Aligning text & numbers in MS Word.

[ringway]

To those with the knowledge.

How can I make text and numbers align in a word document.

I've quickly made a mock word document shown below and can't seem to contol the numbers and text. I've tried aligning left/centre/right but can't get everything neat and tidy.

Location Qty Code Colour Cost
Workshop 89 FFF/88 Aluminium 1008.00
Office 10 GGG/88 Aluminium 75.00
Warehouse 38 HHH/88 Aluminium 1123.00
Garage 22 ABC/88 Aluminium 100.00
Goods Inward 01 TTT/88 Aluminium 1762.00
Workshop 05 ABC/88 Aluminium 1111.00
Loading Bay 01 TTT/88 Aluminium 55.00
Workshop 01 TTT/88 Aluminium 100.00


The list above hasn't reproduced "as is" when copied and won't change layout even if I try to edit it but I hope you can understand my description of the problem.

Most of the documents I produce are acceptable but some takie a fair amount of "wiggling and jiggling" to look presentable.


Any help much appreciated.

TIA.

Paul.

 

[Sp!ke]

Make use of the tab button to get the spacings right or insert the items into a table.

 

[Noodle-Pulp]

Tables are your friends..

 

[mykulmerc]

or even a job for Mr Excel??

 

[PXW]

You can also control tabs by clicking/dragging them on the ruler at the top of the page - iirc these can be set to L, R or C tab. This can apply to the whole document, or just a line/section (highlight the section of text you want it to apply to).

 

[flango]

Tab or Table for me

 

[A-AvantGarde]

A table would work best for that type of content. I personally wouldn't use Tabs for a list / matrix like that. By the way, I've seen many people try to manually space content like that in documents (without using tabs!)

Let us know if you need any tips...

 

[Gridlock]

Stick the data into Excel (use "right click, paste special, text" if not working right), format and copy the resulting table and paste it into Word is the best way.

 

[Dec]

As said, you need Tables… YouTube - Computer Help : How to Make a Table in Word

Dec

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Easy fix that In Excel:

Data - Get External Data - Import Text File

And follow the wizard, I have to do it daily at work with txt data like that. The wizard allows you to manually set where the Columns go.

Avoid using the Tab key like the plague, it will never line up and mess up on other PCs.

 

[st13phil]

By the way, I've seen many people try to manually space content like that in documents (without using tabs!)

I routinely see exactly the same thing For some reason, people don't seem to understand that proportional fonts won't allow you to do that

Back to the original question:

If you just want to format things to look right, as others have said use either tabs or a table. If there's a need to use maths (e.g. Qty x Unit Price = Line Price) then I'd use Excel and paste in the worksheet object so that it remains editable in Excel.

Tip: if you're using a tab for the numerics, the Decimal Align tab is the one you want.

 

[Benzowner]

If your example above was say stock and you need a stock valuation, use Excel, if its just a list, personally I would just use the tab on word.

 

[rees_A]

Hmm not sure, contact someone who has a Star and get it checked out with them..They seem to have the answers to all problems...

 

[ringway]

Thanks Guys.

I have been using the tables for a while now, and (for me, at least) they are the solution.

I now have lots of pre-prepared tables ready for copying into my word documents.

Job done. :bannana: