Chapter 6. Setting Up Your Layout with Page Backgrounds and Columns

WHETHER you ever had to create documents on a Smith-Corona typewriter—or worse, a typesetting system!—or you started using word processing on the PC, chances are that you take some of the benefits of electronic documents for granted. When you open a new file, you can just begin typing, letting the ideas flow as they will. The basic function of the program lays out the text for you and, later, reformats it according to your wishes as you choose bullet lists, numbered lists, and columns to display your text.

This chapter takes a closer look at some of the layout fundamentals that occur at the basic level of formatting in your document. We’ll consider layout options, page background and design, watermarks, and columns. Along the way, you’ll get a chance to think through how some of these cornerstones of document design will be reflected in the projects you create.

The Nature of Complex Documents

Not all long documents are complex, and not all complex documents are long. But whenever you think about putting together either a project that has a number of different parts or a document that includes many pages and special formats, you’ve got a number of issues to consider. Which elements should you include? How will you handle them? In what formats should you save the content so that it can be used again later? Will you work on the project by yourself or with a team?

The following ideas help you envision the document project that stretches before you. Whether ultimately you’re planning for print or PDF, solo or on a team, thinking through the end result now is a good way to ensure you’ll actually get there.

  • Get a clear vision of the project. If the document you’re in charge of preparing is an elaborate annual report, a training manual, a corporate policy statement, or something similar that requires the input of many people, most likely everyone involved will have an opinion about the way it should look and what it should contain. Establishing early on what message you want to communicate in the document, what you want to leave the reader thinking at the end, and what kind of impression you want to make will be critical to ending up at the right place—and on speaking terms with the entire team.

  • Organize the vision and assign tasks. Once you have an idea of where you’re headed, you need to determine the scope of the project. How many pages? How many colors? Who will do what? These are all important questions that need to be answered right up front when you’re working with a large and potentially very expensive project. You might want to write up a vision statement for the document in Word 2010 or OneNote 2010 and share the file with all those involved in the project.

  • Evaluate costs, set a budget, and determine deadlines. Connecting numbers and facts to the vision isn’t an easy step. Especially if you are preparing this document with the help of a committee or team, you need to carefully weigh the cost, time, and effort requirements. Seemingly small considerations—such as paper weight, page size, and colors used—can make a huge difference in the costs of the project. Create a table in Word 2010 or Excel 2010 to track and compile costs you think will be attached to the creation of the document.

  • Stay in touch with the document team. If you have assigned different sections of a document to different people on the team, how do you ensure each person is on track to make his or her goal? Communicating is important, as is ensuring that everyone is on the same page—literally—by working with the same style, theme, or XML schema. If you work together using SharePoint Workspace 2010, you can assign and report on tasks, communicate in real time, and post drafts and other file assets in a shared space that you can synchronize with the SharePoint server.

  • Create and compile content. Think about what a nightmare footnotes and endnotes can be when you have 15 different people creating their own individual parts of a document. Luckily, Word 2010 can make coordinating elements, such as citations, footnotes, and endnotes easier because it does quite a bit of the work for you. You can also use master and subdocuments to carve up your long document and put it back together (see Chapter 24, for more about that). And when you need to put together multiple versions of a file you can also fall back on the Compare and Combine features, which help you see what’s what, and make changes accordingly.

  • Format the document with the end in mind. As you envision the type of document you and your team are creating as well as the way you want to share it, design will play a big part of your considerations. If you are creating something that matches other publications your company has produced, you will already have a set of design specifications to use. If you are creating something new that isn’t tied to other formatting considerations, you will need to consider the type of design your audience will respond to. It’s a big job—and each person will have his or her own opinion. You can use templates, themes, and Quick Styles in Word to simplify the process of developing a look that hits the mark.

  • Edit and review the first draft. Depending on the number of people on your team and the number of review cycles your document will go through, reviewing and editing your document might require you to send various sections in a variety of directions. Be sure to leave time in your schedule so that others have the time they need to review and respond to the sections you send.

  • Incorporate changes and proofread the document. Whether you’ve been using the co-authoring features in Word 2010 or sharing the document by passing it around the team, you need to resolve all the issues and accept revisions (or reject them) as you finalize the document. You’ll also want to run the spelling and grammar checker, and double-check any citations before you finalize the document.

