Quick vertical lines in Word 6 and 7


Tip
When you need to add a vertical line in your document -- for example, when the document contains tabular text -- you could click the Drawing button on the Standard toolbar, then use the Line tool on the Drawing toolbar. But you may have to manually resize the line when you add to or cut the text that the line delineates.
Fortunately, Word's Tab dialogue box provides an easier way:
1. Select View--Ruler to display the ruler and get an approximate horizontal position for your line.
2. Place the cursor on the line of text where you want the vertical line to begin. If you're working on text that already exists, select all of the text that you want the line added to.
3. Select Format--Tabs. In the Tabs dialogue box, type the approximate horizontal position of your line (which you determined in step 1) in the Tab Stop Position field. Click the Bar option in the Alignment frame, then click OK.
4. Click and drag the resulting tab marker on the ruler to the exact position where you want the line to appear.
5. If you've created this bar tab before typing text, or if you need to add to the delineated text, simply start typing. The line will continue to grow in length as you type. When you reach a point where you want the line to end, press <Enter>, then drag the tab marker off the ruler.
- George Campbell

Category: Word processing
Issue: Dec 1996
Pages: 166

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