Working with Frames

The KWord Users Manual
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# 8.2. Working with Frames

Since KWord is a frames based wordprocessor, an understanding of Frames is necessary for all but the most simple of documents.

This section is designed to give you a firm understanding of how to create, destroy and manipulate frames so KWord can provide you with the exact document you want.

## 8.2.1. Framesets

Before we continue our discussion of Frames, its important that we define a couple terms now:

Frame

  A frame is a rectangular space on the page. This space defines an area where text (or other data), can be placed.

Frameset

  A frameset is a group of frames. Each frame in the framset has a position within the framset

  The position is determined when the frames are created. The first frame created is Frame #1, the second is Frame #2, etc.

  All text flows from one frame to another within a frameset, and only within a frameset. Text flows from frame to frame within the frameset according to the position of each frame

  As an example: If we have a frameset that consists of three frames (#1, #2, and #3).

  As we type text into Frame #1, the text is shaped to the outline of Frame #1

  When the text will no longer fit within Frame #1, it is automatically continued into Frame #2.

As you can see, text must (and does) move freely between frames within a framset.

## 8.2.2. Adding a Text Frame to a Document

Adding a text frame can be done one of three ways:

- By selecting Tools->Create Text Frame from the Menu bar

- You can use the keyboard shortcut: F6

- or by clicking on the toolbar.

Whatever method you choose, KWord responds by changing the cursor to a set of crosshairs.

Using the mouse, place the cursor at one of the corners of your new text frame. (Any corner will work)

Now click and hold with the left mouse button.

Drag the mouse towards the opposite corner of the rectangle. As you drag the mouse, you will see a box drawn. This box represents the boundries of your new text frame.

When you are satisfied with the size and shape of your new text box, release the mouse button.

A dialog box appears.

The purpose of this dialog box is two fold:

1. Determine which frameset this new frame will belong to

2. Set up text flow options.

The tab labeled Connect Text Frames in this dialog box is used to determine which frameset this new text box belongs.

Using the example given, you have just created a new frame in a document which currently has two framesets (called Frameset 1, and Frameset 2).

You now have the option of either:

1. appending this text box to one of the previously created framesets.

   To do this, simply select the frameset you want to connect this new text box two (either "Frameset 1", or "Frameset 2")

   When this text frame is created, the new text frame will become the last frame in the selected frameset.

   or

2. You can create a new frameset. This newly added frame will be the first (and currently only) frame in the frameset.

   If you want this to be a new frameset, you can enter a descriptive name for your new frameset. (A name which will tell you what you might find in that frameset). This name should be entered in the text box labled "Name of new Frameset".

The other tabs in this dialog box, can be used to set some options for this frame. For more information on these options, see the section entitled Formatting Frames.

If you click "OK", the new frame will be created.

If you click "Cancel", the new frame will not be created, and you will be returned to editing your document.

| KWord assumes you want to continue to add new text frames until you say otherwise. In other words, when you have created your new text frame, you must now tell KWord you want to resize a frame, or insert text into the frame, etc... If you fail to change to another function, clicking with the mouse will create yet another text frame.

## 8.2.3. Deleteing a Frame From a Document

You may decide you no longer need a frame in your document. You could leave it blank (so it would not be visible in the final output), but you should probably delete it to keep your document as simple as possible.

By deleting a frame, you will also be deleting from you document any data inside that frame.

In order to delete a frame, you must be in "Frame Edit Mode". To change to Frame Edit Mode, you can:

- Select Tools->Edit Frames from the Menu bar

- You can use the keyboard shortcut: F5

- or by clicking on the toolbar.

Once you are in frame edit mode, the cursor will change to an arrow.

Place the arrow inside the frame you want to delete, and click once with the left mouse button.

There is now 8 black squares on the edges of the frame.

If this is the frame you want to delete, you can do so by:

- selecting Edit->Delete Frame from the Menu bar

  or

- While the cursor is inside the frame you want to delete, click once with the right mouse button.

  A small menu will appear. Select "Delete Frame".

If you are trying to delete the last frame in a frameset, KWord will ask you if you want to delete the current text frame. If you click "Yes", the frame, all frames connected to it, and the data within these frames (if there is any), will be deleted. If you click "No", the frame will not be deleted.

If you are trying to delete a frame that is not the last frame in a frameset, KWord will not ask for a confirmation. It will delete the current frame immediately, and move the data into the next frame in a frameset. No data will be deleted.

| Deleteing the last frame in a framset will delete the entire frameset. All data within that frameset will be lost. Always use caution when deleting the last frame in a frameset.

