Selecting left indent instead of left tab

[Kraftsims]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Processor: Power PC I'm new at this formatting deal. So much to learn.

I'm trying to format a true/false test. I selected autonumbering. As I go down from number to number, I'm trying to type in True (first tab) False (second tab 0.5 inches apart) then another tab to start the text of the question (at the 1.5 inches mark).

True False Then the question would be worded as such with
                      wrap around wording
True False Next question would look as follows also with
                      wrap around wording

and so forth. Not sure if those will space correctly with html, but hope you get the idea.

Here's my problem: I'm trying to get the wrap around wording to line up with the body of the question. The left indent is on top of the left tab, or should I say the left tab is on top of the left indent.

I'm trying to only move the left indent to line up with the body of the text. Is that called hanging indent? Anyways, when I try to move the left indent, the left tab is selected whether I like it or not.

I would like to move the left indent and not the left tab. I'm having to currently move the left tab over off from the left indent marker. Then move the left indent to where I want it, then move the left tab back to where it was.

How can I select just the left indent without having to first move the left tab?

Any suggestions you might have is appreciated, as well as anyone who is familiar with formatting a combination true/false + multiple choice question test

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Kraftsims]

I'm getting further into generating the test questions. I've run across another snag.

Now that I'm at question #10, the "true" in questions #10 and following do not line up with the previous "true" in the questions above due to the numbers 10 and following taking up one more character space.

Maybe I shouldn't care, but would prefer to have all the "true" words line up in the entire document.

I took the "true" in questions 1-9 and moved them over two characters so that I could line up all questions from 1 to 150 with all "true" lining up evenly.

I now notice that if I try to tab on question #10 so that I can get the word "true" to line up with the other words, it won't let me actually tab over. Instead, it thinks I'm trying to change the indent setting of the autonumbering to move over, so instead of it being #10, it is now "a" tabbed over 5 spaces.

how can I keep it at the question #10 yet use the tab feature to jump over a couple of characters so that I can type in the word "true"?

I suspect there is an easier method of generating tests on word. Any insights to this is appreciated.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[CyberTaz]

It would be much more simple & expedient to create a 3 column Table. Put
your Trues in column one, your Falses in column two & your questions in
column 3. Adjust column with / cell alignment as desired & remove the
Borders.

 

[Kraftsims]

Thanks for the tip cybertaz, I think that would work for a true/false only quiz. I'll definitely use that for tests that are only true/false.

If the test has a combination of true/false with multiple choice, any tips for that kind since formatting of the true false differs from multiple choice questions? This is the most common type of test I create, a blending of matching, true false, fill in the blank, and multiple choice.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Patty Winter]

I'm trying to format a true/false test. I selected autonumbering. As I
go down from number to number, I'm trying to type in True (first tab)
False (second tab 0.5 inches apart) then another tab to start the text
of the question (at the 1.5 inches mark).

True False Then the question would be worded as such with
wrap around wording
True False Next question would look as follows also with
wrap around wording

and so forth. Not sure if those will space correctly with html, but hope
you get the idea.

Robert, tabs will *not* be retained when you move the test into a web
page. I agree with Bob--do this as tables. HTML does have tables.


Patty

 

[CyberTaz]

Sure - One option for other than True/False is to merge the cells of a row.
You can also use the tools of the Tables & Borders toolbar to "draw" the
cells.

BTW: Be sure to note the reply from Patty.

 

[Kraftsims]

I appreciate the responses. The idea of using tables to format Word makes me shudder, but probably for the wrong reason. I have used Excel just a bit to make pages and that...ummm...lets just say it wasn't a good experience. I found out why excel is for numbers and not words ... lol.

I was looking through help files and around on this site and found all manner of stuff about "styles." Have either of you (or anyone else) used the styles features to generate tests?

I certainly noted the point about tabs not carrying over to a web page. I've not had a reason to move a test over to a webpage and don't have anything on the immediate agenda to do so. Having said that, who knows what will happen in 6 months, right? I might suddenly have the need to do so.

Do you know if styles move over to webpages or is it only tables?

I appreciate the feedback and will give the tables a shot and let you know how that went. I'm already on question number thirty something. Can I simply take what I have and copy it over to tables or will I need to retype everything in or copy over in each question?

Hmm wondering if auto numbering can be generated using the table idea.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Kraftsims]

I was able to take all 34 questions and put it in a 34 x 3 table. That was actually a snap. So far so good.

Not sure how to number them automatically, though. Is my only choice to add an additional column and then manually number them?

One other thing I noted was that once I got them in the tables, I'm not able to add any more rows. If I hit the "return" key at the last entry, it adds a return wrap within that same row instead of advancing to another row. Is my only option for adding new rows highlighting the last row, then right click to add one new row at a time?

Thanks for your help
Robert

 

[CyberTaz]

See the in line responses below;

I was able to take all 34 questions and put it in a 34 x 3 table. That was
actually a snap. So far so good.

Not sure how to number them automatically, though. Is my only choice to add an
additional column and then manually number them?

Bullets & Numbering work in a Table cell just as anywhere else. You can
type the items first, then select the paragraphs in the cell & click the
Numbering or Bullets button. Alternatively, type 1. or A. before you type
the first item than press Option+Tab to tab within the cell. That turns on
the Numbering, so when you type the content & press return the next item
will be numbered automatically.

