Hi,

I am in the process of publishing an ebook. At this point only one problem really remains and that has to do with the right hand margin. More specifically, in the "Contents" of the book, where the page numbers are given on the right-hand side, the numbers do not line up in a truly straight line down the sides of the pages - they actually have a slightly serpentine appearance. Can anyone tell me how I can set what I will describe as a really 'hard right margin' to the pages and, in so doing, make the page numbers in the "Contents" line up 'straight as an arrow'? Or is there another solution to this problem?



Thank you.

I am responding to a question about MS Word. I know nothing significant about ebook publishing protocols.

The automatically generated table of contents uses different styles to generate each level of the TOC depending on the level of the source. These are normally set as you insert the TOC. You can change these style definitions, though if needed.

I would recommend, in a copy, trying to re-insert your TOC with different looks. Otherwise you can change the styles. The right margin you are observing is actually a right-tab setting in the style for the page number (often with a dot leader). Here are some references that might help.

How to create a table of contents in Microsoft Word
Complex Documents

Hi Mark,

Assuming you're referring to a Word Table of Contents, simply dragging the right margin of a number that doesn't line up correctly to where it should be usually causes all the numbers for that entry level to adjust. Indeed, if you look at the horizontal ruler as you move up & down the TOC, you may see the right-aligned tab-stop marker moving left/right. It's those tab-stops that determine where the page numbers line up to.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Hi,

I'm sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you - too many things going on.

It has become apparent to me that I will need to use the Table of Contents function. It seems like I will be using the Manual Table. So far so good. What I would like to do is to use single space (1.0) in the TOC, but I can't figure out how to get the TOC function to allow this. When I try to set this in Paragraph, the TOC seems to default to something like 1.5 space. Can someone tell me how I can single space the TOC?

With a Table of Contents, the paragraph formatting for each entry usually has a certain amount of before and after spacing. If you select, say, the page number for any of these paragraphs, and change it's before and after spacing (and line spacing, if need be), all Table of Contents entries for the corresponding heading level should automatically adjust to the new settings.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Everything about how a TOC field looks is defined by the styles for the TOC levels. You need to modify the spacing in those styles.

I'm afraid I may not have expressed myself clearly enough. When I say "Paragraph", I mean the Paragraph section of Home in Word and the Line Spacing in it. At bottom, what I would like to know is: is it possible to single space in the TOC in a Manual Table, and, if so, how?

Thanks.

[quote]When I say "Paragraph", I mean the Paragraph section of Home in Word and the Line Spacing in it.[quote]
That sounds like you're referring to the Ribbon, but it tells us nothing about what part of the document you mean.
I have already told you that. Contrary to the implications of what Charles says, you do not ordinarily need to modify TOC Styles by editing the Style definitions.

__________________
Cheers,
Paul Edstein
[Fmr MS MVP - Word]

Hi Charles Kenyon,

I think I am seeing how this is done in Styles now - at least up to a point.

Thank you.

Hi macropod,

I did mean Ribbon. Anyway, there is no "part of the document". I am wanting to start from scratch with a new Manual Table TOC. I guess the easiest way to do this at this point is through Styles.

Thank you.

Paul is right, you can choose a different pattern in the Insert Table of Content dialog or modify the options there. However, you can modify the styles.

Hi,

OK. TOC done. One last question: how do I permanently remove the blue background field/outline in the TOC now that it's done-?

Thank you.