Chapter 8. Automate Away Annoyances with Macros

TEXT BOXES

Use Text Boxes for Complex Layouts

The Annoyance:

This is probably going to sound stupid, but never mind. I've been using Word for seven years now: letters , reports , even laying out a couple of novellas for a friend. I've used tables, pictures, frames , and more wizards than you can shake a staff at. But I've never used a text boxnor have I needed one. So I gotta ask: what are they for?

The Fix:

As you've figured out, text boxes are a fairly specialized item. They're most useful for laying out awkward little bits of text (pull quotes, teasers , jokes, you name it) that require precise placement. With the work you've described, you probably haven't needed themand you won't need them unless you start working with different types of documents.

Should you start creating more complex layouts in Word, such as newsletter or magazine pages that require carefully positioned boxes holding textor should curiosity overcome youhere's how to proceed:

1. Lay out the rest of your document. The best time to place your text boxes is when the rest of the document is close to its final state.

2. Choose Insert Text Box. Word changes the insertion point to a crosshair, and if youre in Normal view, Word changes to Print Layout view so that you can see what you're doing. Click where you want one corner of the text box, and drag in any direction to specify the size and proportions .

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   Tip: As with most other drawing objects, you can hold down Shift to constrain the text box to a square instead of a rectangle, hold down Ctrl to draw the text box centered on the point you click rather than placing a corner there, and hold down Ctrl+Shift to do both.

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3. To format the text box, right-click its frame, choose Format Text Box, and work in the Format Text Box dialog box.

4. To format the contents of the text box, select the contents (or part of them) and use standard formatting commands (for example, Format Font or Format Paragraph).

Create a Series of Linked Text Boxes

The Annoyance:

I'm using a set of six text boxes to present a case study alongside the main text of my report. The trouble is, I'm still writing the report, so the size of the text boxes keeps changing, and I'm forever having to bump text along from one of them to the nextor back to the previous one. It feels like I'm never going to get the darn thing finished.

The Fix:

The finishing is up to you, but Word can handle flowing the text from one text box to another if you link them together:

1. Create the text boxes (It sounds like you've done this step already.)

2. Enter the text in the first text box. In most cases, it's easiest to create and edit the text in a separate document in which you can see it all at once, and then paste it into the first text box when it's complete.

3. Right-click the frame of the first text box, and choose Create Text Box Link from the shortcut menu. The mouse pointer changes to a pouring jug. Click the next text box in the sequence to establish the link. Word flows the text to this text box.

4. Right-click the frame of the second text box, and repeat the linking procedure for the following text box. Repeat as necessary.

Once you've linked text boxes, you can navigate from one to another by right-clicking and choosing Next Text Box or Previous Text Box from the shortcut menu, or by using the Next Text Box and Previous Text Box buttons on the Text Box toolbar. To unlink a text box from the next text box, right-click its frame and choose Break Forward Link from the shortcut menu.