Microsoft Word, in terms of the number of writers using it, is the most popular text and page layout editing software used by the technical writers.
In the fourth article of this series, we will explain how you can set the page layout options for a technical document template.
1.
Create a new text document in MS Word by selecting File > New from the main menu.
2.
Select File > Page Setup to display the Page Setup dialog box.
3.
Click and select the Layout tab.
4.
From the Section Start drop-down list, select the section to which the layout will apply.
oTo format the layout of the whole document, place your cursor in the top-left of the first page and select Continuous.
Otherwise, MS Word will apply the layout by creating a new section at where your cursor is.
oTo apply the layout starting with a new column, select New Column.
oTo apply the layout starting with a new page, select New Column.
oTo apply the layout starting with a next even-numbered page, select Even Page.
oTo apply the layout starting with a next odd-numbered page, select Odd Page.
5.
Select the Different Odd and Even check-box to create different headers and footers for the odd- and even-numbered pages.
6.
Select the Different First Page check-box either to eliminate the header and footer from the first page (like for a Front Cover) or create a unique header and/or footer for the first page.
7.
Enter a numeric value into the Header and Footer fields to set the difference of the headers and footers in your layout from the edge of the page.
8.
To align the body of your document in between the top and bottom margins, you can select Top, Center, Justified, or Bottom from the Vertical Alignment drop-down menu.
9.
You can select Whole Document or This Point Forward from the Apply To drop-down list to apply your layout changes.