Microsoft KB Archive/26377

Word: Conversion of Margins and Indents from MacWrite to Word PSS ID Number: Q26377 Article last modified on 08-17-1993 PSS database name: APpsConV

3.00 3.01 3.02

MACINTOSH

Summary:

When converting a MacWrite document into Microsoft Word, the margins will be translated as follows:

Margins Measurements ——- ————

Top From Normal style in default style sheet (Word Settings) Bottom From Normal style in default style sheet (Word Settings) Left 1 inch Right 1.5 inches

The left, right, and first-line indents in Word will be calculated from the margins as noted above and the indentation settings on the rulers in MacWrite will be calculated such that the text is positioned horizontally at the same place on the printed page as it was in MacWrite.

More Information:

This conversion procedure is needed because of differences in the way margins are handled in the two programs. In Microsoft Word, all margin settings are controlled using the Page Setup command and apply to the entire document. In MacWrite, the Page Setup command does not handle margins.

There is no direct setting for top and bottom margins in MacWrite. However, the effect of varying the top and bottom margin for the entire document can be attained by entering blank lines (and/or text) in the header and/or footer windows.

When converted, Word cannot easily distinguish whether space in the header or footer is meant to be a margin or is part of text that is to be printed (only the creator of the document knows the intent of the contents of the header and footer). Word makes the MacWrite header and footer into just that: a header and footer in the Word document. Since there are no distinguishable settings in MacWrite to convert to a top or bottom margin in Word, the program uses those in the Normal style on the default stylesheet.

In MacWrite, the left and right margins vary throughout the document (in contrast to Word’s global handling of these settings) and are controlled using the rulers. To convert a left margin from MacWrite, the left margin in Word is set at 1 inch; then, the indent on the Word ruler is equal to the MacWrite margin minus one inch. For example, if the left margin in MacWrite was 1.25 inches at one position in the document, the indent in Word would be 0.25 inch. The right margin and indentation setting are handled similarly.

Please note that the zero marker on the rulers in MacWrite starts at the left edge of the page, while the zero marker in Word corresponds with the beginning of the left margin. It is impossible to have a left margin or indentation marker that is less than 1 inch in MacWrite; this means a negative left or first-line indent will never be produced when converting a MacWrite document into Microsoft Word.

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1993.