  • Prepare for final production. The choices you make about the final production of your document will depend on your budget, your audience, and the overall goals of your publication. A four-color, commercial printing process will cost more than something you print on your desktop printer, obviously, but some projects (especially complex ones) just can’t be finished any other way. Perhaps you’ll be able to share your document as a PDF to save trees as well as production costs. Word includes a number of features to help you prepare to finalize your document. One important feature is Inspect Document (available on the Info tab when you click File), with which you can search for and remove any hidden or personal information left in the file.

  • Finish and distribute the document. The last step in preparing your complex document is to save it in the final format appropriate to your purposes—for example, PDF, XPS, or as a final (read-only) document. You can then send the document to others on your team, publish it to your SharePoint site or Windows Live SkyDrive account, or print and distribute it as needed.

Layout and Design Fundamentals

Whether you’re designing content that will be read on a page, a screen, or a mobile phone, certain design principles apply. By incorporating some basic ideas into your document design, you can ensure that your document meets its goals, which is for people to read it and take the action you’re hoping they’ll take.

You might have several goals for the content you produce:

  • You want to inform others about a product, service, program, or idea.

  • You might want to inspire readers to take action (support your cause, join your group, be glad they bought your product, come to your Web site).

  • You want to reinforce your brand so the reader remembers you. You can do this through your visual presentation—the logo, colors, fonts, and pictures you use—and you can post your mission and “Who We Are” statement on your site or in your longer document.

Tip

For more about choosing a professional design for your publication that offers a good balance of color and layout, see Chapter 4.

The first objective in any publication is to get the reader’s attention. You can produce the most wonderful, inspiring content possible, but if no one gives your document a second look, the content isn’t going to have a chance to fulfill its mission. How can your document capture the reader’s attention?

  • Use an inviting design that is pleasing to the eye and connects with your content.

  • Show the reader clearly that the document, site, or file is easy to navigate and understand.

  • Demonstrate the value for the reader (“This document shows you clearly”).

Once you’ve got the readers’ attention, your design can help ensure that people keep reading. If you think back to your experiences in school, remember how your heart sank when you were assigned a lot of reading in a long, boring book. Nobody wants to read page after page of uninterrupted text—it just looks overwhelming, and even if the subject is one we’re fascinated in, we’re likely to tune out after just a few pages. To keep people reading, make your pages easy to read by employing the following suggestions:

  • Include headings to break up the text and give the reader places to catch his or her breath.

  • Insert photos, charts, diagrams, and drawings wherever appropriate.

  • Use plenty of white space on the page—don’t fill the page with text. This gives the reader’s eye a rest.

Some documents you create might simply educate your readers about a specific topic, product, or service. But many documents include—either covertly or overtly—a call to action. What do you want readers to do after they read your document? Perhaps you hope they will side with you on an important issue; maybe you want them to come to your Web site and buy your product; or you might just hope to reinforce your relationship with the reader and affirm their good choices of doing business with you. You can inspire readers to take the action you want them to take by incorporating the following ideas:

  • Say explicitly what you hope readers will do after reading your document.

  • Make it easy for readers to take the next step (including your Web address, for example, or providing a link readers can go to and purchase your product).

  • Provide a mechanism—or at least information and an invitation—that enables readers to follow up with you with any questions or comments about your document.

  • Make the call-to-action plain, with a headline (“How You Can Get Involved” or “What To Do Next”).

For example, Figure 6-1 shows a report that uses a Word 2010 template. In this design, you can see that white space is used generously to help guide the reader’s eye down the page. Titles, headings, and the quote on page 2 all help the reader know what the important pieces of information are and where he or she should read next. When the reader sees instinctively how to manage the flow of information, he or she can relax and take in the meaning of your message.

White space, titles, clear headings, and pull quotes help readers see what’s most important on a page.

Figure 6-1. White space, titles, clear headings, and pull quotes help readers see what’s most important on a page.

Considering Content Delivery

As the capabilities of our programs change, we are able to share files in new ways and easier than ever before. Just a few years ago, your three main choices for sharing a file were to print it, e-mail it, or put it on a disk (remember those?) and handing it to someone.

