Ah, Jumbo. Alas, since I do not work with you, and you have yet to come crawling to me with some elemental Excel question regarding cell formatting, pivot tables or the =CONCATENATE formula, you do not, as yet, qualify for the 'whinging little maggot' label.

But I won't give up hope on you just yet.

John, I still can't work out what I did to switch it off but I'm told that if you put a space after the last asterisk they won't convert to a line.

Dee
x

Dee, this option is enabled by default under 'Autocorrect'. Turn it off/on as follows:

On the Word main toolbar choose <b>Tools...AutoCorrect</b), then select the <b>AutoFormat as you Type</b> tab. The option is the second one down from the top, 'Borders'. Check this to enable this feature, uncheck to stop it.

Regards,

Jon

<Added>

Doh, goddam HTML tabs.

J

Jon

Thanks for that! Have now switched it off.

But where does it tell you that if you type three asterisks, you'll get some funny border thing?

Much obliged for your help.

jumbo

Thanks Jon, it’s been doing my head in! I know I switched it off at some point but, if that’s how I did it, I must have stumbled across it by accident – I wouldn’t have logically made the connection.

Dee

But where does it tell you that if you type three asterisks, you'll get some funny border thing?

Possibly the manual that nobody ever reads.

It is in the help file but in fairness you have to pretty much know what you're looking for before you can find it (type AutoFormat into the Help index, scroll to the bottom and click on 'results of formatting a document automatically'.

I fall between two stools here (and I haven't been drinking - yet). On the one hand, having worked in IT support, I can see the view that many such queries should be solved by the RTFM principle. On the other hand I can understand that many modern software packages are very complex and what seems obvious and simple to one person is a mystery to another. The problem is that virtually no software remains 'easy and simple' for long. Anything that works well is bound to be modified and amended by requests - the *** thing is useful for some (I use it) - and anything as long in the tooth as Word ends up with hundreds of features used to varying degree by different users.

I try to give advice to people based upon what they need. However I have frequently advised inexperienced home users (and I hasten to add here that I don't use that term in a derogatory fashion) that Wordpad (which comes free with Windows) is probably all they'll need only to find a couple of weeks later that some other 'expert' has told them they need Word. When they struggle with the features it somehow becomes the fault of the software for being too complex...

Jon

Maggot calling

Not in mine it doesn't!

jumbo

Jon

Thanks for that. I've now found it in the Word help files. Well buried! I'd actually had a look at that same section, but hadn't burrowed as deep as I needed to.

So thanks again!

jumbo

Jon, you will soon realise that IB’s mission in life is to wind up as many of us as he can – and I’ve no doubt he’ll burn me for that! Or, probably not, because I’m expecting it.

My partner works in IT but, when I asked him about this last night, he pointed out that he was at home… oops… but it means I’m familiar with ‘RTFM’. Made me laugh out loud.

Hiya Maggot… I was just thinking about you. I found myself writing that someone jerked out of a chair…

Dee
x

Nice to be remembered - now and again!

How're the four people sitting round the table?

Anyone spoken yet?

m

Awww… you know you’re never far from my thoughts. Where’s DLD?

Fynn has just leapt out of his chair and the others are looking at him as if he’s gone off on one – and I’m stuck again.

This is unknown territory for me… is this writer’s block? Mind you, while they’ve been sitting there I’ve written Tramp and about 2000 words of a later chapter… so only a partial block, I think.

If you’re still following this, Jon, it’s nice to see you’ve got a coloured jumper now. Welcome aboard.

Dee
xx

Thanks, when did that happen

J

Coloured jumper? Did I miss something?

Just posted DLD 13

jumbo maggot

Don’t fret, Jumblies, you’ve had one for ages…I mean the little figure next to your name… did you know I used to think they were cow-bells?

Right, off to read DLD now before this thread gets pulled for being too un-writerly

xx