Setting Margins with Word 2003...

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I am trying to type out a term paper using my Word 2003. Each time I set the margins .......top, and bottom and left and right....for 2.5cm. that I require for APA format, I print it out and get out my ruler and it is way way off.

I have spent hours fiddling with the settings and then printing off my title page only to discover that I don't have the margins 2.5cm...grrrr.

I am wasting a ton of ink doing this.

Does anyone with Word 2003 know the settings to use so that I end up with a 2.5 cm margin all the way around the page.???

And when I change these settings do I also then have to change the default setting for my Page Header at the top right?????

I am pretty lost here.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

Word sets your margins in inches and tenths of inches, not centimeters unless they are programmed differently for Canada. So, for a 2.5 cm margin you want to set it for 1.0 (1 inch) all the way around to get your 2.5cm margins all the way around your paper. Your page header will automatically be inserted 1 inch from the top of your paper. Don't mess with the page formatting when you pull up the header/footer bar. Just type your text in the dotted textbox that appears at the top of the page your are viewing to set the text that will be in the header. To get the text in your header aligned to the right margin click on the Align Right button on your standard formatting bar which is at the top of the window. Or, you can place the cursor within any of the letters of the header, click on Format, then Paragraph, then Alignment Right and click OK at the bottom of the box. Your header should then be at the right margin 1 inch from the top of every page.

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Well this is a brand new computer with Word 2003 Office on it. There is no way that I can set the margins to read as inches. Everything is metric.

2.54 cm is way too big.

Thanks for your help. I will have to fuss with it I guess. Just hate wasting all that ink.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

FYI use the print preview buttom to see what it will look like before you waste a ton of ink.

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Specializes in Gerontological, cardiac, med-surg, peds.
I am trying to type out a term paper using my Word 2003. Each time I set the margins .......top, and bottom and left and right....for 2.5cm. that I require for APA format, I print it out and get out my ruler and it is way way off.

I have spent hours fiddling with the settings and then printing off my title page only to discover that I don't have the margins 2.5cm...grrrr.

I am wasting a ton of ink doing this.

Does anyone with Word 2003 know the settings to use so that I end up with a 2.5 cm margin all the way around the page.???

And when I change these settings do I also then have to change the default setting for my Page Header at the top right?????

I am pretty lost here.

Others have done a great job discussing the Word document settings, so let's try a different approach. I have attached an "old" paper of mine which was formatted in APA format (with correct 1" margins). Take my old paper, erase my material, and use it as a template. Hopefully, this will work :)

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Tools - Options - General - Measurement Units

Lets you chose between inches, centimeters, millimeters, points and picas.

Also, when you are setting your margins in page setup, make sure that the gutter is set to 0

When you go to print, if there is a setting for "scale to paper size" is not set for something funky.

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