Today there are many different methods and formats you can use to share the content you create. Some examples include the following:

  • Prepare a document that you only intend to print (for example, invitations, postcards, or bookmarks).

  • Print a document but also preserve it as a PDF file readers can download from your Web site.

  • Send a file by e-mail and also post it to a Windows Live SkyDrive account.

  • Save your file directly to a SharePoint Workspace where others on your team can work in it as well.

  • Save the file to your OneNote workbook.

  • Post content directly to your blog or Web site from your Word document.

  • Use the content in a presentation or worksheet.

Each of these avenues might cause you to rethink your design slightly. You might want to format pull quotes as body text if you’re posting to a blog, for example, or remove links from a document that will be distributed only in print.

Tip

One great way to learn more about effective document design is to notice what you like about the documents you receive. When do you feel drawn into reading a document and when does a document leave you cold? Knowing what captures your attention—especially if you read the document all the way to the end—is a key part of connecting with what will work for your audience.

Designing Backgrounds and Watermarks

The background of your document is, well...background, and as such it can sometimes be overlooked when we consider document design. However, the background you choose can gracefully support the text your document presents, helping the reader see the important points clearly and framing your ideas in the best possible light. But it can also overpower your text, making it difficult for readers to understand your points and generally detracting from the overall effect of your document. This section explores how to design effective backgrounds that are subtle and add to the overall design of your project.

This section also discusses watermarks. These are typically discreet text elements that you can include on the background of your pages that are often used when information is confidential or proprietary. In this capacity, they inform the reader that the information is not meant to be shared or that it belongs to your company alone. But watermarks are not limited to legal notices; some groups also use watermarks as a kind of brand booster. For example, you can include a shadowy picture of your product behind the text of your sales report.

Adding and Customizing a Page Background

The background you choose for your document should add to the readability of your text and not detract from it. Word 2010 gives you the choice of choosing a specific page color, adding a pattern, or selecting a texture for the pages you create. You can also apply a photo to the background of the page if you choose or apply a custom pattern to the page. This section introduces you to the various ways you can add a touch of design to your page background.

Tip

If the background does not appear on printed pages, you might need to change your print options. Click File to display Backstage view and then click Options. Then on the Display tab, in the Printing Options area, select the Print Background Colors and Images check box then click OK.

Applying Colors and Gradients

To add a color background to your document, on the Page Layout tab, click Page Color in the Page Background group, and then perform any of the following actions (see Figure 6-2):

  • Click a color in the Theme Colors area of the palette to choose a color that will be changed if you later choose a different theme.

  • Click a color in the Standard Colors area to choose a traditional color that will not be changed if you change the theme.

  • Click More Colors to access additional colors that you can apply to your background. You can then click your choice and click OK to add a color to the page.

Choose a color for the page background from the Theme Colors or Standard Colors area, or click More Colors to see additional choices.

Figure 6-2. Choose a color for the page background from the Theme Colors or Standard Colors area, or click More Colors to see additional choices.

Tip

Notice that when you apply a page background color the hue flows throughout your document. If you want to limit the background color change to a specific page or pages, create a section and choose one page color for the section and another page color for the rest of your document. To learn how to create sections in your document, see Chapter 5.

Using Fill Effects and Custom Backgrounds

Word 2010 lets you do more than simply add a color to your page background. You can also choose a special treatment for that color such as a gradient—one color gradually fades into another in the pattern you specify. In addition to gradients, you can add a pattern, texture, or even a custom picture to the background of your page.

To create a gradient for the colors on your page background, follow these steps:

  1. On the Page Layout tab, choose Page Color in the Page Background group.

  2. Click Fill Effects to display the Fill Effects dialog box.

  3. In the Fill Effects dialog box, the Gradient tab is selected (see Figure 6-3). Select the following options:

    • In the Colors area, choose whether you want to use one color, two colors, or one of Word 2010’s preset color combinations for the gradient background. If you choose One Color or Two Colors, click the Color arrow and choose the color you want to apply. If you choose Preset, you can choose the preset you want to use.

    • In the Transparency area, use the sliders to set the density range of the color effect. The From value sets the beginning density level (percent); the To value sets the darkest level for the gradient.

