Re: [libreoffice-users] Need help with page formatting please...

At 09:42 01/07/2013 -0500, Al Vesper wrote:
> On Sun, Jun 30, 2013 at 9:32 PM, Brian Barker wrote:
> > At 20:27 30/06/2013 -0500, Al Vesper wrote:
> > > I am trying to create mini cue cards, 3"x2.5", meaning I want to 
> > > print two mini-cards on a 3x5 card which I will cut in half.  I 
> > > want the text (one to three lines) to start at the same place on 
> > > each mini-card.  When I format the page for 3x5, I don't know how 
> > > to get the text for the second mini-card to start at the same 
> > > place each time (the first mini-card may have a varying number of 
> > > lines).  I need hundreds of these things, and I would like to 
> > > format each page (two mini-cards) once for all the cards.
> > >
> > > I've played with the paragraph spacing, frames, page formatting, 
> > > and almost everything else, but haven't gotten it figured out 
> > > yet.  Any suggestions (especially ones that might actually work) 
> > > will be gratefully appreciated.
> >
> > A few questions:
> >
> > o Does your printer actually handle 3" by 5" stock (few will) and 
> > if so, which way around will your printer accept this stock?  Or 
> > will you need to print the cards as part of larger sheets?
>
> Yes, I have an HP Officejet Pro 8500.  3x5 is the smallest media it 
> accepts.  The card stock feeds lengthwise (3" edge feeds in), and 
> the text is printed in portrait format ready for the card to be cut 
> into 3x2.5.  I never tried feeding the stock the other direction.
>
> > o Which way around do you want the text to appear?  With the text 
> > the right way up for reading, is the whole card in portrait format, 
> > waiting for a horizontal cut?  Or is it in landscape format, 
> > waiting for a vertical cut?
>
> answered above
>
> > o Do you want to create multiple cards (multiple pairs of 
> > mini-cards) in a single file, or are you expecting to create a 
> > separate document file for each pair?
>
> One file for hundreds of cards.  And I don't relish formatting each 
> page separately.

Here's one idea:

o Go to Table | Insert > | Table... and create a table of 1 column 
and 3 rows.  You may want to untick Border.
o Adjust the row heights so that the first and third cells delimit 
the position of your text area for the eventual separate 
half-cards.  You will probably want to untick "Fit to size" for row 
height for each of the three rows.
o Select all of the table and copy it.
o Paste it repeatedly at the bottom of the table: this should create 
new pages as necessary with a new table on each page.  (You may need 
to delete intervening paragraph breaks to make everything fit in its 
correct place.)
o Now you can type your text in the first and third cells of each 
table, leaving the empty middle cell to provide the margins between 
the half-cards.

Unfortunately, I don't see any way to replicate the table a number of 
times in one process.  But this is still a great deal quicker than 
formatting each page separately!

I trust this helps.

Brian Barker


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