Problem changing margins

[Kathleen]

Word 2002 (XP) was working fine and then one day I cannot
change margins from within Page Setup. I get the message
that says "Settings you chose for the Left and Right
margins, column spacing...are too large for the width in
some sections." I've checked everything within Page Setup
and I believe it's all pretty standard. 8.5x11 paper,
Section Start: continuous; paper from 'default
tray'...etc.

Why is this happening all of a sudden and how do I fix
it? I can only change margins from within the document
using the ruler and that's a pain sometimes.

Thank you.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If you have or have had multiple columns in your document, the following
explanation by Office MVP Beth Melton may be what you need:

The problem you are encountering is due to your Column settings. Does your
document contain multiple columns or did it contain multiple columns at one
time?

To correct the problem you will need to go to each section (even if it is a
single column), select Format/Columns and click the appropriate number of
columns Presets. You need to verify that the "Equal Column Width" option at
the bottom is selected (even if it is disabled) prior to selecting OK.

Here is some background what is happening: The "Format Columns" command on
the toolbar does not set the "Equal Column Width" option. When you adjust
the page margins, orientation, etc., Word doesn't automatically resize the
columns to the new page width.

So by selecting the number of desired columns from the "Presets", the
"Equal Column Width" option is turned on. This is especially important if a
single column is selected because the "Equal Column Width" option is
disabled and selecting from the Presets is the only way to turn it on.

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