Table columns on different pages

[Roger Morris]

Word (Mac) 2004 (11.2) and Mac OS 10.4.6

I have an 8 page document comprising a single word table of two columns.

Column 1 can be considered to be directions or a commentary while column
2 is the main text.

The text heights col 1 and col 2 of any row do not always match (neither
do the styles used).

So far so good - no problems here.

I want to print (or make a printable document eg pdf) where my column 1
is on the left (even) pages of a booklet and my column 2 is on the right
(odd) pages of the booklet.

So as the bookelt is opened the reader will see p2-p3 then p4-p5 then
p6-p7. (page 1 and 8 will be the front and back covers respectively)

Printing booklets is usually easy - but - how can I split the columns
into left and right pages whilst keeping row heights frozen so that rows
will still match across facing pages?

(alternatively, how can I put a vertical page break between the columns?
again, keeping the row heights frozen)

It is freezing the row height that seems to be the greatest obstacle.

Ideas will be welcomed and appreciated.

Roger

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hi Roger:

Word won't span a page across sheets, or a table across pages.

So you either do this in Excel, or you do it as single-column tables.

You can't freeze a row height in a Word table: if you want the rows to line
up, you set the cell text position to Top and make sure you *do* use the
same style for the text in each column.

Disable "Allow row to break across pages" and don't put more than one
paragraph in each cell, and things will line up perfectly in a Word table.

If you don't want to do that, you need to prepare each page as a graphic,
using the drawing tools to position each row of text. Since a Word graphic
will not span across pages either, it's a bit fiddly to get things to line
up.

If I were doing it, and I *had* to do it in word, I would use single-column
tables ensuring the same style in each and one paragraph per row.

Cheers

Word (Mac) 2004 (11.2) and Mac OS 10.4.6

I have an 8 page document comprising a single word table of two columns.

Column 1 can be considered to be directions or a commentary while column
2 is the main text.

The text heights col 1 and col 2 of any row do not always match (neither
do the styles used).

So far so good - no problems here.

I want to print (or make a printable document eg pdf) where my column 1
is on the left (even) pages of a booklet and my column 2 is on the right
(odd) pages of the booklet.

So as the bookelt is opened the reader will see p2-p3 then p4-p5 then
p6-p7. (page 1 and 8 will be the front and back covers respectively)

Printing booklets is usually easy - but - how can I split the columns
into left and right pages whilst keeping row heights frozen so that rows
will still match across facing pages?

(alternatively, how can I put a vertical page break between the columns?
again, keeping the row heights frozen)

It is freezing the row height that seems to be the greatest obstacle.

Ideas will be welcomed and appreciated.

Roger

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi John -

On 6/24/06 1:18 AM, in article C0C3082D.3BC44%[email protected], "John McGhie

You can't freeze a row height in a Word table:

I'm confused by this, John - or maybe I'm just taking it out of context -
but what about Table>Table Properties - Row: Specify Height:_ Exactly:_?

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Roger Morris]

Hi John -

On 6/24/06 1:18 AM, in article C0C3082D.3BC44%[email protected], "John McGhie



I'm confused by this, John - or maybe I'm just taking it out of context -
but what about Table>Table Properties - Row: Specify Height:_ Exactly:_?

Yes Bob, you can do that, and I could (? - big 'maybe') make a script to
go down one single column table on one page reading each row height and
setting the corresponding row height in the other single column table on
another page to be the same. EXCEPT that there doesn't seem to be any
means to *read* the row height - you can only set it!

John, Thanks for your comments and tips.

I did look into saving each page as a PDF then graphically cropping and
manipulating the pdfs. But what a long slow business that was turning
out to be. No good unless it could be easily and reliably automated.

I am also looking at an Excel solution but am now more than ever
convinced that a fundamental rethink is in order. (off I go, back to
John's post ... )

Roger

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hi Bob:

I completely mis-stated that

You *can* freeze the row height, but it does you no good to do so

If you try it, you will see why. It results in a really peculiar effect in
which the text in the table disappears below the bottom of the row and
becomes invisible.

What I *should* have said is "You can freeze the row height, but you cannot
stop the user typing more text in the cells than will fit in the row. When
they do, the extra text disappears!"

It's not really a useful technique for getting the rows to line up across
facing pages. But I shouldn't have said you can't do it

Cheers

Hi John -

On 6/24/06 1:18 AM, in article C0C3082D.3BC44%[email protected], "John McGhie



I'm confused by this, John - or maybe I'm just taking it out of context -
but what about Table>Table Properties - Row: Specify Height:_ Exactly:_?

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410

 

[CyberTaz]

Thanx for the clarification, John. I completely understand the point you
make about 'disappearing text' (which does necessitate awareness &
cooperation on the part of the user) as well as the fact that it applies to
a complete row rather than individual cells. Obviously not the solution in
this case, as you aptly point out, but I've found it useful in a number of
situations.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac