[nrscroller]

HI all
When I go to make a sign in ms word, how do I judge how hi and wide it is so it looks right on my building front. I know how to make a text box, add letters and that stuff but wonder about size?
Thanks
Bill

 

[wvgca]

make a text box first the right height and width .. that way you can see if your text itself overlaps ..

 

[Dennis461]

I think you set VIEW to PRINT LAYOUT to get rulers top and side

 

[CTValleyRR]

I think you set VIEW to PRINT LAYOUT to get rulers top and side

That works. You can also set the properties of the text box to an exact size. Right click on it and select "format text box". Make sure you uncheck the "Resize" option as well.

 

[Old_Hobo]

PowerPoint is far superior for making signs than MS Word.....very good at manipulating graphics and text.....

 

[LateStarter]

I did this on an old floppy-disc PC in MSWord ('90's version).

[Edit]:
I forget exactly, but I think there was a menu item that put a ruler scale on the X&Y axis', and you could drag the box to a 'more or less' exact size... plus small text boxes where you could enter precise X & Y values.

 

[J.Albert1949]

LateStarter's sign looks better than mine!

I'm on a Mac.
I used the "Pages" app to make a sign for a building on the train table.

I measured the actual sign so that I'd have the dimensions.
Then, I created a "lined rectangle" and adjusted the height and width to the required dimensions.
Then, I created a "text box" and placed it inside.
I added the building name "Millerton Milk & Dairy", chose a font to use (Korinna), and sized/centered it within the text box.

Looked like this:

Then I printed it out, cut it to size, and use a piece of double-stick tape to stick it onto the empty sign panel.
Nothing fancy, but it did a "good-enough" job for me:

 

[Shdwdrgn]

Use the 'table' feature to make a single or group of boxes. You can set the cells of the table to an exact height and width in inches or mm, then adjust your font size to an appropriate value for each sign.

I think one of the hardest parts of trying to reproduce a historical sign is in finding exactly the right font to use. Luckily there are a lot of online websites now with free fonts available, and even some tools that can help you narrow down the font used. Even so, I have spent hours in the past trying to find exactly the right font (I had to replace the VIN tag on my motorcycle frame when I stripped it down and repainted it, and wanted to make an exact replica of the original).

 

[TomFromMo]

I've been experimenting using MS Word as well by adding images of old advertising signs. Here's a few I just made for a new building.

 

[J.Albert1949]

Excellent images in post 9 above!

 

[Eilif]

Just wanted to say that youall's work with MS and labels is really impressive. Got some good ideas for stuff to print out on mailing labels and put on the sides of box trucks.

 

[tr1]

Micromark specialized train tools

Does anyone use the truck spreading tool for HO cars when
changing out too metal freight wheels?
Thank you in advance!

Does it make this tedious task more enjoyable?
Regards, tr1

 

[LateStarter]

Again??
Never mind, I'll zip it. hwell:

 

[Old_Hobo]

Tr1, you did it again....this is a thread about making signs......

Why don't you start your own thread for your questions? You'd get a lot more answers to the questions that way, plus you wouldn't hi-jack someone else's thread....hwell: