Two Up

As a book editor, I often want to see the pages of a book I'm working on as "two up"--that is, two pages at a time, side by side on my screen. This is easily done in Print Preview, of course:

1. Click "File > Print Preview."

2. Click the "Multiple Pages" button--it's green and has four little pages on it.

3. On the little menu that pops up, point your mouse at the second of the first two pages, displaying the notation "1 X 2 Pages" at the bottom of the menu.

4. Click that second page.

Now two side-by side pages should be displayed on your screen.

You can actually work on these pages by clicking the Magnifier button (a toggle) on the Print Preview toolbar (second button from the left). Working in Print Preview always seems kind of clunky to me, however. So I've set up Word to display multiple pages in regular old Print Layout view (View > Print Layout):

1. Click "File > Print Preview."

2. Right-click the Print Preview toolbar and click "Customize."

3. Hold down the CTRL key (to copy rather than move) and drag the Multiple Pages button to a different toolbar--the Formatting toolbar should do nicely.

4. Click the Close button.

Now you have a copy of the Multiple Pages button on your Formatting toolbar. Click it, as explained above, to display pages two up. Pretty slick!

There's just one problem: Word displays those two pages with the odd page on the left and the even page on the right--exactly the opposite of what you'd see in a printed book. It's a little confusing, if you ask me. The workaround is to create a blank section page at the beginning of your document and number it as page 0. Here's how:

1. Place your cursor at the very top of your document (CTRL + HOME).

2. Click "Insert > Break."

3. Under "Section break types," click "Odd page."

4. Click the OK button.

5. Click "Insert > Page Numbers."

6. Click the Format button.

7. Under "Page numbering," click "Start at."

8. In the "Start at" box, enter a zero.

9. Click the OK button.

10. Click the Close button.

Now when you display pages two up, you'll see odd pages on the right, where they belong.

I don't recommend showing pages two up while *editing* a document, but for page layout or overall document review, it's tough to beat. Just page down, review your pages, page down, review your pages, tweaking and refining as you go. I'm still amazed that it's possible to do this in good old Microsoft Word.

____________________________________________________

_________________________________________

RESOURCES

The FontSite offers great fonts, and a number of them are free. As the site says, "The following fonts are available for a limited time at 100% off the regular price. Check back regularly as we plan to offer other typefaces and type-related shareware programs and utilities we believe should be part of one's typographic toolkit."

http://www.fontsite.com/Pages/FFDownloads.html

This entry was posted in Editing. Bookmark the permalink. Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL.

Post a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • The Fine Print

    Thanks for reading Editorium Update (ISSN 1534-1283), published by:

    The EDITORIUM, LLC
    http://www.editorium.com

    Articles © on date of publication by the Editorium. All rights reserved. Editorium Update and Editorium are trademarks of the Editorium.

    You may forward copies of Editorium Update to others (but not charge for it) and print or store it for your personal use. Any other broadcast, publication, retransmission, copying, or storage, without written permission from the Editorium, is strictly prohibited. If you’re interested in reprinting one of our articles, please send an email message to editor@editorium.com

    Editorium Update is provided for informational purposes only and without a warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from infringement. The user (you) assumes the entire risk as to the accuracy and use of this document.

    The Editorium is not affiliated with Microsoft Corporation or any other entity.

    We do not sell, rent, or give our subscriber list to anyone. Period.

    If you’d like to subscribe, please enter your name and email address below. We publish the newsletter once a week, and on rare occasions we may send an important announcement. We never, ever send spam. Thank you for signing up!