We order preprinted stock certificates and have to type the
fill-in-the-blanks using a typewriter. Is there anyway to use Word to format
the document so I can run the preprinted form through the printer?

It's possible, but quite fiddly.

The general idea is to create a table whose cells match the locations
of the blanks on the preprinted form. The pencil tool on the Table
toolbar can help with this. Turn off all the table borders so they
don't print, but leave Table Show Gridlines turned on so you see
them on screen. Click Table Autofit Fixed Column Width so the
columns don't resize automatically.

It'll probably take quite a bit of measurement and trial-and-error
printing on the form to get the cells to match the locations. Once
they're correctly positioned, go to Table Table Properties and set
all the rows to Exact row heights; that will prevent extra text or
line breaks from pushing the following cells downward.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

On Thu, 1 Jun 2006 10:31:03 -0700, field216
wrote:

We order preprinted stock certificates and have to type the
fill-in-the-blanks using a typewriter. Is there anyway to use Word to format
the document so I can run the preprinted form through the printer?

[crymealake]

Originally Posted by Jay Freedman

It's possible, but quite fiddly.

The general idea is to create a table whose cells match the locations
of the blanks on the preprinted form. The pencil tool on the Table
toolbar can help with this. Turn off all the table borders so they
don't print, but leave Table Show Gridlines turned on so you see
them on screen. Click Table Autofit Fixed Column Width so the
columns don't resize automatically.

It'll probably take quite a bit of measurement and trial-and-error
printing on the form to get the cells to match the locations. Once
they're correctly positioned, go to Table Table Properties and set
all the rows to Exact row heights; that will prevent extra text or
line breaks from pushing the following cells downward.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

On Thu, 1 Jun 2006 10:31:03 -0700, field216
wrote:

We order preprinted stock certificates and have to type the
fill-in-the-blanks using a typewriter. Is there anyway to use Word to format
the document so I can run the preprinted form through the printer?

Like the other poster mentioned, using Word for this purpiose is fiddly. Even if you manage to align the text in Word when printing to your certificate with one printer, it is likely it won't align for another printer so you have to make further painful adjustments to your Word document.

Instead, try Fly Software's (http://www.flysoftware.com) InForm Designer form design application. It allows you to create forms that look like your pre-printed form (or in your case certificate) but only the filled in form content is actually printed.

InForm also has a feature to align what it prints perfectly with the pre-printed form (certificate) - no matter what printer you use.