paste in
WordPad as rich text either. There may be something wrong with it" - can you
describe exactly what is happening (and what you expected to see)?

Regards,

 

[Andrew McLaren]

The product is minimalist in nature by design. For a real free word
processor, try http://www.openoffice.org

I don't want to sound like I'm knocking OpenOffice, but

- it seems like JC's issues with WordPad should be easily fixed, without
resorting to additional software;

- downloading, installing and using OpenOffice is likely to present a
significant challenge, given JC's apparent skill level.

Personally I don't believe OpenOffice would be a good solution in this case
(fine software that it is). WordPad is pretty limited compared to the big
word processors; but JC's issues aren't related to lack of features. It
sounds like he already has all the features he can cope with, right now. I
used WordPad as my commercial word processor for a few years, because I
didn't want to spend money buying Microsoft Word (this was back in 1992-93,
long before OpenOffice etc and when word processors cost ~$500, stand alone
not as part of an Office suite). I was able to run a small business, using
WordPad. It's fine.

 

[Guest]

Sorry, I don't know what "E-Machines" means .... is that the shop you where
bought the computer? The Windows online Help system should still work okay,
no matter what the warranty status of the machine.

E-Machines is the manufacturer. Its' a division of Microsoft.

Go to Start Menu, then click on "Help and Support" in the right-hand column.
The "Windows Help and Support" window should appear. Across the top of the
window is a field marked "Search help". Click once in this field and type
the words:

"using WordPad"

..complete with quotation marks. Then click the little "magnifying glass"
icon at the right-hand end of the field. It should come back with something
like:

3 results for "using WordPad"

1. Using WordPad
2. Adjust the default size of windows
3. Windows Basics: all topics

It brings up two options here. The "using wordpad" is about two paragraphs
long, that's it. The "magnifying glass" is just a big arrow to the right on
mine, but I'm sure that's just a cosmetic difference.

Click on the first link "Using WordPad" and you should get quite a long
article about how to use WordPad, with further links to:

See also
Formatting text in WordPad
WordPad: frequently asked questions

and so on. Does this not work, on your machine? (I'm curious, because I'm
not sure why it would be broken ...)

It was the rich text that I think is broken. I have no idea how, but the
option is just not there to have rich text in wordpad. As I mentioned above,
I can get a couple of links to come up, but the main one is very short and
the second isn't much better.

The ruler is better now with the solution given above. It's still not
perfect though.

Now, what problems are you still having? It sounds like the Ruler is still a
problem? I'm not sure what this "7 inches" is, of which you speak - *my*
ruler shows 17 centimetres . If you don't care about the printed size of
the document, you can just hide the ruler altogether:

- go to View Menu
- third option down is "Ruler" with a check mark against it
- select this third option
- the Ruler will disappear from your Window.

The length of the Ruler reflects the Paper size you have configured. If you
are in the USA, the paper size will probably be "Letter" by default. Go to
the File menu, and choose Paper Size. WordPad only gives you a fairly
limited set of paper size options. If you select Orientation, Landscape, you
will get a wider page size (and hence, a wider ruler). Or set the paper size
to A4: which might not fix your ruler, but A4 is the page size known and
used by 96% of the world's population. So you'll be with the majority.

There's no Paper Size under the file menu. I'm running wordpad version 5.1
if that helps at all.

As for the pasting Rich Text problem ... I'm probably not understanding
exactly what this problem is. When you say "I can't get text to paste in
WordPad as rich text either. There may be something wrong with it" - can you
describe exactly what is happening (and what you expected to see)?

Regards,

Ok, if I copy and try to paste text into a wordpad window, there are usually
two options right? Paste and Paste Special. Under Paste Special it should
have an RTF option. It doesn't. What I get is "source" - unknown source,
"paste" is highlighted, "paste link" is greyed out. "As" shows only
"unformatted text" and "result" says "inserts the contents of the clipboard
into your document as text without any formatting". Then I just have "ok"
and "cancel" as options. "display as icon" is also greyed out. That's it.

 

[Cal Bear '66]

e-Machines (a budget computer manufacturer) is owned by Gateway.

--
I Bleed Blue and Gold
GO BEARS!

Sorry, I don't know what "E-Machines" means .... is that the shop you where
bought the computer? The Windows online Help system should still work okay,
no matter what the warranty status of the machine.

E-Machines is the manufacturer. Its' a division of Microsoft.

Go to Start Menu, then click on "Help and Support" in the right-hand column.
The "Windows Help and Support" window should appear. Across the top of the
window is a field marked "Search help". Click once in this field and type
the words:

"using WordPad"

..complete with quotation marks. Then click the little "magnifying glass"
icon at the right-hand end of the field. It should come back with something
like:

3 results for "using WordPad"

1. Using WordPad
2. Adjust the default size of windows
3. Windows Basics: all topics

It brings up two options here. The "using wordpad" is about two paragraphs
long, that's it. The "magnifying glass" is just a big arrow to the right on
mine, but I'm sure that's just a cosmetic difference.

Click on the first link "Using WordPad" and you should get quite a long
article about how to use WordPad, with further links to:

See also
Formatting text in WordPad
WordPad: frequently asked questions

and so on. Does this not work, on your machine? (I'm curious, because I'm
not sure why it would be broken ...)

It was the rich text that I think is broken. I have no idea how, but the
option is just not there to have rich text in wordpad. As I mentioned above,
I can get a couple of links to come up, but the main one is very short and
the second isn't much better.

The ruler is better now with the solution given above. It's still not
perfect though.

