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Pruning MSWord's Toolbar
Tom Stumpf wrote to ask if there is a way to remove some of the toolbar icons in MSWord that he never uses. Yes, and doing so can provide additional white space for composing a document.
In pre-2007 versions of Word click on Tools>Customize to display a dialogue box that has a number of options for adjusting your toolbars and menu commands. To remove seldom or never used icons from the toolbar, simply drag them into the dialogue box. Should you change your mind, options are in the box for putting them back.
In MSOffice 2007/2010 you can create a ribbon for displaying your favorite toolbar icons. However, I've found no way to remove any of the default icons that are constantly displayed at the top of a 2007/2010 document and which take up lots of space.
Assembling Notes into a Finished Document
Bernie O'Connor told me he created a manuscript using MSWord. He said it was written in bits and pieces over a period of time, and that it ended up being about 400 pages, including a number of appendices.
Bernie asked how to assemble all these parts into a master document complete with a Table of Contents and an Index, along with page numbering.
Well, I once wrote a book in much the same way. When I was ready to assemble all the pieces into a finished work I began a brand new blank document into which I copied and pasted the various parts in their proper order.
I gave this new document the temporary name NewBook-001.doc and would periodically click on File>Save As to sequentially rename the file NewBook-002.doc, NewBook-003.doc, NewBook-004.doc, etc.
Incrementally changed names insure that if you have a computer failure or accidentally delete your current version of the manuscript, only the part you typed in since the previous save would be lost. It's also prudent to do periodic saves to other media, such as an external hard drive or a flash memory drive.
When everything is assembled to your liking, page numbering can be done by clicking on Insert>Page Numbers, where several options can be found regarding their placement (left, right, or centered) and character types (including Roman Numerals).
With page numbering in place, you can create a Table of Contents page, along with anIndexif desired. Including footnotes and/or appendices can be rather tricky. They would be a subject for a whole other newsletter.
Combining Some Photos into One Large Picture
George Seymour asked whether there is a way to combine a number of small photos into one large picture.
Well, this task is normally done with a full-featured image-editing program like Photoshop. However, it can also be done with Microsoft Paint, which comes with all copies of Windows. In various versions, the program is called Paint, MSPaint, or PBrush (PaintBrush).
Start by right-clicking the icon of any .jpg image and choosing "Open With." Before clicking on Paint, checkmark the option that says toalways use the chosen program as the default for opening this kind of image.
Next launch Windows Paint by clicking
Start>All Programs>Accessories>Paint.
(This command sequence varies in different Windows versions. Use Windows' Search options if you have trouble finding Paint or MSPaint.) Upon launching Paint, you'll see a small white "canvas" in the work area.
Click on Image>Attributes>Inches to establish the size of the canvas on which you wish to paste your photos.
Now choose your first photo and double-click its icon. The picture will open in a separate window of Paint. Click on Edit>Select All>Edit>Copy. Now click into the large white canvas and do Edit>Paste. The pasted image will go to the upper left corner of the canvas, but you can drag it to any location you prefer.
Repeat these steps for all the other photos you want added to the canvas. However, each time you place a photo and choose another, the one just placed will no longer be moveable. Only the most recently placed photo can be moved around.
Nonetheless, any picture on the canvas can be made moveable by outlining it with the "Select" tool (the dashed-line rectangle) and clicking on Edit>Cut, followed by clicking Edit>Paste.
In the course of arranging the photos on the canvas, you may want to change the size of an image. Outline it with the Select tool, whereupon you can grab any corner and adjust it to change the picture's size. At this point you can also move the picture around on the canvas.
Be aware, however, this is not the best way to change an image's size. It's better to double-click the original image's icon to have it appear in its own MSPaint window. Now click on Image>Stretch/Skew>Stretch, whereupon you'll be able to type in the actual proportions you want. You can then reposition it on the canvas with
Edit>Select All, Edit>Copy, Edit>Paste.
When all the photos have been arranged on the canvas to your liking, you can use the Select tool to outline the whole collection. Now click on Edit>Copy, followed by clicking on File>New. Finally, click on Edit>Paste to insert the collage as a new document, which you can name by clicking on File>Save As.
You will be offered a number of image formats for your finished project, including .jpg, .bmp, .tif and .gif. The .jpg standard has become the default for photos, but .bmp is a better choice if you plan on making copies of the collage in the future.
© Donald Ray Edrington – All Rights Reserved
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