Layout with margin sections for topics

Hi all,

I've been looking for hours for a way to make Word do a two column setup which would have the larger column contain the content and the smaller side column contain headings at different points. I've done a "graphic rendition" of what I mean and posted it at http://www.ugrad.cs.ubc.ca/~k6s3/word.gif

I hope that's clear.

Thanks

I don't think it will be possible to do this with a table or newspaper-style
columns because of the mirror effect. But you can use frames. Select "Mirror
margins" in Page Setup and make the outside margin large enough to
accommodate your headings. Then include a frame in the formatting of your
heading styles.

To get started on this, insert a Heading 1, select it, and Insert Frame
(using the button on the Forms toolbar). Position your frame roughly in the
margin, then double-click on it to open the Format Frame dialog. Set its
horizontal position as Outside Relative to Page (which will put it just
outside the margin) and the vertical position as 0" Relative to Paragraph.
Define a width that will accommodate your headings and a distance from text
that will allow enough breathing room. You'll probably want the height to be
Auto. Once you have all this the way you want it, update the Heading 1
style. The next time you apply Heading 1, the paragraph will be in a frame
in the outside margin.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Ali" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I've been looking for hours for a way to make Word do a two column setup
which would have the larger column contain the content and the smaller side
column contain headings at different points. I've done a "graphic rendition"
of what I mean and posted it at http://www.ugrad.cs.ubc.ca/~k6s3/word.gif

I hope that's clear.

Thanks

There are three fairly straightforward ways to do this:

1. Use a table. Start a new row for each side head. Hard to manage if your
body text is long. You'll need to start a new table for each page to flip
the left and right column widths.

2. Set the page margins to mirror for left and right, sized for the main
text column. Put the side heads in textboxes anchored to the first paragraph
of the related text in the body. There's no problem about placing text boxes
outside the margins. This is how I'd do it. You can define autotext entries
for the left and right side-heads, to get the positioning consistent.

3. As for 2, but using frames instead of textboxes. Might be preferable if
your side-heads are included in a table of contents.


As a separate issue, your right-hand page design is likely to be a bit
awkward for your readers because it calls for an unnatural eye movement: you
have to start two-thirds of the way across the page (at the start of the
heading) then go right (to the end of the heading), then left (back to the
start of line) then back to the middle. Clever graphics, lousy typography.



"Ali" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I've been looking for hours for a way to make Word do a two column setup
which would have the larger column contain the content and the smaller side
column contain headings at different points. I've done a "graphic rendition"
of what I mean and posted it at http://www.ugrad.cs.ubc.ca/~k6s3/word.gif

I hope that's clear.

Thanks

Thanks for your replies. I was thinking in the same directions, but your instructions do help alot. Now I'm wondering if there is any software package that will actually do this out of the box without me having to do all these awkward textbox and frame procedures. I mean does openOffice or WordPerfect have such a feature? I realize this is not the place to ask this but if someone knows a package that might be helpful, I would be thankful if they could let me know.

Thanks

It's not a big enough deal to warrant third party software. There's nothing
awkward about using frames and textboxes. (Damn sight quicker than
installing and learning another piece of software, that's for sure!)


"Ali" wrote in message
...
Thanks for your replies. I was thinking in the same directions, but your
instructions do help alot. Now I'm wondering if there is any software
package that will actually do this out of the box without me having to do
all these awkward textbox and frame procedures. I mean does openOffice or
WordPerfect have such a feature? I realize this is not the place to ask this
but if someone knows a package that might be helpful, I would be thankful if
they could let me know.

Thanks

If you follow Suzanne's advice and modify the relevant heading styles
to include frame formatting, I think you'll find it to be a very easy
method to put headings in the margin, once it has been properly setup.

--
Stefan Blom


"Ali" skrev i meddelandet
...
Thanks for your replies. I was thinking in the same directions, but
your instructions do help alot. Now I'm wondering if there is any
software package that will actually do this out of the box without me
having to do all these awkward textbox and frame procedures. I mean
does openOffice or WordPerfect have such a feature? I realize this is
not the place to ask this but if someone knows a package that might be
helpful, I would be thankful if they could let me know.

Thanks