Microsoft KB Archive/176136

= WD: How to Create Crop Marks in Microsoft Word =

Article ID: 176136

Article Last Modified on 1/22/2007

-

APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Word 97 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Word 98 for Macintosh

-



This article was previously published under Q176136



SUMMARY
In Word there is no way to automatically add crop marks to your document. This article presents some methods you can use to create crop marks in your Word document.



MORE INFORMATION
Crop marks are short lines at the corners of a page that show where the outer edges of the paper should be trimmed:       |               | ____|              |____

Document Page

____                ____       |               |       |               |

You can use any of the following methods to create crop marks in your Word document. Method 1 is easier to set up; however, you may not be able to position the crop marks close enough to the text of the document. Method 2 allows greater precision in the positioning of the crop marks; however, Method 2 is more difficult to set up.

Method 1: Insert a Three-Column Table in the Header and Footer
Using this method, you can create crop marks by inserting a three-column, one-row table in the header and footer of your document and adding borders.

To set up the table, follow these steps:
 * 1) On the View menu, click Header And Footer.
 * 2) On the Table menu, click Insert Table.
 * 3) Type 3 for the Number of Columns, type 1 for the Number of Rows, and then click OK.
 * 4) Click into column 2 of the table and on the Table menu, click Select Column.
 * 5) On the Table menu, click Cell Height And Width and select the Column tab. In the Width Of Column 2 box, type the distance between the left and right margin (for example, specify 6 inches if your left and right margins are each 1.25 inches and your paper width is 8.5 inches).
 * 6) Click Previous Column to change the width of column 1. Type .5" in the Width of Column 1 box; click Next Column twice to change the Width of Column 3. Type .5" in the Width of Column 2 box.
 * 7) Click OK.
 * 8) On the Table menu, click Select Table.
 * 9) On the Table menu, click Cell Height and Width, and then select the Row tab. In the Indent From Left box, type -.5" ; in the Height Of Row box, select Exactly; in the At box, type .5" and then click OK.

NOTE: You can vary the position of your crop marks by adjusting the Indent From Left setting and the column width of columns 1 and 3. The column width of columns 1 and 3 must be the same. The Indent From Left setting must be the negative of the column width setting (for example, if the column width is 1", the Indent From Left setting must be 1").

To format the borders, follow these steps:
 * 1) With the table selected, click Borders and Shading on the Format menu.
 * 2) Under Setting, select None, and then click OK.

NOTE: You may still see lines; however, they will be the gridlines of the table. These lines will not print and can be turned off by clicking Hide Gridlines (Windows) or Gridlines (Macintosh) on the Table menu.
 * 1) Click into column 1 and on the Table menu, click Select Column.
 * 2) On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading.
 * 3) Apply a right and bottom border and then click OK.
 * 4) Click into column 3 and on the Table menu, click Select Column.
 * 5) On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading.
 * 6) Apply a left and bottom border and then click OK.

The header table should resemble the following:        |               | _____|              |_____ To copy the table and paste it to the footer, follow these steps:
 * 1) On the Table menu, click Select Table.
 * 2) On the Edit menu, click Copy.
 * 3) On the Header and Footer toolbar, click Switch Between Header and Footer.
 * 4) On the Edit menu, click Paste Cells.
 * 5) Click into column 1 and on the Table menu, click Select Column.
 * 6) On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading. Under Setting, click None to remove the existing border, apply a right and top border, and then click OK.
 * 7) Click into column 3 and on the Table menu, click Select Column.
 * 8) On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading.
 * 9) Under Setting, click None to remove the existing border, apply a left and top border, and then click OK.

The footer table should resemble the following:   _____                 _____ |              |        |               |

Method 2: Using Drawing Tools

 * 1) On the View menu, click Page Layout.
 * 2) In Word 97 for Windows, on the File menu, click Page Setup; in Word 98 Macintosh Edition, on the Format menu, click Document. Set the Margins at the points where you would like the crop marks to appear and then click OK.
 * 3) Press RETURN (Windows) or ENTER (Macintosh) to insert a carriage return in the document so that there are at least two, and then select the first carriage return in the document.
 * 4) On the Table menu, click Insert Table and then click OK.

This will place a table temporarily in the document to assist in drawing and placing the crop marks.
 * 1) On the View menu, point to Toolbars and select Drawing.
 * 2) Using the drawing tools on the Drawing toolbar, draw a rectangle from the upper-left corner of the paper to the upper-left corner of the table. Format the line style of the rectangle. Adjust the position and size of the rectangle if necessary.
 * 3) On the Edit menu, click Copy and then click Paste. This should paste an exact copy of the first rectangle on top of the original rectangle.
 * 4) On the Edit menu, click Paste two more times.

You now should have four rectangles.
 * 1) Drag three of the rectangles to each of the three unfilled corners of the page.
 * 2) Select and delete the table.

NOTE: if the two rectangles disappear at the top of the page, on the Edit menu, click Paste two more times and then position the rectangles in the top corners.

If you want the crop marks a different position than the margins, reset the margins before continuing.

Method 3: Using a Postscript Printer and a Print Field
This method requires a postscript printer.

Press CTRL+F9 (Windows) or COMMAND+F9 (Macintosh) to insert the field braces ({}) and type the instructions to add crop marks. The print field should look like the following:   {PRINT \p PAGE "% Crop Marks   5 setlinewidth   /markl 9 def   /whitel 4 def   /top 72 def   /bottom 72 def   /left 90 def   /right 90 def   %horizontals   left markl sub whitel sub wp$y wp$top sub moveto markl 0 rlineto   wp$x right sub left sub whitel 2 mul add 0 rmoveto markl 0 rlineto   left markl sub whitel sub bottom moveto markl 0 rlineto   wp$x right sub left sub whitel 2 mul add 0 rmoveto markl 0 rlineto   %verticals   left bottom markl sub whitel sub moveto 0 markl rlineto   0 wp$y wp$top sub bottom sub whitel 2 mul add rmoveto 0 markl   rlineto   wp$x right sub bottom markl sub whitel sub moveto 0 markl rlineto   0 wp$y wp$top sub bottom sub whitel 2 mul add rmoveto 0 markl   rlineto   stroke   "} For information about how to do this in earlier versions of Microsoft Word, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

92600 WD: How to Create Crop Marks in Microsoft Word

Additional query words: cropmarks insertcropmarks post script

Keywords: kbfix kbformat kbframe kbhowto KB176136

-

[mailto:TECHNET@MICROSOFT.COM Send feedback to Microsoft]

© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.