Tip #3772 - Paragraphs, Pages and Sections Too?
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Paragraphs,
Pages and Sections Too?
Okay, so we all have
experience with paragraphs and pages in MS Word, but did you know you
have further options for sub-dividing your documents?
No?
Well, let me fill
you in.
According to Word's
online help, Sections are "a portion of a document in which you set
certain page formatting options. You create a new section when you want
to change such properties as line numbering, number of columns or headers
and footers."
In other words, MS
Word has the ability to let you break your document into different pieces,
called sections, for purposes related to varying page layouts within the
same documents.
Hmm, this one could
be a very useful tool.
I mean, think about
it. You usually have one column of text, but what if you need two columns
in a certain area? What then?
The answer lies in
sections, of course.
You'd create a section
break just before and just after the text to be in a double column format.
You'd then set the column change for whatever text is between the two
breaks.
There are a lot of
situations that could easily be resolved if you know how to break the
document apart and format each piece as needed.
Interested in knowing
how?
Good! I was too, so
let's get right to the "how to."
The most obvious step
is to have a Word file open that would benefit from having different sections.
Once your file is
open, you'll need to place your cursor at the point where you
want to create a section break.
Now, use the Insert
menu, Break choice.
The Break window will
open, giving you a list of choices.
For section breaks,
you're looking at the bottom where you'll find four choices:
- The Next
Page choice "inserts a section break and breaks the page
so that the next section starts at the top of the next page."
- The Continuous
choice "inserts a section break and starts the new section
immediately, without inserting a page break."
- The Even
Page choice "inserts a section break and starts the next
section on the next even-numbered page. If the section break falls on
an even-numbered page, Word leaves the next odd-numbered page blank."
- The Odd
Page choice "inserts a section break and starts the next
section on the next odd-numbered page. If the section break falls on
an odd-numbered page, Word leaves the next even-numbered page blank."
Those last two options
could come in pretty handy for projects that will eventually be printed
in a double sided format. They can help when you always want the "chapters"
to consistently start on the same side of the book.
Whatever choice you
make, for whatever reasons, select one of the section
break types and click OK.
If you chose a break
that causes a new page, you'll find your cursor on that new page when
you're returned to your document.
If you chose a continuous
break, the document will look the same, but don't be fooled, the break
is there all the same.
Whatever type you
choose, you'll find it much easier to manage multiple formatting arrangements
within the same document if you just take a little break!
~ April
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