Why place figure/caption in a 2-cell table?

[Mister.Fred.Ma]

I am trying to establish a robust way to create figures in Word 2000,
including both external files and internally drawn line-art figures.
I am adopting practices from a Word 2003 corporate template. In the
latter, a figure and it's caption are placed in a 2-row 1-column table
(top cell for figure, bottom for caption). Is there any reason why
one wouldn't simply dispense with the table and simply have 2
consecutive paragraphs, the first for the figure and the second for
the caption? Thanks.

 

[Stefan Blom]

The table has probably been used to make the text lines (of the
caption) shorter, so that it doesn't occupy more horizontal space than
the (inline) figure (assuming that the figure is smaller than the
width of the page).

 

[Keith Howell]

Take a look at "Narrowboat for Sale" flyer in www.drawingwithword.com
It is a mixture of text boxes, line art and a picture all placed where I
wanted them (and probably grouped to keep them together).

If you specify text wrapping for your picture wou will find it easier to
manipulate along with line art

 

[Mister.Fred.Ma]

The table has probably been used to make the text lines (of the
caption) shorter, so that it doesn't occupy more horizontal space than
the (inline) figure (assuming that the figure is smaller than the
width of the page).

Thanks, Stefan.

Fred

 

[Mister.Fred.Ma]

Take a look at "Narrowboat for Sale" flyer inwww.drawingwithword.com
It is a mixture of text boxes, line art and a picture all placed where I
wanted them (and probably grouped to keep them together).

If you specify text wrapping for your picture wou will find it easier to
manipulate along with line art

Thanks for the link, Keith. I've tried preparing a technical document
using only Word before. At the current time, I'm pursuing the
approach of using Powerpoint for illustrations, which seems to
eliminate much pain, though I do seem to have to iron out a few things
first.

Fred

 

[Stefan Blom]

Note that, instead of using a table, you can place an inline object
and its caption inside a frame, if you need text to wrap around them:
Just select the object and the text, and click the Insert Frame button
on the Forms toolbar to create the frame.

 

[Stefan Blom]

But note that it is more complicated to add captions to objects that
are not placed "In line with text" (Format | <object>, Layout tab),
since Word insists on putting the caption inside a text box, which can
cause trouble when updating the caption (SEQ) fields. Using table
cells or a frame is more convenient.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP


in message