> Please forgive my posting yesterday in such an unreadable table format.
> Can someone please teel me how to post in a table format so that the
>columns line up appropriately????
> I am writing my message in WORD format then converting it to .txt
format
>before posting.
I probably format more tables for electronic reproduction than most folks.
If you must use a high-end processor, use a non-proportional font like
Courier. Setting the right margin in about 1 1/2 inches results in about a
65 character line which displays well on anyones monitor, and allows those
who need to print your message in larger type, for ease of reading, to still
get everything in your sentence on the same line.
Remove the tab settings from your style sheet before you start, and resist
the impulse to try to use the tab key. Format your columns with spaces...not
tabs. If your message is important enough to go to the trouble to post it
here, do it right.
If you have more columns than monitor, shorten the column header names with
abbreviations or stack identifying words above the column which will allow
the columns to be closer together.
In saving the file, use the text format with the option checked to save a
carriage return with each line.
Testing your work
Use a simple text processor like edit in DOS, or notepad in the Windows
environment
to open the file you just saved with your high-end word processor. Are the
sentences single spaced with a blank line between paragraphs? If the spacing
is not correct, you can correct it by removing blank lines through the document.
Are the sentences wider than the screen now? If your high-end word processor
did not save a carriage return at the end of each line, your lines can be
several hundred characters wide. You can correct that now by moving the
cursor approximately 80% across the screen to an end of a word and pressing
the enter or return. You must do this on every line.
Do you see funny characters where you used punctuation marks?
If the high-end did not convert those marks to ascii, they will carry-over
into your text file and make reading hard at best for the reader. Change
them now in the text editor.
Formal writing uses different font styles to indicate different things.
Ascii does not support these conventions so you might want to CAPITALIZE
words that would be italicized in a formal work.
Greek symbols also are hard to represent in ascii text. If you know the name
of the symbol, ie. alpha, beta and so on, use the word rather than the symbol.
Check the alignment of your columns and fine tune them if a few of them are off.
For long works, break them up in messages shorter than about 600 lines. This
will ensure that they will be retrievable from the archive.
Make your Subject line descriptive.
These are all tips that will help make your posts more readable.
John Cottingham "The parkinsn list brings Knowledge, Comfort, Hope, and
Friendship to the parkinsonian world."
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