    • In the Shading Styles area, choose the direction in which you want the gradient to flow on the page. The Sample display shows you the effect of your choice.

  4. Click OK to apply the gradient effect to the current section in your document.

The Fill Effects dialog box gives you a number of ways to change the look of the page background.

Figure 6-3. The Fill Effects dialog box gives you a number of ways to change the look of the page background.

For special pages, such as a cover page or a section divider, you might want to do something special like apply a texture effect to a background page. The Texture tab in Word 2010 presents you with a variety of interesting textures that you can apply to the page (see Figure 6-4). Click the texture you want to use and the image appears in the Sample display. Click the OK button to add the texture.

Choose a texture for your page background to create a stylized look for a special page.

Figure 6-4. Choose a texture for your page background to create a stylized look for a special page.

Tip

You can apply your own files as textures by clicking the Other Texture button and choosing the graphic file in the Select Texture dialog box. Click OK to add the texture to the Texture gallery, and then select it and click OK to add it to the page.

Similarly, the Pattern and Picture tabs in the Fill Effects dialog box is where you can choose a specific pattern for the background or add a photo of your own to the page. On the Pattern tab, you can choose which color you’d like to make the foreground and which you want to apply to the background of the pattern (see Figure 6-5). On the Picture tab you can click Select Picture to choose the photo you want to use for the background of the page (Figure 6-6).

Select colors for the foreground and background of the pattern you select.

Figure 6-5. Select colors for the foreground and background of the pattern you select.

Add your own pictures for a special look on the page background.

Figure 6-6. Add your own pictures for a special look on the page background.

After you select a color or create a fill effect, Word automatically applies the background to the current document. You can see the background in all views except the Normal and Outline views.

Note

You can quickly check whether Word is configured to print background colors and images by previewing a document that contains background formatting. On the File tab, click Backstage view then click Print to preview the document.

If you later decide you want to remove the page background—whether it is a full page color, a gradient, pattern, texture, or picture—you can do so by clicking Page Color in the Page Background group on the Page Layout tab then clicking No Color.

Adding Watermarks to Printed Documents

Whether you want to identify your document as confidential, add your company name behind the scenes of your text, or add a logo to help reinforce your brand, you can add a watermark to a printed document by choosing the Watermark tool in the Page Background group on the Page Layout tab. The watermark is added as WordArt on the header and footer layer of your document, so you can edit the watermark easily after you place it, changing the content of the text or the style in which it is displayed.

When you click Watermark, the Watermark gallery appears, as shown in Figure 6-7. Scroll through the list to see the various styles. When you see a style you want to add, simply click it, or if you want to create your own, click Custom Watermark.

Choose from ready-made watermark styles or create your own in the Watermark gallery.

Figure 6-7. Choose from ready-made watermark styles or create your own in the Watermark gallery.

You can also create a custom watermark using a picture or text by clicking Custom Watermark at the bottom of the Watermark gallery and configuring your settings in the Printed Watermark dialog box (shown in Figure 6-8), such as adding a picture watermark or customizing your own text.

You can use the Printed Watermark dialog box to add picture and text watermarks to your documents.

Figure 6-8. You can use the Printed Watermark dialog box to add picture and text watermarks to your documents.

If you later want to remove the watermark you have added, simply choose Watermark in the Page Background group and click Remove Watermark.

Editing a Watermark

If you need to edit your watermark after you add it to your page, you can select it by first double-clicking in a header or footer area to activate the header and footer layer of your document. When the header area is active and the Header & Footer Tools tab is visible on the Ribbon, you can click the watermark. The WordArt tools tab appears on the Ribbon.

Now you can edit the watermark as needed, using any of the WordArt tools that are available to you. You can change the style or direction; modify the fill or outline color; set shadow effects and direction; and much more (see Figure 6-9).

You can edit a watermark by selecting it on the header and footer layer and using the WordArt Tools to make your changes.

Figure 6-9. You can edit a watermark by selecting it on the header and footer layer and using the WordArt Tools to make your changes.

You can insert a custom picture or text watermark by configuring the settings in the Printed Watermark dialog box. To display the dialog box, click Watermark in the Page Background group on the Page Layout tab and then click Custom Watermark. In the Printed Watermark dialog box, choose one of the following:

  • Picture Watermark. To insert a picture watermark, click the Picture Watermark option and then click the Select Picture button to choose a picture for the watermark. You can use color or grayscale pictures for watermarks. The Scale option lets you specify a size for the watermark picture. In most cases, you should select the Washout check box (which is selected by default) so that the watermark is unobtrusive and doesn’t interfere with your document’s readability.

  • Text Watermark. To insert a text watermark, click the Text Watermark option and then type custom text in the Text box or choose from text in the Text list. Next, configure the Text, Font, Size, Color, and Layout settings. You can display the watermark text diagonally or horizontally. In most cases, you should select the Semitransparent check box so that the watermark doesn’t interfere with your document’s readability.

Once you configure your picture or text watermark settings, click Apply to preview the watermark without closing the dialog box in case you need to make additional modifications. If you like the results, click Close.

Adding Columns

Columns are another big-impact item that influences the overall look and layout of your document. It seems like just a few years ago business documents were pretty ho-hum, single column affairs. Today with the advent of feature-full programs like Word, design has made its way into even the most traditional business reports. We’ve discovered that in some situations columns not only look good, but they also help you communicate your information in a more effective way. For example, you might use columns to:

  • Use the space in your document most effectively and fit more text on the page.

  • Group similar ideas together in one part of a page so readers can see comparisons easily.

  • Provide readers with a feeling that the small chunks of text are easy to read and understand. This enhances readability and signals that readers won’t have to work too hard to get your meaning.

  • Vary the page layout and increase reader interest.

  • Allow for flexibility around graphics, tables, and pictures on your page.

Planning Your Columns

When you begin to plan your project—especially if you’re planning a fairly complex document—it’s a good idea to start out not at the computer keyboard but at the drawing board, sketching out how you want your pages to look. Will you use two columns or three? Do you want the columns to have equal widths, or will one be narrow and the other two wide? If you use two columns on the first page will you want three on the next? Thinking carefully about your document’s final appearance will go a long way toward helping you create it the way you want.

Word gives you the option of creating more than a dozen columns, but in all but the rarest circumstances (such as a simple word or number list), you won’t use that many columns—the width of each column would be a scant 0.5 inch! Most traditional documents use one, two, or three columns. In some instances, you might use four, but even those columns will provide little room for more than a few words on a line.

As you prepare your column layout, consider these questions.

  • How many columns do you want? Table 6-1 lists the column widths Word uses by default for a table with one to six columns on an 8.5 × 11-inch portrait page with the Equal Column Width option selected.

  • Will you include graphics around which your columns need to flow?

  • How much space do you want to leave between columns?

  • Do you want your columns to be of equal widths or varied widths?

  • Will you include a table of contents column that might require more space than a traditional text column?

  • Do you want the column settings to extend the full length of the page, or do you want to include a section at the top or bottom of the page that is only a single column?

Table 6-1. Default Column Widths in Word 2010

Number of Columns

Width of Each Column (Inches)

Width of Each Column (Centimeters)

1

6 inches

15.24 cm

2

2.75 inches with 0.5-inch spacing

6.98 cm

3

1.67 inches with 0.5-inch spacing

4.23 cm

4

1.13 inches with 0.5-inch spacing

2.86 cm

5

0.8 inches with 0.5-inch spacing

2.03 cm

6

0.58 inches with 0.5-inch spacing

1.48 cm

Tip

If you know you’re going to create a multicolumn document, the easiest way to begin is by looking through the Word templates. Word gives you access to a huge collection of template styles from which you can likely find a ready-made column arrangement that fits your needs.

Creating a Multicolumn Document

Creating columns is really a simple task, but it does require a little forethought. First, do you plan to create multiple columns for the entire document or for a section, page, or paragraph? The following sections show you how to create columns first for the full document, then for parts of a document, and finally for selected text only.

You can create columns several different ways. The easiest method is to simply click the Columns button in the Page Setup group on the Page Layout tab and choose the number of columns you want to create. If you have certain specifications—for example, exact column measurements, a spacing requirement of a certain size, or more than four columns—use the Columns dialog box to choose those settings.

