Changing pre-designed templates

Question

I downloaded Brochure (Trendy Ecletic Design) but I need to modify it.  How do I do this?  I need to change margins.  Also how do I see codes so I know how to change, i.e., there is a colored box but when I delete it, the entire background deletes.

Answer 1

The entire background of the template is a single full page size graphic, so it is not possible to remove parts of it using Word. You would need to edit it in a graphics editor. The margins shown on the template are a function of the graphic size vis-a-vis the size of the page. To change the outer margins you would need to change the size of the graphic. The inner margins cannot be changed without editing the graphic.

The template background is not intended to be changed. You can edit the textual elements only.

The multicoloured fill in the first column is a separate graphic and can be both selected and deleted to leave the underlying colour of the background.

Answer 2

Regarding the deletion of the color box and having the whole background disappear, it is likely that you are dealing with a grouped object.  To delete just the colored box, you would need to ungroup your grouped object first, then delete the individual object (the colored box).  See this Microsoft article on grouping and ungrouping objects:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/group-or-ungroup-shapes-pictures-or-other-objects-in-word-2007-HA010238479.aspx#BM4

Answer 3

See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/NonPrintChars.htm; object anchors are probably the most relevant issue here.

You can change margins in the Page Setup dialog; column width and the distance between columns is set in the Columns dialog. But note that, where graphics are involved (and that includes text boxes and any other wrapped objects), margins may be irrelevant, as these "floating" elements can be placed anywhere on the page.