Crabby Office Lady

Here are five of my best Word 2002 tips in all their glory. Today we'll talk about altering the Normal template once and for all, how to create a zero with a slash, reduce the glut of white space in print view, orient your text, and turn off the much-maligned drawing canvas.

Microsoft Word is one of the most widely used Office programs. Some of you may think that to use Word, all you need to know is how to type, create and open documents, save, and enlist the aid of the spelling checker. That's basically true. But for Crabby's sake, expand your horizons a little, will you? Think of me as your tips and tricks diving instructor: Put on your wet suit, stick that snorkel in your mouth, and let's plumb the depths of Word.

The Word template: Why be Normal?

Sometimes the Normal template (the one that opens each time you create a new document in Microsoft Word) isn't exactly laid out as you'd like. Okay, so you tweak it each time, but what a time-waster that is! Why don't you just set up the Normal template to look exactly as you want it to? Good question.

To change the Normal template

1. Click Start > Run > and then type (or copy): C:\Documents and Settings\your user name\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates.
2. Select the file Normal.dot.
3. On the Edit menu, click Copy. Click anywhere in the folder, and on the Edit menu, click Paste.
4. Right-click that original Normall file, click Rename, and rename it Default (or whatever you want).
5. Right-click the copy you made, rename it Normal.
6. Right-click the new Normal, and click Open. (Don't just double-click it — that would open a new document, and we want to open the template itself).
7. Make any kind of changes you want — change toolbars, views, default fonts — anything at all. Then, on the File menu, click Save.
   
   By naming the new file Normal, you've created the new template that Word opens automatically. It's a beautiful thing.

It's a zero, it's an O, it's Super Symbol!

Yes, like you, I once naïvely believed that a zero with a slash through it —— would appear in the Symbol dialog box that you get to from the Insert menu. But alas, it doesn't, so when I wanted to use this symbol, I had to take matters into my own hands. The procedure below applies to Word 2002, but I'm also supplying links to articles that tell you how to achieve the slashed zero in both Word 2000 and Word 97.

To create a slashed zero in other versions of Word

• Create a slashed zero in Word 97
• Create a slashed zero in Word 2000

One more thing: Thanks to Woody's Office Watch for noticing a missing step in an earlier version of this column, as well as for providing the inspiration to update the information from the above-referenced Knowledge Base articles.

To create a zero with a slash through it

1. On the Insert menu, click Field.
2. In the Field Names box, click Eq.
3. Click Field codes (toward the bottom of that dialog screen).
   Note   Do not click Equation Editor or you will be lost forever.
4. In the Field Codes box type EQ \o(0,/) .
   You can copy and paste that from here.
5. Click OK.
6. Now, select the slashed zero, right-click, and then click Toggle Field Codes.
7. Remove the extra space after the right parenthesis.
8. Right-click again and click Toggle Field Codes . (Yes again.)

The result should be a beautiful zero with a slash through it. Good for you!

Now, let's all create an AutoCorrect entry that will let you type in something that stands for the slashed zero and have the actual, slashed zero appear (without having to go through all that you did above).

To create an AutoCorrect entry for a slashed zero

1. Select the slashed zero in your document.
2. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.
3. In the Replace box type whatever combination you want Word to turn into a slashed zero. An example is *0.
4. Click OK.
5. Get on with your life.

White space: Show it, hide it, make up your mind

This next tip comes from my next-door neighbor here at work. Can you even imagine how fantastic it is to have a Word expert right next door? Of course you can't; that's why you're reading this.

Some of you like to work in Print view and some of you like to work in Normal view. I personally like Print view but all that white space gives me a headache. Here's a neat little trick that will give you the best of both worlds: Hide all that white space on the top and bottom of each page and still remain in Print view.

To show or hide white space in Print view

• Move the insertion point to the top or bottom of the page and click when you see Show White Space  or Hide White Space  .

Orientation: Turn this way and that way and away we go

I get these whiny e-mails all the time about how WordPerfect can rotate text, and so why can't Word? Slander, I say! Libel, I shout! Word can rotate text (and I don't mean just WordArt either). The only thing is, to change the orientation of text, the text must be in a text box or a table cell. How difficult is that?

To rotate text in Word

1. Click the drawing object or table cell that contains the text you want to change.
2. On the Format menu, click Text Direction.
3. Click the orientation you want.

Drawing canvas: Turn it off and stop your crying

And speaking of whining, users of Word 2002 have clogged servers worldwide with their nasty e-mails about (and I quote)

• "That jail that appears when I try to insert a piece of art"
• "That imaginary boundary that I'm always fighting"

What these creative (not to mention crazed) people are talking about is this: When you insert a drawing object (a graphic you draw or insert and that can be changed) into Word, the drawing canvas is placed around it.

The drawing canvas is supposed to help you arrange your drawing in a document, and it works great if your drawing consists of several shapes. Many of you also wrote to me about how hard it is to position drawing objects in Word; that's what the drawing canvas is for. (No, it wasn't created just to torture you and give me something to do.)

That being said, if you're so torn up about it, turn it off so that we can give my e-mail server a break!

To turn off the drawing canvas

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the General tab.
3. Under General options, deselect the last option, Automatically create drawing canvas when inserting AutoShapes.

"You can't teach an old dogma new tricks." — Dorothy Parker

About the author

Annik Stahl, the Crabby Office Lady columnist, takes all of your complaints, compliments, and knee-jerk reactions to heart. Therefore, she graciously asks that you let her know whether this column was useful to you — or not — by entering your feedback using the Was this information helpful? tool below. And remember: If you don't vote, you can't complain.