Vary Text Alignment in Table Cell

[egappleby]

I'm trying to left align a phrase, and right align another phrase all
within the same line of text within a single table cell. I've read (via
Word Help) that it is theoretically possible to vary alignment within
the same line of text by positioning the cursor over the relevant
margin (left or right) until the I-beam appears with the appropriate
alignment symbol. My problem: I cannot get the I-beam to appear no
matter where I position the cursor -- regardless of if the text is in a
table cell or in just a regular Word doc. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

I'm trying to left align a phrase, and right align another phrase all

within the same line of text within a single table cell.

In a regular Word doc, the way you do this is to set a "right tab". Click on
the ruler once to set a tab where you want the right-aligned text, click
again on the tab you just set to bring up the Format | Tabs dialog, and
check the radio button for "right". The tab you just set will turn into an
arrow pointing left, and will be a right tab.

In a table, you do the same thing to set a right tab, *except* that since
hitting Tab in a table takes you to the next cell, you need to hit opt-Tab
to take you to the right tab you just set up.

(There are other ways to set tabs, that's just one. The I-beam method may be
one, I've just never used it and in fact, have no idea what it is talking
about. Note that the tab will only be active for the paragraph the cursor is
in at the time, or to the paragraphs you have selected, except that if you
then hit Enter from the paragraph where you set the tab, it will carry over
the formatting, including tabs, to the next paragraph).

Hope that helps, it is true for Word 2004 but I don't know what version you
are using.

 

[CyberTaz]

HI egappl-

Daiya's post is the better way to go about what you're doing, just make
sure your insertion point (blinking cursor) is in the cell where you
want to set the tab.

What you were referring to is a feature called "Click & Type" which
allows for double-clicking in a blank area of a page to establish an
insertion point. The lines at the bottom edge of your I-beam pointer
let you know whether text typed there will be aligned left, right, or
centered.

FWIW, I seldom use it because it creates "white space" in a different
way than I prefer, i.e. numerous carriage returns vertically, numerous
tab key strokes horizontally, etc. Okay if you are in a hurry or don't
care about other layout concerns, but just not my preferred way to get
it done. Also, the difficulty you encountered is probably because you
are trying to use it very close to where your insertion point already
is. Especially in a small cell, this can present a challenge because I
believe the feature was designed based on the assumption that it would
typically be used well away from other content on a page (in the center
of a blank page to create a centered title on a title page, for
example).

It is also something that can be disabled in Preferences, so you may be
having trouble with it if it is not activated.

Hope this is useful|:>)