How to correctly align the signature to the right
Giuseppe Di Grande Updated the 03/10/2017 00:00Is it correct to align the signature to the right using spaces or tabs?
When writing a letter and wanting to put a signature at the bottom, many people have the problem of how to align the signature to the right. Are you among these people? This article describes how to do it and the video shows you.
Many people are unfamiliar with the Word processing tools of a Word processor. They are used to aligning text with spaces or tabs. Either way is an incorrect use of these elements.
The space is a transparent font that is used to separate words. It serves only that purpose; it has no other function. Generally, words are separated by a single space, neither by two nor by many spaces.
The tabulator is used to insert a space of a fixed size which takes the cursor to a predetermined point on the page, called a tabulation point. The tabulator is used to place text at specific points on the paper. Generally, pressing the tab key, the one with the horizontal arrows next to the Q key, moves the cursor to the next tab point. In this case the tabulation point is prefixed by the size of the generic tab character. Using the tabulator to align the signature to the right is equivalent, as with the space, to inserting as many tabs until the ideal position for the signature is reached.
In both cases the use is incorrect. It is possible to reach the final goal of placing the signature to the right, but it is mandatory to keep the same size and layout of the sheet where the letter was prepared. If the layout or type of sheet is changed, alignments made with spaces or tabs lose their purpose, producing incorrect and sometimes unpredictable results.
It is essential to use the right Word processing elements, even more so when producing documents useful for all types of paper printing, including Braille printing with Biblos.
Indents and paragraph alignment are the correct elements for aligning the signature to the right. Depending on what we want to achieve, we can use left indentation to move the beginning of the signature away from the left side of the paper (left indentation). Or we can use the right alignment of the paragraph and, if necessary, use the right indentation to move the end of the signature away from the right side of the paper (right indentation). For a correct Braille printing this last solution is the most correct.
Let's start with the left indentation. Write the signature and open the Paragraph Type window (menu Format/Paragraph...). The Left field (the left indent) is set, for example, to 11 cm, that is slightly more than half of an A4 sheet. Click on the Ok button and you will see the signature move horizontally a little bit further than the center of the sheet, around 13 cm (11 indent + 2 left margin). Using this mode the signature will always start with 11 cm of indentation, even if you print on an A3 sheet. Is this correct? No, because it can work with a default sheet size, but if you change the sheet, the signature might be printed either in the middle or too far to the right, depending on whether the sheet is larger or smaller.
Let's move on to the more correct way, which is to align the paragraph to the right and use the eponymous indent. This way of aligning the signature will ensure that the signature will always be right-aligned. Let's type the signature and always enter the Paragraph Type window. In the Alignment field we choose Right, and in the Right field (the right indent) we enter 2 cm. We confirm by clicking Ok and our signature will be perfectly aligned to the right, indented from the text by 2 cm. This alignment will be valid for any sheet size.
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