Frustrated with Notepad, Word Pad and MS Word

[ibex333]

Some rant coming up, please excuse....

I'm really pissed off right now, so I decided to ask for help.
I've been using the programs in the topic for many years but I keep having formatting problems every time I need to type up an official letter or a college essay.

I type up the document, and it looks great! however when I print it out, the formating is all screwed up... Somehow the sentences get split into two parts and get carried over to the next line, sometimes it's even worse! I am sick and tired of this! I have been using PCs for many years, I know my way around windows quite well, I have done some programming, I even built my recent rig in my sig ALL BY MYSELF! (maybe not a big accomplishment to you, but for me it was like climbing Mt. Everest) But these damn typing programs I can never tame. They seem to have a mind of their own, and they tend to give me trouble every time I need to type up a document urgently!

What's up with all this formatting crap? Why cant the document just keep the way I typed it, and print out in th same way? Who made it so damn complicated?

Now when I got my anger out of my system, and took a deep breath, I'd like to ask you to please help me. Is there a guide somewhere on the net that will explain this stuff to me once and for all? Thank you in advance.

 

[duragezic]

Might try saving to PDF?

I only use Notepad for things that don't need any formatting when printed (say a simple list or random notes)... I use Word otherwise. Switching back and forth with the same document might cause formatting issues.

 

[esun]

There shouldn't be issues if you use MS Word and your page settings are correct. If you want another solution, there's always LaTeX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX), though that carries a steep learning curve for most people.

 

[ibex333]

Originally posted by: esun
There shouldn't be issues if you use MS Word and your page settings are correct. If you want another solution, there's always LaTeX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX), though that carries a steep learning curve for most people.

How do I know if my page settings are correct??

 

[sonoma1993]

Originally posted by: ibex333

Originally posted by: esun
There shouldn't be issues if you use MS Word and your page settings are correct. If you want another solution, there's always LaTeX (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaTeX), though that carries a steep learning curve for most people.

How do I know if my page settings are correct??

go to page setup under File

 

[BehindEnemyLines]

I never had any formatting problem with Microsoft Word 2003. Are you creating a .doc file using Word 2003 and use Wordpad to open it? I see people do this all the time. The file would open, but the formatting would be wrong (still acceptable for reading).

Maybe the problem is your printer's setting?

Also tried that LaTeX stuff for my lab, and it was a big mistake. Too much of a learning curve so I just stuck with Word and MathType 5.1.

 

[tennesota]

Notepad: Good for simple text files that require little or no formatting. It is very limited when it comes to keeping the spacing correct for sentences and paragraphs.

Wordpad: Offers a simple set of tools for formatting and has decent printing capabilities. Also allows to paste/embed objects.

Wordpad is my favorite tool for pasting screenshots.

MS Word: This would be the best choice for the type of file you are trying to create. Before you print your file you can select File | Print Preview to see how your printed document would appear printed. If it doesn't look right you can opt to adjusting page margins, etc. to make it right for you. Consult the HELP documentation for more info.

 

[esun]

Also tried that LaTeX stuff for my lab, and it was a big mistake. Too much of a learning curve so I just stuck with Word and MathType 5.1.

You should give it another shot. It's really worth learning. I typeset in LaTeX almost everything I do now because the documents turn out so beautiful.

 

[bsobel]

It sounds to me like your hitting enter at the end of each screen line as if you were on a typewriter instead of simply continuing to type and letting the word processor handle the format for you....

 

[Red Squirrel]

notepad, to consider its a simple program, is very buggy. I use notepad++ for all my coding and even taking regular notes. There seems to be this weird issue when you save, the lines sometimes get all messed up, if you select they vanish and you have to close and open it.

Also it has interesting easter eggs. type "this app can break" in notepad and save it. Open it after.

 

[ibex333]

Originally posted by: bsobel
It sounds to me like your hitting enter at the end of each screen line as if you were on a typewriter instead of simply continuing to type and letting the word processor handle the format for you....

Ahh.. But that is EXACTLY what I'm doing!!!

 

[bsobel]

Originally posted by: ibex333

Originally posted by: bsobel
It sounds to me like your hitting enter at the end of each screen line as if you were on a typewriter instead of simply continuing to type and letting the word processor handle the format for you....

Ahh.. But that is EXACTLY what I'm doing!!!

Sure version STOP Use enter at the end of a paragraph, not the end of a screen 'line'. A line on the screen often is not the same size as the line on paper (because I can stretch my windows but can't stretch my paper). Once you unlearn this one item, I think you'll find your output willbe fine.

Best,
Bill