MS Word

Rotate Text to the Angle You Want

The Problem:

When manipulating text in a table cell in Word, I can only rotate it 90 degrees one way or the other. In WordPerfect, I can rotate text 90, 180, 270, or 360 degrees. Obviously, I don't generally want to rotate 360 degrees, but it's helpful to have the 180-degree option.

The Solution:

As you say, the Format » Text Direction command is limited to producing vertical text (either a 90-degree rotation or a 270-degree rotation)and it works only for table cells.

If this isn't sufficient, what you need to do is create a graphic that contains the text you want to rotate. Create the text in Word, and then use a utility such as IrfanView (http://www.irfanview.com) to capture a graphic of the text and crop it down to the section you want. Insert the graphic, position it in front of or behind the text, and rotate it to the angle you want (see Figure 4-13).

Figure 4-13. For upside-down text, such as the answers to riddles or "Fold this sheet here" instructions, you need to use a graphic showing the text you want.


Create a Watermark

The Problem:

I need to stamp "DRAFT" in red across each page of my report. I can put a floating graphic on each page, but they tend to move even if I try to anchor them.

The Solution:

Word considers this to be a watermark. Choose Format » Background » Printed Watermark and use the options in the Printed Watermark dialog box.

To create a watermark, Word uses the header-and-footer layer. If the canned options in the Printed Watermark dialog box don't give you enough flexibility, you can tweak the watermark by choosing View » Header and Footer and working with the watermark directly. The header-and-footer layer is a special layer that enables you to position text or graphics anywhere on the page, not just in the areas conventionally reserved for headers and footers.