NORMAL.DOT AND DEFAULT SETTINGS

Chapter 4. Formatting and Layout

As you saw in the previous chapter, getting text into a document and doing basic editing provides plenty of annoyancesbut formatting and layout offer even more. Don't worry, though: this chapter shows you how to wrestle most of these annoyances into submission, and how to work around the rest.

Your first order of business is to sort out Normal.dot . If the default font, view, and margins aren't to your liking in Normal.dot , they won't be in any documents based on it eitherwhich means all documents that you don't specifically base on another template.

Next up are direct formatting tips, numbering woes, and advice on using Word's styles. Formatting is easy to apply in moderation but can quickly become confusing, especially when Word starts switching the language on you without warning. Automatic numbered lists can be a great time-saverwhen they work. Styles can save you even more time, provided that you know how to create them, apply them effectively, and deal with their quirks .

The second half of the chapter grapples with placing graphics where you want them (and making sure they don't get deleted by accident ), controlling Word's enthusiasm for creating hyperlinks , using tabs correctly, and creating complex headers and footers.