## 8.2.4. Moving an Existing Frame

If you want to move a frame around on a page, you must be in Frame Edit Mode. To change to Frame Edit Mode, you can:

- Select Tools->Edit Frames from the Menu bar

- You can use the keyboard shortcut: F5

- or by clicking on the toolbar.

Once you are in frame edit mode, the cursor will change to an arrow.

Place the arrow inside the frame you want to move, and click once with the left mouse button.

There are now 8 black squares on the edges of the frame.

If this is the frame you need to move, place the cursor inside the frame.

Move the cursor slightly in any direction. The cursor will now change to four arrows arranged in a cross.

Hold the left mouse button down, and drag the cursor in the direction you want to move the frame.

You will see an outline of the frame as you move it. When the outline is at the new location on the page, release the mouse button.

## 8.2.5. Resizing an Existing Frame

If you want to resize a frame, you must be in Frame Edit Mode. If you are not currently in frame edit mode, you can change to Frame Edit Mode, in one of three ways.:

- Select Tools->Edit Frames from the Menu bar

- You can use the keyboard shortcut: F5

- or by clicking on the toolbar.

Once you are in frame edit mode, the cursor will change to an arrow.

Place the arrow inside the frame you want to move, and click once with the left mouse button. This selects this frame as the current frame.

There are now 8 black squares on the edges of the frame. By moving these squares, you will be able to drag the frame border(s) to a new location.

Each square will move a different combination of borders.

As an example: To move the bottom border of a frame, place the mouse over the box at the six oclock position in the frame. When the mouse is over the box, it will change to a double headed arrow.

Now click with the left mouse button and hold the button down. As you move the mouse up and down on the page, you will see that the frame changes shape to match your mouse movements. When you have the bottom edge of the frame where you want it, simply release the mouse button, and your changes will become permenant.

If you need to resize the frame of a neighboring frame, you should click once inside that frame (to make it the current frame), and you can move its borders in the same fashion.

| If you are using a Wordprocessing Template, you cannot change the size of the primary frame by draging the edges of the frame. If you want to resize this frame, you must do so by Changing the margins

## 8.2.6. Reconnecing Frames in a Frameset/Changing text flow..

This section of the Users Guide is devoted to controlling where (which text frame) text flows when the current frame is full.

Normally, you will create each new text frame with a specific purpose. Sometimes, however, as the document is changed, you will want the text to flow to a new text frame. To acomplish this, you will need to know how to move a frame from one frameset to another.

First, you must be in frame edit mode. To change to Frame Edit Mode, you can:

- Select Tools->Edit Frames from the Menu bar

- You can use the keyboard shortcut: F5

- or by clicking on the toolbar.

Once you are in frame edit mode, the cursor will change to an arrow.

Place the arrow inside the frame you want to change, and click once with the left mouse button. This will select the frame.

You can change the frameset of the currently selected frame by selecting Edit->Reconnect Frame from the Menu bar

This will bring up a dialog box with 4 tabs. Select the tab labeled "Connect Text Frames".

You will be presented with a list of framesets. Simply select the frameset you want, and the currently selected frame will be added to the end of that frameset.

When you click OK, you will notice that KWord automatically updates the text flow immediatly.

## 8.2.7. Hard Frame Breaks

A hard frame break is a special formatting character. It is invisible on the final printed output.

The purpose of a hard frame break, is to force all the text that follows it into the next frame in the framset.

If we have the following sentance: "We have nothing to fear but fear itself"

and we insert a Hard Frame Break, just before the word "but".

We will end up with one frame containing "We have nothing to fear", and the next frame in the frameset begins with "but fear itself".

To add a Hard Frame Break, you should first place the keyboard cursor where you want the break to be located in the document.

A Hard Frame Break can be inserted one of two ways:

- Select Insert->Hard Frame Break from the Menu bar

- You can use the keyboard shortcut: Ctrl-Return

If you want to remove a Hard Frame Break, you simply delete it like you would any other character. Since this is not a character that you can see, I recommend the following procedure to most easily delete the Hard Frame Break.

First, I recommend turning on "View Formatting Characters" (Select View->Formatting Characters from the Menu bar)

This will let you see the charage returns, and tab stops in your document.

Find the last carrage return before the break in your text. Place the cursor in front of this carrage return.

Now press the delete key.

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