Word 97 mentor needed please?

[Paula Neale <PLNeale@AOL.COM>]

Rather than posting my questions to the whole list, what I am hoping for is a
few people with lots of experience working with the advanced features of
Microsoft Word 97 to volunteer to let me send them my questions to answer
only if they can do so easily and can spare the time at the moment.  Perhaps
I might even be able to occasionally email you an attachment of a document
that is giving me trouble.  Below is an example of what I mean.

As part of our Title 1 plan for this year, we are creating several templates
to be used by all the teachers in lesson planning and instructional design.
Actually I should say 'THEY' decided I would create them.

Right now I am working on a rather complex lesson plan template involving 2
pages with 4 columns each.  Each column is to have a different number of rows
or cells, 5 in one row, 2 in another 8 in another, etc.  None of them go
straight across the way rows normally do in a table.  I guess we are talking
about an irregular table.  I tried the draw table function and got the cells
positioned the way the Title One teacher designed them.  The trouble is when
people actually start filling in the lesson plan online, they don't stay that
way.  If, for example, they happen to need extra space in their phonics plan
for Monday, then every time they go down a line, cells in adjacent columns
are likely to get larger as well even though they weren't supposed to be
connected and even though the extra space is not needed in the other column.

 I can use it without much problem, but the teachers it is for mostly don't
know about things like the overtype button, merging cells, and sticking in
text boxes to hide a multitude of problems.  And when I mention things like
showing and deleting non-printing characters, their eyes just glaze over.
They are used to trying to get next week's lesson plans mostly scribbled out
during Friday video time.  This template is an attempt by the Title One
Facilitator to get them to put more thought into their instructional design
without making it overwhelming.  However 20+ hours last weekend trying to
make this 'foolproof' template was pretty overwhelming to me, especially when
I consider that this is only one of many requests to come.

I can't help feeling there must be some simple answer to this table qestion
that I am not finding.  Or maybe a table is not what I want, but what else
could  I use?  I have not tried to do this as a form as I haven't taught
myself about  forms, yet.  But I have a feeling that a form might not allow
enough flexibility for everyone and that I would wind up being asked to
create form after form to suit each of our 34 staff members individual
preferences.  And again I am determined to limit the time I spend on this.
This is a state evaluation year and believe me, I have plenty of
library-related tasks to accomplish in my 'spare time.'

I am a MAC person.  When the district decided to go PC, they gave us
Microsoft Works for DOS with about 8 fonts and no graphics and a Dot matrix
printer, so I saw no reason to give up the lazer printer, the dozens and
fonts and hundreds of graphics I had with my MAC in order to learn that
program.  Now we finally have Office so I'm trying to become more
multi-platform, but we still have no graphics beyond the basic Microsoft clip
art, most windows functions including the start button, Explorer and the
trash can disabled.  And of course we have do documentation and no training.

In spite of my limited PC experience, if there is anyone around here who
knows enough to help, they are certainly keeping quiet about it.  There are
couple of husbands, but they work in the field and know their value.  They
want money and anyway are not willing to work under the restrictions imposed
by our network security procedures.  So if you love Word, please consider
volunteering.  Volunteers only have to do what is convenient for them you
know.

Thanks,

Paula Neale, LMS
Ingels Elementary School
Kansas City, MO  64134
816-316-7855
plneale@aol.com

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