Now, what problems are you still having? It sounds like the Ruler is still a
problem? I'm not sure what this "7 inches" is, of which you speak - *my*
ruler shows 17 centimetres . If you don't care about the printed size of
the document, you can just hide the ruler altogether:

- go to View Menu
- third option down is "Ruler" with a check mark against it
- select this third option
- the Ruler will disappear from your Window.

The length of the Ruler reflects the Paper size you have configured. If you
are in the USA, the paper size will probably be "Letter" by default. Go to
the File menu, and choose Paper Size. WordPad only gives you a fairly
limited set of paper size options. If you select Orientation, Landscape, you
will get a wider page size (and hence, a wider ruler). Or set the paper size
to A4: which might not fix your ruler, but A4 is the page size known and
used by 96% of the world's population. So you'll be with the majority.

There's no Paper Size under the file menu. I'm running wordpad version 5.1
if that helps at all.

As for the pasting Rich Text problem ... I'm probably not understanding
exactly what this problem is. When you say "I can't get text to paste in
WordPad as rich text either. There may be something wrong with it" - can you
describe exactly what is happening (and what you expected to see)?

Regards,

Ok, if I copy and try to paste text into a wordpad window, there are usually
two options right? Paste and Paste Special. Under Paste Special it should
have an RTF option. It doesn't. What I get is "source" - unknown source,
"paste" is highlighted, "paste link" is greyed out. "As" shows only
"unformatted text" and "result" says "inserts the contents of the clipboard
into your document as text without any formatting". Then I just have "ok"
and "cancel" as options. "display as icon" is also greyed out. That's it.

 

[Andrew McLaren]

E-Machines is the manufacturer. Its' a division of Microsoft.

Well, this is off the main path for your tech problem, but ... e-Machines is
absolutely not part of of Microsoft. As per Cal Bear's advice, it appears to
be a branch of Gateway Computers (thansk Cal Bear . The only relationship
e-Machines might have with Microsoft is as an OEM licensee, like any other
seller of PC hardware, even the "Flying Dragon" brand corner store.
Definitely not part of Microsoft, no way, never.

There's no Paper Size under the file menu. I'm running wordpad version
5.1
if that helps at all.

Okay, now it's getting weird. No wonder you are having problems! :-(

Wordpad 5.1 is part of Windows XP. It is not part of Vista.

In Wordpad, go to the Help menu and choose "About Wordpad". Does it say
across the top of the dialogue "Windows Vista" or "Windows XP"? And what
does it say for the version number?

 

[Guest]

Well, this is off the main path for your tech problem, but ... e-Machines is
absolutely not part of of Microsoft. As per Cal Bear's advice, it appears to
be a branch of Gateway Computers (thansk Cal Bear . The only relationship
e-Machines might have with Microsoft is as an OEM licensee, like any other
seller of PC hardware, even the "Flying Dragon" brand corner store.
Definitely not part of Microsoft, no way, never.


Okay, now it's getting weird. No wonder you are having problems! :-(

Wordpad 5.1 is part of Windows XP. It is not part of Vista.

In Wordpad, go to the Help menu and choose "About Wordpad". Does it say
across the top of the dialogue "Windows Vista" or "Windows XP"? And what
does it say for the version number?

--
Andrew McLaren
amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au

XP Home Edition Version 5.1

Sorry, I guess I'm in the wrong place, but the information should be similar
right?

 

[Andrew McLaren]

Sorry, I guess I'm in the wrong place, but the information should be
similar
right?

Aarrghh! Yes, I'm afraid you are definitely in the wrong place. You need to
go to the microsoft.public.windowsxp.general newsgroup.

WordPad is roughly similar in XP and Vista (it hasn't changed that much
since Windows 95); but this would certainly explain many of the differences
between what you're seeing, and what I'm seeing.

Re paper size -

There's no Paper Size under the file menu. I'm running WordPad version
5.1
if that helps at all.

You go to the File Menu and choose the "Page Setup" option. The Page Setup
dialogue will appear, with options to configure Paper Size, and Paper
source. Paper Size is a drop-down list with different sizes - A4, A5,
"Letter", etc. You don't get many different choices in basic WordPad, I'm
afraid. On Vista there is an option to configure custom paper sizes, but not
on XP. When you change the paper size, the Ruler changes to match the new
size of the paper. Try 10x11 size.

Ok, if I copy and try to paste text into a wordpad window, there are
usually
two options right? Paste and Paste Special. Under Paste Special it should
have an RTF option. It doesn't. What I get is "source" - unknown source,

Don't bother with "Paste Special". Just paste in the usual manner - either
press Control-Insert, or Control-V, or right-click in the document and
choose Paste from the context menu, or just go to the Edit menu and choose
plain "Paste". If the text in the clipboard is in RTF or Word DOC format,
then WordPad will try to insert it as RTF text. It's actually more work for
WordPad to convert it to plain text, so it won't bother unless you tell it.

"Paste Special" is a mostly a relic of when Windows' cut-n-paste facility
was not as smart, and it needed help to deal with pasting complex objects,
or OLE objects. I haven't used "Paste Special" for anything for years; I'd
forgotten it even existed until you mentioned it.

If you have any further questions or issues with WordPad or Windows XP
generally, please post them to the microsoft.public.windowsxp.general
newsgroup.

Good luck with it.

 

[Charles W Davis]

Andrew,

eMachines is the name of a computer manufacturer. They were recently bought
by Gateway to get access to their VP of Quality Control.