Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!samsung!uunet!microsoft!erichs
From: erichs@microsoft.UUCP (Erich STEHR)
Newsgroups: comp.fonts
Subject: Re: Changing Fonts in Microsoft Word
Message-ID: <59545@microsoft.UUCP>
Date: 4 Dec 90 17:15:22 GMT
References: <90328.221839SXS144@psuvm.psu.edu> <27509AEF.5276@wilbur.coyote.trw.com>
Reply-To: erichs@microsoft.UUCP (Erich STEHR)
Organization: Microsoft Corp., Redmond WA
Lines: 31

In article <27509AEF.5276@wilbur.coyote.trw.com> jost@alice.coyote.trw.com (Patrick Jost) writes:
>In article <90328.221839SXS144@psuvm.psu.edu> SXS144@psuvm.psu.edu (subramanian sivaramakrishnan) writes:
>>
>>
>>In MS Word, when the text font is changed, the entire formatting
>>gets screwed up, especially if some matter is formatted in a tabular
>>form. Is there a way to get around this ?
>
>PS: Sorry, I just couldn't resist posting this...


You should have.  If you can't help, don't waste bandwidth.

I saw this many a time in my 'former life' as a lab consultant.  The problem
is that you don't know/have forgotten the first rule of word processors:

Don't hit return at the end of each line, only at the end of paragraphs.

The second rule, which you are also being hit by, is:

Don't space to create tables, set up tabs if the processor has nothing better.

Text editors, like vi, emacs, etc., only handle lines and they don't handle
proportional fonts well.  A word processor is designed to handle paragraphs,
so it will know where to split the lines and how much space to add between
words for justification.  Word processors also handle proportional fonts,
so you need to use the fixed width tabs that all of them offer, or more
advanced features, like Word's tables, to create tables that line up properly
under almost any conmbination of fonts.

Erich Stehr -- Journeyman Wizard (or at worst, trying to be one).


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