Hi jmarsh
I assume that the purpose of setting margins and page orientation *after*
creating content is to make the point that one can separate content from
format, and that the same content can be used regardless of, say, whether
you're using US letter-size paper or international standard A4 paper.
The key here is to manage all your text formatting using styles, and to
modify those styles so that they will keep text together on one page where
you need it. And, don't leave any empty paragraphs in your document (that
is, do not press Enter twice at the end of each paragraph).
For example, by default the Heading 1 style is set to "Keep with next" so
that it will always be on the same page as the following paragraph. That
makes sense, because you don't ever want a heading to be at the bottom of
one page, and the following body text to start at the top of the next page.
So by applying the built-in Heading 1 style to your major headings, you get
an instant 'keep with next' bonus. But, if you are in the practice of
pressing Enter twice at the end of every paragraph, then you will have
created an 'empty' paragraph immediately after the Heading 1 paragraph. So,
Word will do as it's told. It will keep the Heading 1 on the same page as
the empty paragraph. And your body text will start at the top of the next
page. The solution is (a) modify the styles to give you the space before and
after the paragraph that you need and (b) don't leave empty paragraphs in
your document. You can see empty paragraphs most easily by clicking the ¶
button on the toolbar. If you see two ¶ signs in a row, you have an empty
paragraph.
With Word 2000 and later, all Tables have two characteristics which should
help you out here. First, you can specify the table width, and column widths
in percentages, so the table width will grow and shrink to fit the margins
(Table > Properties. Set the table width on the Table tab, and column widths
on the Column tab.) Second, you can allow the column widths to change to
reflect changes in content. I'm not a huge fan of this setting, but if you
need it, you can find it at Table > Properties > Table Tab > Options >
"Automatically resize to fit contents".
Resources that may be useful:
Tips for understanding styles in Word
http://www.microsoft.com/office/using/column14.asp
Creating a Template - The Basics (Part I)
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CreateATemplatePart1.htm
Hope this helps.
Shauna Kelly. Microsoft MVP.
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word