Tip

Be sure to display your document in Print Layout view before you begin working with columns. In Draft view, Web Layout view, and Outline view, you won’t see the columns as they will appear in print. Click the view control you want to use on the right side of the status bar to change the view.

Using the Columns Tool

The easiest way to create a multicolumn document is to click Columns in the Page Setup group on the Page Layout tab. When you click the button, the choice of one to three columns is presented, as shown in Figure 6-10. In addition to the choice of one to three columns, you can choose a column style (narrow column on the left or right) from the available choices. Click the column setting you want, and Word will automatically update the layout in your document.

Tip

If you want to create columns for only a portion of a document, select the text to which you want to apply the column format before you click the Columns button.

Using the Columns gallery, you can select up to three columns from the Standard toolbar.

Figure 6-10. Using the Columns gallery, you can select up to three columns from the Standard toolbar.

Choosing Column Specs in the Columns Dialog Box

If you want to create your columns to meet certain specifications—for example, you’re creating a follow-up report using a style your department has adopted as its report format of choice—you can create and work with columns settings by using the Columns dialog box. Here’s how:

  1. On the Page Layout tab, click Columns in the Page Setup group.

  2. Click More Columns at the bottom of the Columns gallery to display the Columns dialog box.

  3. Click the column format you want to use.

    The Preview section shows you the format you’ve selected, as shown in Figure 6-11.

  4. Enter the new values for the column.

    After you click outside the box, the Preview window updates to reflect your changes.

  5. Continue changing columns and any other settings as needed in the Columns dialog box.

    You can enter specific column settings in the Columns dialog box.

    Figure 6-11. You can enter specific column settings in the Columns dialog box.

  6. Click OK to apply your formatting.

By default, Word assumes that you want your columns to be of equal widths (unless you choose either the Left or Right preset selection) and that you don’t want a line to be placed between the columns you create. If you want to add a line between columns, select the Line Between check box; Word will add the appropriate line.

Creating Columns for Part of a Document

The column settings that you choose will extend by default from the current cursor position through the end of the document (or the end of the current section). But Word also makes it easy for you to vary the way columns are used in your document without tying the settings to a specific section. You might want, for example, to open your document with a paragraph in single-column format and then break up the rest of the document into two columns, as shown in Figure 6-12.

Note

If you add one or more section breaks to your document, you’ll find that this section becomes one of your choices in the Apply To box in the Columns dialog box. It also becomes the default choice by Word as to where to apply the columns.

You can mix column formats easily in the same document.

Figure 6-12. You can mix column formats easily in the same document.

To create a mixed format, follow these steps:

  1. Type the opening paragraph with the document set to single-column format.

  2. Click to position the pointer where you want to create columns. On the Page Layout tab, click Columns in the Page Setup group.

  3. Click More Columns to display the Columns dialog box.

  4. Choose the number of columns you want and enter any spacing specifications as needed.

  5. Select the Line Between check box if you want a line to be displayed between columns.

  6. Click the Apply To arrow and choose This Point Forward, then click OK to close the Columns dialog box and return to the document.

Creating Unequal Column Widths

Although Word automatically sets a number of options for you in the Columns dialog box, you can change those options to create columns that suit your exact document specifications. By choosing the Left or Right preset format, you can tell Word to create columns of unequal width. When you choose the Left preset format, the column to the left will be smaller than the one to the right; when you choose the Right preset, the right column will be the smaller one.

To customize column widths using the Columns dialog box, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Columns in the Page Setup group on the Page Layout tab and then click More Columns to display the Columns dialog box.

  2. Click in the Number Of Columns box and type the number of columns you want to create.

  3. Clear the Equal Column Width check box; the Width settings will become available so that you can customize the settings, as shown in Figure 6-13.

    Use the Columns dialog box to specify the width and spacing for unequal columns.

    Figure 6-13. Use the Columns dialog box to specify the width and spacing for unequal columns.

  4. Modify the Width And Spacing settings for your columns to get the effect you want.

    The Preview section shows the result of your choices.

