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Changing the envelope layout |
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Envelope
layouts provide hours of fun, if you don't know their secrets. The most
important thing to note is that you can only have one envelope
size for a given template. If you use different envelope sizes for
different document types, then you will need different templates to hold
the settings. If the envelope settings have not been changed for a given
document template, the default settings are those in the standard Normal template.
There are
three things you can change:
1. The
envelope size - this is selected in the envelope/label wizard from the
'Options' button.
2. The
envelope address position and format - these are fixed by the Envelope
Address paragraph style. Note the Envelope Address style incorporates a
frame - by default this has fixed height and width, but this can be
changed.
3. The
envelope return address position and format - these are fixed by the
Envelope Return paragraph style. See
Alternative Return Addresses
for a means of expanding the use of return addresses on envelopes. |
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Note: |
The
Envelope Address paragraph style, by default, is based on the Normal
paragraph style. In Word 2007, the Normal style has 10 points of added
spacing which can give the envelope addresses the appearance of double
spacing. The default Envelope Address style takes account of this, but,
for example where upgrades from earlier Word versions are involved, the
Envelope Address style may not take account of the spacing.
This is
easily addressed either by using the Word 2003 style set (see
illustration below) in which the Normal style has no added spacing, or
by modifying the Envelope Address paragraph style to remove the spacing. |
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| Getting started |
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The principles involved
are the same for
all recent Word versions. The menu layouts may however be slightly different
from those illustrated here. Where there are important differences I have
added illustrations.
Start by putting a dummy
address on a document. This is purely as an aid to layout and will be
discarded later. The content is thus immaterial. |
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| Word 2002/3 |
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From the tools menu (or the
envelope/label button on the standard toolbar) select the envelope/label
wizard: |
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| Word 2007 |
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The envelope dialog is
accessed from the Envelopes tool on the mailings tab of the ribbon. |
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Use the tool to add an
envelope to the document (if the default envelope size is not what you
require, select the required envelope size from the wizard 'Options'). |
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Word 2002/3
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Word 2007
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Click on the
address and the frame will come into view, as above. Note that the frame
size is fixed. This should be sufficient for any normal address, but you
may prefer to allow the frame to expand to accommodate large addresses.
Note that if you do so, there is a danger that the address can run off the
page. Right click the border of the frame and select 'Format Frame'. |
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Word
2002/3
Word
2007
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Set the frame height to
'Auto'.
The text is subject to the
same formatting controls as any other document text. Format the font etc. as
required - in the example I have changed this to Times New Roman 14 point
italic. |
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| Update the styles Word 2002/3 |
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When you have the layout you require, the
next step is to make the changes in the underlying document template, so
that they will be available for the next envelope you create.
Ensure that Word's Tools > Options > Edit > Prompt to
update style checkbox is selected. |
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| Word 2007 |
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In Word 2007, this option is accessed by clicking the
'Pizza' button (Office button) and selecting Word options. |
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| Word 2002/3 |
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Next click the cursor in the
address you have modified and from the styles palette on the formatting
toolbar re-apply the Envelope Address style. The point of the previous
modification to tools > options is to force Word to make you, the user,
make a decision about what happens next with the following dialog box.
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Check the 'update' box as indicated |
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This will write the changes to
the paragraph style for that document. What you now need to do is
write the changes to the template. The simplest plan is ensure the
add to template box is checked for the paragraph style: |
| Word 2007 |
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With Word 2007 the process
is a little more tortuous. Click the arrow where indicated below (Home
tab on the ribbon) to open the styles dialog. |
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This
applies the new style to the current envelope only. To apply it to all
future envelopes from the current template, you need to repeat the
process in the above section, but this time select 'Modify' at the apply
styles dialog |
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This
produces the following dialong in which you can check the button to add
the style updates to the template. |
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Word 2002/3 |
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In the
earlier Word versions life is a little more straightforward. You can
access the styles task pane and re-apply the original Envelope Address
style to your newly formatted address frame. The rest of the process is
essentially the same. However to access the 'Modify' style dialog, right
click the Envelope Address style in the task pane and select 'Modify
Style' |
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Check the add to template box
and 'OK' out of the dialog. When you close Word, you will be
prompted to save normal.dot (or rather you should be if you have the
appropriate option checked in tools > options > save > prompt to save
normal.dot. As it is always a good idea to keep control of what gets saved
in the normal template, this option should be checked as a matter of course. |
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| Word 2007 |
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In Word 2007 this option is
again provided from Word Options. Click the 'Pizza' button. |
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And thus when you respond in
the affirmative to the following prompt, the changes will be saved for
posterity. |
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or in Word 2007
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| Envelope return address |
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If you have survived so far, the envelope
return address changes should hold no fears - the only difference is that
the style does not employ a frame and thus positional changes are made by
indents and spacing as part of the style format. However, the facility to
use Alternative Return
Addresses adds so significantly to the use of return
addresses that you will probably prefer to do things this way instead. |
| Window Envelopes |
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Window
envelopes have nothing to do with any of what has gone before, but for
the sake of completeness the following shows how to set up a template to
use window envelopes.
Start by
taking a window envelope, remove any cellophane from the window and
insert a blank page that would be used for your letter, folder to fit
the envelope. Insert the folded page into the envelope so that the top
left side of what would be the letter will appear in the window of the
envelope.
Take a
pencil and draw around the window onto the folder paper inside. |
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Remove the
paper from the envelope and unfold to reveal the pencil marks. Measure
the distances from the edge of the paper. |
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Print out a
letter with the addressee information at the top and use a ruler to
establish whether the address would fit within the rectangle. Adjust the
margins and indents or paragraph spacing to accommodate any mis-match. |
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| Custom Envelopes |
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Word can
only print what the active printer driver will allow, and as many
drivers are poor when it comes to custom paper sizes, Word will tend to
substitute a standard paper size that the driver can print. This can
prove a problem when printing non-standard envelopes, e.g. for greetings
cards (and unusual sized documents generally).
The
simplest workaround is to create an envelope template for such
envelopes. As Word has no idea whatsoever what size paper you are going
to run through your printer, you can start by setting up the page layout
to any standard size that you wish that is larger than the
document/envelope that you wish to print. The most obvious size to use
is your standard page size of A4 or US Letter.
Establish
whether the printer guides, when adjusted for your narrower document,
are set for centre or side feed and attach the envelope to a blank piece
of paper either at top centre or top left (right feed). Tip: If
centre feed, fold the narrow edge of the paper and the top edge of the
envelope in two and nip the edges to mark the centres. Superimpose
envelope over paper so that the nip marks coincide, |
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You should
end up with something like the image above. Take a note of the two
measurements (in the case of the centre feed printer - the measurement
at the left side of the envelope will be the same as that at the right.)
Open a
blank document based on the normal template and add the measurements to
the page margins. The page setup dialogs are similar for Word 2007 and
earlier versions so I have shown that from 2007 below. |
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This will
almost certainly produce the following error message as most drivers
cannot print to the edge of the page. Click Fix to correct the errors. |
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| Note: |
If you
would prefer to use a document template to produce envelopes, samples
in #10 size are available from the downloads
page for you to use or adapt. |
