Technology Bytes
Author: Susan K. Edwards
Original Publication Date in Love Notes: March 2003

While most of us bless the day word processing was invented, that pesky computer can often leave us pulling out large clumps of hair as we battle it for domination over our documents. I offer this column in hopes of saving you from losing that battle.

Formatting Issues

Q: My lines of text look like they are lined up on the screen, but when I go to print them, they are way off. Why? And how can I get them even?

A: Usually the problem is you've used the space bar to indent your line instead of using the tab key. By turning on your "Show All" tool located on your toolbar, you can see all your spaces, paragraph marks and other formatting codes to confirm this is the problem. Spaces show up as dots, tabs as arrows.

Remember, the screen is made up of "pixels" that are all the same size; so when you look at text on the screen, you get the illusion text is lined up. When we print the document, the printer uses a proportional font (e.g. the "w" is wider than the "i") so the trick you used with the space bar doesn't work for printing.

How to fix it using tabs. In the computer's world, a space is variable while the tab is absolute. So set and use tabs for lining up indents. Find the ruler bar located at the top of your document (turn it on by pulling down your View menu and clicking next to Ruler, if necessary). To set the tab, position your mouse pointer on the ruler at the place you want to set the tab. You will see a tab indicator once you click your left mouse button. Remember, there are five types of tabs: Left, Right Center, Decimal and Bar. In Microsoft Word, you can change the type of tab by pointing to the very left corner of your ruler bar and clicking your left mouse button. You can also pull down your Format menu and choose Format > Tabs. Once you have set your tab, use your tab key to line up your text.

This is the most common reason for this problem, although not the only. I hope that helps. Do you have a technology problem you would like to have answered? Email your questions to: susan@inhousepro.com. 

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Susan K. Edwards has more than 25 years of experience working with computers and software and currently owns her own marketing company, Inhousepro. She self-published her first novel, The Gift, and finished a second, Surrender, a contemporary romance. Visit her site at http://www.inhousepro.com for more information.

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