  5. Click OK to save your choices and return to the document.

Changing Column Width on the Ruler

You can also change the width of columns by dragging the column margins on the ruler at the top of your work area. If you want to keep the spacing the same between columns, position the pointer at the center of the spacing bar. When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, move the spacing bar in the direction you want to change the column. For example, to make the left column narrower, drag the spacing bar to the left. To make the left column wider, drag the spacing bar to the right. If you want to resize the columns to a precise measurement, press and hold the Alt key while you drag the spacing bar (see Figure 6-14).

You can easily change the width of a column by dragging the spacing bar on the ruler.

Figure 6-14. You can easily change the width of a column by dragging the spacing bar on the ruler.

You can also increase or decrease the amount of spacing between columns by dragging the edge of the spacing bar to the right or left. For example, to extend the spacing into the right column, drag the right edge of the spacing bar to the right. The size of the right column is reduced by the same amount of space you added to the spacing bar. Note that if the Equal Column Widths check box is selected in the Columns dialog box, all columns will be resized when you click and drag one column edge.

Flowing Text into a Column Layout

Everything in Word should be as simple as putting text into a column layout. When you’re turning a single-column document into a multiple-column document, Word does all the work for you. You simply display the Columns dialog box, choose the number of columns you want, specify any width and spacing settings, choose whether you want a line divider, and click OK. Word then formats the document as you selected, whether you already have a document full of text or an empty page.

If you’re entering text into columns as you go, no text will appear in the second column until the first column has been filled. That is, if you intend to have only headings in the left column and flow your text into the right column of a two-column format, you’ll need to fill the left column with line spaces between headings until you get to the end of the column and Word wraps back up to the top of the right column. In the example shown in Figure 6-15, you can see the paragraph marks showing the line spacing that was inserted to cause the text to flow to the next column.

Before text will flow to the second column, the first column must be filled.

Figure 6-15. Before text will flow to the second column, the first column must be filled.

Note

There is a more efficient way to do this, if your left column is going to be blank except for perhaps a heading at the top. When you know you’ve entered all you want in a column, you should add a column break instead of using empty paragraphs. You’ll learn how to do this in the section titled Inserting Column Breaks.

Beginning a New Column Layout

Longer documents often require a number of different general layouts. For example, the introduction and summary of your report might read better in a single-column format. When you begin to talk about the specifications of your new product line, however, you might go to a multicolumn format that shows photos of your products on the left and descriptions on the right. You might also want to incorporate graphs and tables in the body of those columns.

How can you easily switch between column layouts without disturbing the way text flows in your document? The easiest way to change to a multicolumn format is to place the insertion point where you want to start the new column layout and then follow these steps.

  1. On the Page Layout tab, choose Columns in the Page Setup group.

  2. Click the More Columns option in the Columns gallery.

  3. In the Columns dialog box, select the number of columns you want to include and then add width and spacing settings, if necessary.

    Select the Line Between check box if you want a line separating the columns.

  4. In the Apply To box, click the arrow then choose This Point Forward.

  5. Select the Start New Column check box.

  6. Click OK to return to the document.

    Word moves to the top of the next column, and your column settings are in effect.

Inserting Column Breaks

When you’ve entered everything you want in a specific column, you can add a column break to force the text flow to the top of the next column. To add a column break, follow these steps.

  1. Place the insertion point where you want to insert the column break.

  2. On the Page Layout tab, click Breaks.

    The Breaks gallery appears, as shown in Figure 6-16.

    You can force a column break to begin entering text at the top of the next column.

    Figure 6-16. You can force a column break to begin entering text at the top of the next column.

  3. In the Page Breaks section, click Column.

You are returned to the document, and Word adds a Column break at the insertion point. The text in the column past that point will be wrapped to the top of the next column.

Removing Column Breaks

In Word, you can delete columns as easily as you add them. They can be removed simply by removing a character—just position the insertion point immediately following a break and press Backspace (or select the break itself and press Delete). The column break is removed and the text is flowed back into the previous column.

What’s Next?

This chapter covered some of the basics you need to consider as you begin to design your document. Thinking through your design, setting up the background, and choosing the column format you want to use are fundamental for the design of the rest of your document. In the next chapter, you focus on adding, importing, and leveraging the content you add to your Word 2010 documents.

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