How do I underline spaces before a number in a financial statemen.

[LynnF]

I need to make the underline at the bottom of a column of numbers as wide as
the column, even if the number at the bottom is not that wide.

 

[Greg]

Lynn,

Put your figures in a table. Hide all borders except the bottom
border. See:
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/tblsfldsfms/LinesInForms.htm

 

[LynnF]

Thanks for your quick reply. If I use a table, how do I set tabs within the
columns?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I would not advise this for anything else, but for numbers I just add spaces
and underline them. The only reason this works is that all numbers (and
dollar signs) are two spaces wide, and commas and periods are one space
wide, so it is possible to get underlined spaces to line up with the
numbers.

I use this method even in tables. Although you *can* use a bottom border, if
you want it to be just under the numbers, you have to apply it to the
paragraph rather than the cell and then set paragraph indents so that the
paragraph is the exact width of the text, which is pretty fiddly work. For
tables with many columns of numbers, I will sometimes use single and double
bottom borders on the cells all the way across instead of single and double
underlines under the text.

 

[Greg Maxey]

Lynn,

Set tabs in table columns the same as you set them in a regular document.
Use CTRL+Tab to execute a tab.

 

[LynnF]

Thank you!

I would not advise this for anything else, but for numbers I just add spaces
and underline them. The only reason this works is that all numbers (and
dollar signs) are two spaces wide, and commas and periods are one space
wide, so it is possible to get underlined spaces to line up with the
numbers.

I use this method even in tables. Although you *can* use a bottom border, if
you want it to be just under the numbers, you have to apply it to the
paragraph rather than the cell and then set paragraph indents so that the
paragraph is the exact width of the text, which is pretty fiddly work. For
tables with many columns of numbers, I will sometimes use single and double
bottom borders on the cells all the way across instead of single and double
underlines under the text.