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#1
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Text Box vs. Tab Stops
I have a document that has a lot of Text Boxes in places where a tab stop
would do. My question for you is which is easier for Word to deal with, a Text box or a tab stop. Thanks in advance. Barb Reinhardt |
#2
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Barb R. wrote:
I have a document that has a lot of Text Boxes in places where a tab stop would do. My question for you is which is easier for Word to deal with, a Text box or a tab stop. Thanks in advance. Barb Reinhardt No question about it, a tab stop uses far fewer resources -- a text box is a drawing object with a fairly heavy memory requirement, while a tab stop is a property of a paragraph with only three properties of its own (position, alignment, and leader type). Besides that, it's easier to manage the locations of tab stops than of text boxes, by dragging the markers on the ruler. It's easier to format the text at a tab stop. It's easier to get to the next tab stop than to use the mouse to move to the next text box. If you don't need any of the other properties of a text box -- the ability to float in the drawing layer, wrap text, have a background color, and so on -- then it's a waste of Word's resources and your time. -- Regards, Jay Freedman Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org |
#3
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That was my feeling, but thought I'd get input from someone more experienced
in the intricacies of Word. I inherited these documents, warts and all and now I've got to support them. I'm converting the unnecessary Text Boxes to tab stops whenever possible. I found one case where a text box was put over some text to add a background color. Apparently the person who put it there didn't know about the background and border feature for text. "Jay Freedman" wrote: Barb R. wrote: I have a document that has a lot of Text Boxes in places where a tab stop would do. My question for you is which is easier for Word to deal with, a Text box or a tab stop. Thanks in advance. Barb Reinhardt No question about it, a tab stop uses far fewer resources -- a text box is a drawing object with a fairly heavy memory requirement, while a tab stop is a property of a paragraph with only three properties of its own (position, alignment, and leader type). Besides that, it's easier to manage the locations of tab stops than of text boxes, by dragging the markers on the ruler. It's easier to format the text at a tab stop. It's easier to get to the next tab stop than to use the mouse to move to the next text box. If you don't need any of the other properties of a text box -- the ability to float in the drawing layer, wrap text, have a background color, and so on -- then it's a waste of Word's resources and your time. -- Regards, Jay Freedman Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org |
#4
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To add to Jay's much more rational assessment, I'll just say that IMO text
boxes are an invention of the devil. I use them only when all else fails! -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Barb R." wrote in message ... That was my feeling, but thought I'd get input from someone more experienced in the intricacies of Word. I inherited these documents, warts and all and now I've got to support them. I'm converting the unnecessary Text Boxes to tab stops whenever possible. I found one case where a text box was put over some text to add a background color. Apparently the person who put it there didn't know about the background and border feature for text. "Jay Freedman" wrote: Barb R. wrote: I have a document that has a lot of Text Boxes in places where a tab stop would do. My question for you is which is easier for Word to deal with, a Text box or a tab stop. Thanks in advance. Barb Reinhardt No question about it, a tab stop uses far fewer resources -- a text box is a drawing object with a fairly heavy memory requirement, while a tab stop is a property of a paragraph with only three properties of its own (position, alignment, and leader type). Besides that, it's easier to manage the locations of tab stops than of text boxes, by dragging the markers on the ruler. It's easier to format the text at a tab stop. It's easier to get to the next tab stop than to use the mouse to move to the next text box. If you don't need any of the other properties of a text box -- the ability to float in the drawing layer, wrap text, have a background color, and so on -- then it's a waste of Word's resources and your time. -- Regards, Jay Freedman Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org |
#5
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I always thought Beelzebub was employed somewhere in Redmond. Next time I'm
there I'll have to sniff for brimstone... :-) -- Regards, Jay Freedman Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org Suzanne S. Barnhill wrote: To add to Jay's much more rational assessment, I'll just say that IMO text boxes are an invention of the devil. I use them only when all else fails! "Barb R." wrote in message ... That was my feeling, but thought I'd get input from someone more experienced in the intricacies of Word. I inherited these documents, warts and all and now I've got to support them. I'm converting the unnecessary Text Boxes to tab stops whenever possible. I found one case where a text box was put over some text to add a background color. Apparently the person who put it there didn't know about the background and border feature for text. "Jay Freedman" wrote: Barb R. wrote: I have a document that has a lot of Text Boxes in places where a tab stop would do. My question for you is which is easier for Word to deal with, a Text box or a tab stop. Thanks in advance. Barb Reinhardt No question about it, a tab stop uses far fewer resources -- a text box is a drawing object with a fairly heavy memory requirement, while a tab stop is a property of a paragraph with only three properties of its own (position, alignment, and leader type). Besides that, it's easier to manage the locations of tab stops than of text boxes, by dragging the markers on the ruler. It's easier to format the text at a tab stop. It's easier to get to the next tab stop than to use the mouse to move to the next text box. If you don't need any of the other properties of a text box -- the ability to float in the drawing layer, wrap text, have a background color, and so on -- then it's a waste of Word's resources and your time. -- Regards, Jay Freedman Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org |
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