Can ruler be marked off in tenths of inch?

P

Peter Rooney

(Word 2003) The ruler is measured in inches, which are divided into 8 parts:
for halves, quarters, and eighths.
Instead of this, I would like the ruler divided into 1/10s of an inch. Then
I could set line length to be exact, by pulling in the right margin, and set
exact indents and hanging indents. As it is, I have to approximate: I can't
make a line of 3.7 inches, the closest I can come to it is 3.75 inches.
Is there some setting that would accomplish what I want?

(P.S. I know the ruler can be measured in centimeters, points, or picas, but
I don't see how that would help)
 
L

Luc

Peter,
Hmm, my first answer does not seem to show up. If this is a repeat, please
forgive.
I know of no way to change the measurements on the ruler to tenths of an inch.
On the other hand you can set an indent or a margin to an exact setting by
Alt+dragging in the ruler, the exact measurement will appear whilst dragging.
It will take some effort but you can set it to the measurement you need.
Also if you set the indent or margin in the menu you can type in an exact
measurement.
If i misunderstood your question I am sure someone else will set me straight.
Luc Sanders
MVP - PowerPoint
 
T

Terry Farrell

No way at all. Back in the days before decimalisation was forced on us,
rulers often came with inches in tenths along one side of the ruler and
inches in eights and sixteenths along the other side. Now we get centimetres
instead of inches in tenths. It does seem surprising that the ruler hasn't
followed the modern trend for decimals though <go>

However, you can draw a line any length you want using most common
measurements (inches, centimeters, millimeters, points and picas). Draw the
line approximately the length required then right-click on the line and
select Format. In the Size tab, type in the width of line you need. If you
want to use non-default measurements, just add the correct abbreviation for
the units. So you can type in 1.7 in or 4.318 cm and you will get the exact
line you need.
 
J

Jay Freedman

In addition, you can improve the accuracy of the "approximate" length by
adjusting the drawing grid.

On the Drawing toolbar, click Draw > Grid. In the dialog, set the horizontal
and vertical spacing to 0.1", and confirm that "Snap objects to grid" is
checked. That won't change the markings on the ruler, but any lines or
AutoShapes that you draw will start and end on 0.1" increments unless you
hold the Alt key while drawing. (The grid can also be made visible by
checking the appropriate box in the Grid dialog.)

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
P

Peter Rooney

These are good suggestions. I didn't know about ALT+Drag - it's hard to read
the figures, though; so I think it's better to use the Format-Paragraph or
Format-Tab menus where possible. Using ALT-Drag, you can drag a tab so that
it lines up with text columns in the document. I am working with
nonproportional fonts, like Lucida Console. Each character occupies 1/10 of
an inch, so the tabs and hanging indent can be lined up with the column you
want.
It's interesting to know how to size a drawn line, although that's not what
I'm doing.
Thanks, all.
 
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