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Mysteriously Moving Margins in Word

In Microsoft Word 2008 (and older versions), if you put your cursor in a paragraph and then move a tab or indent marker in the ruler, the change applies to just that paragraph. If your markers are closely spaced, you may have trouble grabbing the right one, and inadvertently work with tabs when you want to work with indents, or vice-versa. The solution is to hover your mouse over the marker until a yellow tooltip confirms which element you're about to drag.

I recently came to appreciate the importance of waiting for those tooltips: a document mysteriously reset its margins several times while I was under deadline pressure, causing a variety of problems. After several hours of puzzlement, I had my "doh!" moment: I had been dragging a margin marker when I thought I was dragging an indent marker.

When it comes to moving markers in the Word ruler, the moral of the story is always to hover, read, and only then drag.

 

 

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DealBITS Drawing: Win a Copy of Sound Studio 3

The Mac has numerous audio recording and editing programs, but one long-time standout has been Sound Studio 3, created by Felt Tip Software and published by Freeverse. Sound Studio lets you capture audio by recording a live performance, digitizing from an analog source like an LP, or using any other Core Audio-based device like a USB microphone. Once captured, you can use Sound Studio's easy-to-use tools for editing and manipulating your audio, including the capability to apply numerous built-in and Audio Unit filters, analyze the audio content, and even generate tones and noise from scratch. The program can import and export common audio formats, and, for those who find themselves applying filters or adding intro and outro audio to numerous files, Sound Studio supports AppleScript and Automator.

In this week's DealBITS drawing, you can enter to win one of two copies of Sound Studio 3. Entrants who aren't among our lucky winners will receive a discount on Sound Studio 3, so be sure to enter at the DealBITS page. All information gathered is covered by our comprehensive privacy policy. Remember too, that if someone you refer to this drawing wins, you'll receive the same prize as a reward for spreading the word.

 

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