Text formatting problem

[Art Shotwell]

I'm trying to do some writing for a class project. I can't figure out how to
center only one line of text. Like for titles. This is in a screenplay
format. So, speakers should be centered. But, when I highlight the name and
hit Cmd E, Word centers all text. Why would it do that? And, how can I stop
it?

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Cmd-z immediately after should fix get you what you wanted.

If that works, then put the cursor in a word that misbehaves, go to
Format | Style, click Modify, uncheck the "automatically update" box and
check the "add to template" box. You may need to repeat this process on
old documents, but newly created ones should be fixed.

Full explanation here:
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/WholeDocumentReformatted.htm
(hit reload a few times if using Safari)

See also:
http://daiya.mvps.org/wordsetup.htm

 

[Art Shotwell]

Okay! Many thanks. The ideal word processor for me is one that let's me
type what I want without trying to change anything. I used AmiPro and Lotus
WordPro for many years and they did just that. Funny thing is that I thought
I had caught those automatic changes. I guess those settings are spread
around Word. Again, thanks. Art

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Hi Art,

Unfortunately, that is a very hidden automatic change, and actually, I
think it is not enabled by default--some bug seems to enable it.

There is a whole wave of alternatives to Word on the Mac, each with
their own loyal following, worth checking out. You might just go for
the built-in TextEdit, if you don't need any of Word's features. Free
with OS X.

The fact is, Word has gone from something like 300 to 3000 (pure
guesses) features in the last 10 years, and it's pretty tough to get
3000 features into an easy-to-use UI. WinWord just underwent a massive
overhaul of UI to try to deal with that, and Office 2008 is going to get
some of that, but I just don't know whether it's even a feasible goal.

Daiya