mjkobb@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Michael J Kobb) (11/27/89)
Greetings, Can anyone enlighten me as to why, when I open a Mac Write file with Word 4.0 (happened with 3.02 too), the left margin triangle is usually moved in 1/8 inch from zero, and the right one is 1/2 inch past the 6 (which is the right margin on my machine, anyway)? This is thoroughly annoying, since I have to change the margins just to be able to read the file. Thanks, --Mike
mjkobb@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Michael J Kobb) (12/02/89)
In article <1090@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> mjkobb@media-lab.media.mit.edu (Michael J Kobb) writes: [that's me!] >Greetings, > > Can anyone enlighten me as to why when I open a Mac Write file with Word 4.0 >(happened with 3.02 too), the left margin triangle is usually moved in 1/8 >inch from zero, and the right one is 1/2 inch past the 6 (which is the right >margin on my machine, anyway)? This is thoroughly annoying, since I have to >change the margins just to be able to read the file. Well, I've gotten lots of mail on this one, and all of it has been asking if I got an answer (except for one person who pointed out that it's possible to move the horizontal scroll bar a bit, sometimes, and be able to see all of the text). SO, Is anyone from Microsoft listening? How about Claris? What's going on here folks? It's not _super_ inconvenient, but it sure is a pain. A fix, or at least an explanation would make me feel much better! Thanks, --Mike
neilh@microsoft.UUCP (Neil Hoopman) (12/10/89)
>Can anyone enlighten me as to why when I open a Mac Write file with Word 4.0 >(happened with 3.02 too), the left margin triangle is usually moved in 1/8 >inch from zero, and the right one is 1/2 inch past the 6 (which is the right >margin on my machine, anyway)? This is thoroughly annoying, since I have to >change the margins just to be able to read the file. Yes, this might seem a bit strange at first look. What you are seeing is a side effect of the fundamental differences in the way that MacWrite and Word handle margins. Below is an explanation of why this is happening. If after reading it you have any suggestions as to how the conversion process could be improved, please drop me some mail and I'll forward it on to our conversion guys. When converting a MacWrite document into Word, the margins are set to: TOP Same as the default (stored in the Word Settings file) BOTTOM Same as the default LEFT 1 Inch RIGHT 1.5 Inches The left, right, and first-line indents in Word are then converted so that combined with the margins, they position the text at the same position as it is positioned in MacWrite. For example, if you use a 1.25" left margin in MacWrite, that will convert to a .25" left indent (which, with the 1" left margin, will position the text on the same position on the page). This is done to preserve the overall format of the document on the page. Some notes: TOP & BOTTOM MARGINS: MacWrite doesn't allow you to change them. Most people correct this by putting extra space in the header and footer. Word converts the headers and footers correctly, so this approach will work and your top & bottom "margins" should come across properly. If you plan to use this document exclusively in Word after the conversion, you should take the extra space out of the header and footer and enter the margins into format/document. LEFT & RIGHT MARGINS: MacWrite allows you to change them on a line by line basis. Because MacWrite doesn't allow you to have less than a 1" left margin, that is why Word uses that by default. The right margin is the standard margin used by MacWrite. In Word, the margins are global to the entire document. Word allows you to change left and right paragraph indents on a paragraph by paragraph basis. MacWrite's ruler margins are based on the left edge of the paper (and can't be less than 1"). Word's ruler indents are based on the left margin and start at 0". Because of this difference, Word has to convert using a combination of indents and margins. This is probably more information than you wanted, but I hope that it makes the conversion process clearer. The overall rule is that Word tries to place the text in the same position on the page as it was in MacWrite. If you are finding that this isn't the case, please let me know. ------------ Neil Hoopman - Microsoft -- uunet!microsoft!neilh ------------- "Carpe Diem. Seize the day. Make your lives extraordinary." - DPS ------------- Microsoft owns the keyboard. I own the fingers. -------------