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>Can anyone enlighten me as to why when I open a Mac Write file with Word 4.0
>(happened with 3.02 too), the left margin triangle is usually moved in 1/8
>inch from zero, and the right one is 1/2 inch past the 6 (which is the right
>margin on my machine, anyway)?  This is thoroughly annoying, since I have to 
>change the margins just to be able to read the file.

Yes, this might seem a bit strange at first look.  What you are seeing
is a side effect of the fundamental differences in the way that MacWrite
and Word handle margins.

Below is an explanation of why this is happening.  If after reading it
you have any suggestions as to how the conversion process could be
improved, please drop me some mail and I'll forward it on to our
conversion guys.

When converting a MacWrite document into Word, the margins are set to:

   TOP     Same as the default (stored in the Word Settings file)
   BOTTOM  Same as the default
   LEFT    1 Inch
   RIGHT   1.5 Inches

The left, right, and first-line indents in Word are then converted so
that combined with the margins, they position the text at the same position
as it is positioned in MacWrite.

For example, if you use a 1.25" left margin in MacWrite, that will convert
to a .25" left indent (which, with the 1" left margin, will position the
text on the same position on the page).  This is done to preserve the
overall format of the document on the page.

Some notes:

TOP & BOTTOM MARGINS:  MacWrite doesn't allow you to change them.  Most
people correct this by putting extra space in the header and footer.  Word
converts the headers and footers correctly, so this approach will work and
your top & bottom "margins" should come across properly.  If you plan to
use this document exclusively in Word after the conversion, you should
take the extra space out of the header and footer and enter the margins
into format/document.

LEFT & RIGHT MARGINS:  MacWrite allows you to change them on a line by
line basis.  Because MacWrite doesn't allow you to have less than a 1"
left margin, that is why Word uses that by default.  The right margin is
the standard margin used by MacWrite.  

In Word, the margins are global to the entire document.  Word allows you to 
change left and right paragraph indents on a paragraph by paragraph basis.

MacWrite's ruler margins are based on the left edge of the paper (and
can't be less than 1").  Word's ruler indents are based on the left margin
and start at 0".  Because of this difference, Word has to convert using
a combination of indents and margins.

This is probably more information than you wanted, but I hope that it
makes the conversion process clearer.  The overall rule is that Word
tries to place the text in the same position on the page as it was in
MacWrite.  If you are finding that this isn't the case, please let me
know.

------------ Neil Hoopman - Microsoft -- uunet!microsoft!neilh ------------- 
    "Carpe Diem.  Seize the day.  Make your lives extraordinary."  - DPS
------------- Microsoft owns the keyboard.  I own the fingers. -------------