One other thing I noted was that once I got them in the tables, I'm not able
to add any more rows. If I hit the "return" key at the last entry, it adds a
return wrap within that same row instead of advancing to another row. Is my
only option for adding new rows highlighting the last row, then right click to
add one new row at a time?

Use the Tab key to navigate from cell to cell within a row. If you press Tab
when you're in the last cell of the table a new row will be added. Return is
never used for anything but creating a line break to start a new paragraph.

If you want to insert more than 1 row at a time anywhere in a table, select
that number of rows then go to Table> Insert - Rows Above/Below.

Thanks for your help
Robert

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Patty Winter]

I appreciate the responses. The idea of using tables to format Word
makes me shudder, but probably for the wrong reason.

Tables are easy, and *very* handy. I use them all the time.

I certainly noted the point about tabs not carrying over to a web page.
I've not had a reason to move a test over to a webpage and don't have
anything on the immediate agenda to do so.

You mentioned in your original message that you were concerned about
the formatting being retained in HTML. So whether you're putting the
test into a web page, an email message, or some other use of HTML, you
will still want to avoid using tabs for formatting columnar information
in your source Word doc.

Do you know if styles move over to webpages or is it only tables?

You can do a "Save as HTML" from Word and it will attempt to produce
the HTML needed to replicate your formatting onto a web page. It used
to produce a godawful mishmash of HTML code, but perhaps it's gotten
better. John or Bob, got an opinion on this?

I appreciate the feedback and will give the tables a shot and let you
know how that went. I'm already on question number thirty something. Can
I simply take what I have and copy it over to tables or will I need to
retype everything in or copy over in each question?

You can try the "Text to Table" function in the Table menu. Wherever
it sees a tab, it will jump the text to the next column, and wherever
it sees a paragraph mark, it will jump down to the far left column of
the next row.



Patty

 

[Phillip Jones, C.E.T.]

Dealing with websites and word files Converted to HTML, I can vouch for
the fact that creating HTML Pages for web consumption is not the way to
go.

The first thing I did when I maintained a site for an Association I
belonged to when received a HTML saved from word, I used a Feature in
DreamWeaver call Fix Word HTML. And would fix reams, and reams, and
reams, of html errors. Most related to special code related to
formatting, that is not even mention in W3C standards. If you want to
see how bad Word is at HTML, just save as HTML document the crank up the
W3C Validator at w3c.org. and see how many error you get.

The best way for use on a website is write in Word if you wish, then
save as txt (text) and then open up in a Proper Web design Toll and
format There.

Although most big time Web designers hate worth a Passion using tables.
And think anyone using tables are dumber than wooden blocks. Tables is a
Good method of creating a Neat organized website, for a person that not
familiar with Cascading Style Sheets

And by the way most dedicated Web creation tools (such as DreamWeaver)
can handle left indents with no problems.

 

[Patty Winter]

The first thing I did when I maintained a site for an Association I
belonged to when received a HTML saved from word, I used a Feature in
DreamWeaver call Fix Word HTML.

LOL!! I never heard of that feature, but it neatly summarizes the
situation of using Word for web pages.

And would fix reams, and reams, and
reams, of html errors. Most related to special code related to
formatting, that is not even mention in W3C standards.

I actually saved a white paper as HTML from Word 2004 last night,
then opened it in Firefox, and it looked pretty good. And other
than pages and pages of style definitions (I'm sure more than it
needed for the few styles used in the paper), the code didn't
look too bad. Not the awful new-code-every-three-words stuff I
used to see with Word-generated HTML. I haven't run it through
a validator, though. I might try that later.

The best way for use on a website is write in Word if you wish, then
save as txt (text) and then open up in a Proper Web design Toll and
format There.

Excellent idea, Phillip.

Although most big time Web designers hate worth a Passion using tables.
And think anyone using tables are dumber than wooden blocks. Tables is a
Good method of creating a Neat organized website, for a person that not
familiar with Cascading Style Sheets

I was surprised to see that not only was a table in the white paper
replicated correctly, it even had the every-other-line shading that
was in the original table. Color me surprised.

And by the way most dedicated Web creation tools (such as DreamWeaver)
can handle left indents with no problems.

Do they also retain tabs used to create columns, as the OP wanted?


Patty

 

[John_McGhie_[MVP]]

The newer versions of Word write quite respectable HTML.

I am not aware of the earlier versions of Word creating any HTML "errors".
The code is all valid and well-formed.

However, there's usually too much of it. Early versions of Word wrote
complex XHTML designed to preserve exactly the look of the paper document.
To do that, they employed some very complex coding techniques that most
users do not require in HTML.

But if you validate it against the correct DTD, Word HTML is all "valid".
It's just too accurate The HTML out of Word 2008/2010 is very tight:
nice stuff. Word 2010 even enables external CSS.

Cheers

LOL!! I never heard of that feature, but it neatly summarizes the
situation of using Word for web pages.



I actually saved a white paper as HTML from Word 2004 last night,
then opened it in Firefox, and it looked pretty good. And other
than pages and pages of style definitions (I'm sure more than it
needed for the few styles used in the paper), the code didn't
look too bad. Not the awful new-code-every-three-words stuff I
used to see with Word-generated HTML. I haven't run it through
a validator, though. I might try that later.



Excellent idea, Phillip.



I was surprised to see that not only was a table in the white paper
replicated correctly, it even had the every-other-line shading that
was in the original table. Color me surprised.



Do they also retain tabs used to create columns, as the OP wanted?


Patty

--

The email below is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless I ask you to; or unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410 | mailto:[email protected]