[Love Calm Quiet]

Hi, Trying here to get wife set up to use Word as she prepare a book for her printer.

It'd be a lot easier if we could set page setup for custom page size (say: 5x8).

Fortunately: Word allows you to select "Custom Paper Sizes", not just Letter, Lega, A4, etc.
"Very cool" you say?

Well, it'd be even cooler if it worked. I can use the "Manage Custom Sizes" to set any paper size I like.

Less cool: The custom sizes I add are all GREYED OUT in the Page Setup menu for selecting other paper sizes. In fact custom sizes I use in OTHER apps are listed there... but greyed out.

Anybody conquered this in Word? Gracias!

NB: Word 2004 for Mac. OS 10.4.2

[misc]

Could you post a screenshot?

[Love Calm Quiet]

Okay... I guess it's time I finally learned to post graphics in the forum...



And FWIW... the "half page" and "untitled" (greyed out) choices ARE shown (and editable) when I choose "Customize..."

[ghporter]

Perhaps if you chose a different printer, you could really use the Manage Custom Sizes... I've found that some printers refuse to work with certain paper sizes, and their drivers often reflect that by disabling those sizes.

[misc]

Can you post a screenshot of what happens when you click "manage custom sizes". Take the picture with "half page" being edited.

[Love Calm Quiet]

ghporter: Thanks. well, this printer allows other sizes to be shown for ALL other apps I've tried.
However, if I select my old POS HP930 I *can* select the custom size. Then if I select the Brother printer again I *lose* the custom size's accessibility.

Thanks, misc, for persisting:


Truly wierd: that Word limits my paper selections to ONE particular printer, but most other apps are willing to work with me

What a pain: since I don't want to inkjet a long B&W document.

[Love Calm Quiet]

Well, a little more experimenting:
I think this has to do with .docs that have more than one SECTION. The page setup has to be set up for each SECTION separately.

Once I've chosen a 5x8 custom size for the HP DJ930 and switched back to the Brother MFC, Page Setup shows the page size as "Other" - although that's greyed out as are the half-page and untitled custom sizes. BUT... it does get the Word doc to show as appearing on a 5x8 paper. I have to repeat the process for each section, however....

I wonder in what chapter of what manual for Word this is explained?

[Love Calm Quiet]

Further stuff I never knew about word.

When I print a PREVIEW of the doc (with two sections), it treats each section as a different PREVIEW job. I haven't tried sending to PRINTER the whole job, but I'm guessing it will make that two different jobs, too: hence, I guess the need for re-setting Page Setup for each section.

[This is book-length project, with separate pagination for sections: hence the wonderful learning experience.]

[Love Calm Quiet]

[Sorry: is there a forum dedicated to Word problems alone? ]

"Sections" would be so nice... especially in a book-length doc. But what a hassle.

I'd now like to let wife use different docs for forematter (TOC, etc.) since sections are a hassle. But I find that it's not possible (or obvious) how to delete all material of unwanted SECTIONS. And no "delete SECTION" command.

And talk about I cannot even find a command to DELETE page-break where one has been inserted.

Is it just me or is this software not extremely intuitive (i.e., Mac-like)?

[I never had so many questions on a Mac before I got asked to help w/Word!]

[ghporter]

Sections in Word make a variety of things work very well. For example, if you want different material in a header or footer from one group of pages to the next, you do that by starting a new section with the first page you want to show the difference. You can also do interesting things with page numbering and, as you've found, page layout.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen any version of Word (on either Windows OR Mac OS) that makes sections easy to manage. I've had to start from scratch with a new document and cut-and-paste text from my old document just to get some section tricks to work. And I ALWAYS preview the whole document before I print it just so that I can be assured the formatting I think I have across sections really is there. Word is such a pain sometimes, but it sure is useful when you're writing a memo or research paper. I hate conflicts like this.

[Love Calm Quiet]

Thanks, g...
Then it's not just me.
I'm thinking it may be easier just to create a separate doc for each section.

Some great ideas they've got in Word. The execution is wanting.