Simply put, the Word ruler allows the user to control and adjust the size of the page margin and the distance of each paragraph from it. Thanks to this theme, you can give a special order to the images, texts, and any other elements on the page and make them more beautiful visually.
Of course, the benefits of using a ruler do not end there, and its main feature can be seen when printing a document. In a way, you can use a ruler to make sure that the text of the documents does not protrude from the edge of the paper so that the printing can be done more accurately.
The problem, however, is that many users are unaware of the presence of this feature in Microsoft Word. Of course, even those who are aware of the ruler do not know how to activate it and take advantage of its good features in various matters.
How to enable Word ruler?
Before you start anything, make sure the Word display mode is in ” Print Layout “. To understand this issue, just look for the ” View ” tab in the ribbon. Now, if ” Print Layout ” is not active in this section, click on it to turn on its key and highlight it.
When you return to ” Print Layout ” mode, pay attention to the middle of the ribbon. In this section, there is a section called ” Show ” in which the ” Ruler ” option can be seen well. Just enable this option to quickly have a horizontal ruler appear at the top of the document and another ruler appear vertically next to it.
How to access the page settings window?
To access the ” Page Setup ” window, just double-click on the empty space of the ruler. This will take you to the exact window you used to access the Layout tab.
Page Setup is basically a window where you can change the configuration values of the document. But in this window, there is a tab called ” Margins ” with which you can specify the size of the top, bottom, left and right margins of the page.
Also in this section, for documents that are to be converted into wired booklets in the future, there is a practical tool called ” Gutter ” that can be used to create a depth screen on the head.
The depth of the head is basically an extra empty space that is placed next to the margin. This will give you the space you need to wire the booklets, so you no longer have to worry about your texts getting corrupted.
Additionally, in the Margins tab, you can change the way the page is displayed from portrait to landscape. If you are planning to print your document, it is better to go to the ” Paper ” tab and specify the dimensions of your paper before starting the printing operation.
How to specify margins
If you look closely at the Word ruler, you will see two specific colors: gray and white. But these two simple colors are not so meaningless and with the help of each of them, you can change certain elements of the page.
Simply put, gray indicates the size of the border and white indicates the dimensions of the page. Of course, at first glance, the Word ruler scale is definitely confusing. Because the scale of the margins change from large to small and the dimensions of the page from small to large.
But with a little work on the ruler, you can quickly see what they mean. Maybe if you look at the numbers from right to left to measure the margin, you will be less confused and you will be able to complete the page border steps in less time and with more accuracy.
You do not need to do any complicated work to determine the margins. Just move your mouse pointer to the border between the two colors. This turns the cursor into a dual arrow that you can swipe left and right to resize borders.
How to identify text niches
In addition to all the good features of the ruler, its ” Indent ” pointers are also very useful. These markers basically identify text indentations, and by using each one, interesting changes can be made to the appearance of the document.
The image above shows all the markers that can be used to identify text indentations.
In a way, if you want your paragraphs to start at a specific place on the page, just drag the ” Left Indent ” to that point. If you are careful, you will see that when this cursor is dragged, the place of other indents also changes. However, if you want to see exactly what the text changes when you move the Left Indent, just look at the image below.
But the main changes in the text can be made with the help of ” First Line Indent “. Just move this cursor to the starting point of the first line of each paragraph to make major changes.
Also, by moving the ” Hanging Indent “, you can specify the indentations of all lines except the first line of the paragraph.
In addition to all this, if you look closely at the end of the ruler, you will see another cursor that can be moved to mark and restrict the end of paragraphs.
Add Tab Stop
As you know, pressing the tab key creates a space between the texts. Normally, by pressing the tab key, Word will default to a specified distance of eight characters and move the rest of the text there.
However, by adding Tab Stops, you can also specify the size of these spaces and use them if needed. Each Tab Stop is essentially an identifiable point to which the text cursor moves when the tab key is pressed. The tabs tab is also located in the corner of the image, and to access it, just look at the top of the vertical ruler.
Each time you click on this button, a different type of tab stop is provided to you. Each of these tab stops also has its own characteristics and can not be used anywhere. Therefore, it is better to know the meaning of each one before using it.
- Left Tab: Left Tab is basically the default Word stop tab and is exactly what you have used over and over again in different situations.
- Center Tab: The center tab aligns the text just around the specified stop tab.
- Right Tab: Aligns the text according to the location of the stop tab on the right.
- Decimal Tab: Aligns decimal numbers according to the decimal point.
- Bar Tab: The tab bar creates a vertical line in the document.
- First Line Indent: Add an Indent marker to the ruler and start the first line of the paragraph based on its position.
- Hanging Indent: Adds a Hanging Indent marker to the ruler and changes the amount of indentation on all lines of a paragraph except the first line.
To use the stops tab, you just need to click on their key. Now after specifying the type of tab stop, you can click on the vertical and horizontal rulers to determine the stopping points of the tabs.
Now if you are careful, you can see the symbol of your selected tab at the specified point on the ruler. Now all you have to do is press the tab key in the right place to apply the changes.
In addition, you can use several tabs at the same time in your text and get the best help from each in different situations.
In addition to all this, Word has provided more advanced settings for its users that can be accessed by double-clicking on the icon of each stop tab.
By entering the window of these settings, you can enter all the values you want manually and proceed with more precision.
Enable Word vertical ruler
Sometimes the Word vertical ruler may not be displayed by default with the horizontal ruler. In such cases, you must activate it manually. To get started in Windows, first go to the File menu and then click Advanced from the Options section. Scroll to the bottom of the page to reach the Show vertical ruler in Print Layout view option and check it. Finally, click OK to save the changes.
If you are a Mac user, to enable the horizontal ruler go to the Preferences section of the Word menu and then select the View option under Authoring and Proofing Tools. Check the Vertical ruler option at the bottom of Show Window Elements, and finally close the Preferences window to save the applied changes.
Change the Word ruler unit
Note that the default unit of the Word ruler is inches; As a result, you can convert its dimensions to centimeters for easier understanding. To do this in Windows, first click on the File menu and go to Options. Then go to the Advanced section and click on the Show measurements in units of option. Now from the drop-down menu, you can place your desired unit on the centimeter. The new unit will now be used in all files.
To change the Word ruler unit in Mac OS, first, go to Pages, and then from Preferences at the top of the page, click on Rulers. Then click on the Ruler Units pop-menu and place your desired unit on the centimeter. You can also use the Display mode of the ruler units as a percentage, instead of the usual units of the percentage occupied by the page volume.
Frequently Asked Questions about Word Ruler
What is the use of Word ruler?
Simply put, the Word ruler allows the user to control the size of the page margin and the distance of each paragraph from it. Thanks to this theme, images, text and any other elements on the page can be arranged.
How to enable Word ruler?
To activate the Word ruler, you must first set the Word to Print Layout mode, then activate the Ruler option in the Show section to activate the horizontal ruler at the top of the Word screen.
Where is the Word ruler used?
You can see the main feature of the Word ruler when printing a document, in a way you can use the ruler to make the text of the documents do not protrude from the edge of the paper to print more accurately.
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Source: Howtogeek
