Can't change margin settings

[MaryL]

I want to change the bottom margin so I can eliminate the last page of a
document that contains just a few lines of text. This should be a very
simple procedure, but I have been completely unsuccessful after several
attempts. I am using Office 2007 (Compatibility Mode) and Vista Home
Premium. If I go to Page Layout>Margins>Custom Margins, and change the
bottom to .75" instead of the default 1" (then click on "OK"), the entire
document remains exactly the same. There are no changes in page breaks,
lines on a page, etc.

Can someone explain what is going on and how I can produce this simple
change? In WordPerfect, I can view the margin guidelines and simply "grab"
them to move. However, I cannot locate a similar feature in Word.

Thanks,
MaryL

 

[Tony Jollans]

You can also click and drag margins in Word.

Small changes to margins do not necessarily cause text to move; there are
other factors that come into play - widow/orphan control for example.
Without more information it is impossible to say what may have happened in
your case, but some experimentation may be needed - for example, moving the
right margin just enough to squeeze an extra word on the right line can
sometimes have a dramatc effect.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Are you sure you changed the margin for the entire document and not just a
specific section? See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/FitCopy.htm for
other copyfitting methods.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[MaryL]

Thanks. I have had a great deal of difficulty trying to find some basics
for Word in either the help files or the manuals I have. For example, I
have done a lot of searching and cannot find the setting for widow and
orphan. That was one of the potential problems I thought of, but the
knowledge base directed me to settings that I do not even find in my
version. Likewise, I haven't found any way to drag the margin settings
because the guidelines do not show up on my computer. The references I have
found direct me to tabs that I do not even find on my version. For example,
one reference directs me to "Format." I cannot find a Format tab. Then I
was supposed to select "Normal." Again, where is it? The help files do not
seem to have an alphabetical search feature such as what I have in other
programs. Instead, there are very general topics, and I have not found what
I need after selecting many of those topics.

Can you give me some information on how to find and set (or unset) widows
and orphans and also how to view guidelines for margins so I could click and
drag them? I am aware that even a slight change in the left or right
margins will often make a change, but I should also be able to do the same
thing by changing the bottom margin. That is what does not seem to work for
me, and I have not been able to check widow and orphan because I haven't
found the location.

Thanks,
MaryL

 

[MaryL]

Correction to my information: I did locate margin settings on the rulers,
although I could find a way to see guidelines for the document. Changing
the settings on ruler also did not make any changes to the document. I
tried changing the L/R margins as an experiment, and even that just reverted
back to the original--no actual changes to the document.

MaryL

 

[MaryL]

Yes, I did change the margin for the entire document and not just for a
section or for "this point onward." I even tried reducing the left and
right margins, but that also did not change anything when I set it under
custom margins. I was able to easily change margins if I select one of the
settings that MS supplies, but I can't seem to create my own so I can get
the exact size I want. Even when I select one of the MS settings that
changes the left and right margins, I still have the problem of a few lines
of text flowing to the last page. I really need to be able to change only
the bottom margin for the entire document, but that does not "stick."
Tony's suggestion about widow and orphan setting seems likely, but I cannot
find that.

I am using Office 2007 in Compatibility Mode.

Thanks,
MaryL

 

[dp]

On the Home tab, go to little arrow to the right of Paragraph and it will
give choice of Indents & Spacing or Line & Page breaks (for widow /orphan).
Or could changing line spacing help you any?

To find new commands in 2007, I found this interactive guide helpful
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100744321033.aspx

 

[MaryL]

Thanks! That was very helpful. Widows and orphans was checked. I thought
I had searched everywhere, but I didn't see that.

MaryL