One of the hardest things (~I thought~) to learn to do on notebook pages was Primary lines. Not because it's hard, but because I started out in the wrong direction. :-) Typically, you'd think..."primary lines...I need to use the 'Line' tool." Not so... Once I used the correct tool, they were so much easier. If you're reading this now, I hope to save you all the hours of experimentation I spent figuring it out.
First, you'll insert a table. You can either do this directly onto the page, or you can insert a text box then insert a table into the text box if you'd prefer to be able to move it around on your page more easily. Click on "Table" > "Insert" > "Table" In the box that pops up, choose..."Fit to Window", "1 column". Make sure that you allow 3 rows of the table per primary line that you wish to insert. (i.e. If I wanted 4 primary lines, I'd insert 12 rows). If you'd rather not have the last little "basement line" on your last row, subtract one row from the total number of rows. (The "basement line" is what I call the guide line for how low the letters that hook below the base line go...letters like "g", "y", "j", etc..)
Now that you have your table inserted, you can change the size of the lines by hovering over the table until the "square" appears in the bottom right corner. Click on that and drag it to whatever shape or size that you desire. (down if you need "bigger" primary lines...However if you need smaller primary lines, you'll need to change the font size of the table. Even if you don't type anything into it, the table will automatically "reserve" a space for the "default" font size. ) Remember that 2 rows equals one "line."
Next you want to select/highlight the whole table. One easy way to do this is to hover over the table again. There will be a square that appears in the upper left corner with a "cross-hair" in it. Click on that and the whole table should be highlighted. At this point, as long as you don't click on any individual lines, your rows should be equal height, but if they're not, you can fix this by right-clicking on the table and selecting "Distribute rows evenly." (If it doesn't show up here for some reason, then it should be on the "table" menu.)
To start making your table LOOK like primary lines, right-click on the table (after it's highlighted) and a drop-down menu will appear. Choose "Borders and Shading" from this menu. A window will pop up. Make sure that you are on the "Borders" tab. Then click on the vertical borders until they are "turned off"...they will "disappear" in the window, but not on your page. Click "OK" They should then disappear from the table on your page.
Now, highlight the first TWO rows of your table. Right-click and select "Borders and Shading" again. You can choose whatever colors you like for your solid and dashed line, but for ease, I will explain with the colors that I use. I use Red for the top line, Gray for the dashed line, and Blue for the base line. On the "top" line in your "Borders" window, select the "solid" line (it should be the first choice). Click on the color and select Red from the drop-down box. then click on the top line button twice. (It will disappear on the first click then come back "RED" the second click.) Next click on the dotted line. I like as long dashes big spaces between the dashes as I can get, but you can choose a different dash style if you prefer. Then click on the color box again, and choose Gray (40% or 50% is good). Then click on the horizontal middle line button twice (similar to red). Next, click on the solid line again. Then select Blue from the Color drop-down box. Click on the bottom horizontal line button twice. Now you should have what looks like primary lines in your "Borders and Shading" window. Click "OK".
THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT IF YOU WANT TO USE THE "REDO" COMMAND...DO NOT DO ANYTHING ELSE HERE (typing, inserting clip art, etc...)...
Skip the next row under your blue line Highlight the following 2 rows after that (rows 4-5). You can either click on the Edit menu and select "Redo", or if you like shortcuts, like me :-)...you can press "CTRL-Y" at the same time and the borders will automatically change to "primary lines." You can continue to do this for the rest of your table (making sure to skip highlighting every 3rd row). IF YOU USE THE "CTRL-Y" SHORTCUT...be very careful to make sure that you hold the "CTRL" key down BEFORE you press "Y". Too many times I've been in a hurry and hit "Y" too early, then I had to go redo the "Borders and Shading" because "Redo" would type a "Y" instead of do the borders & shading. The "Redo" command will only "Redo" the last thing you did.
There you have it...Primary lines made easy!! :-)
Some fine-tuning tips...
For K- or 1st -Sized Primary Lines, using the Times New Roman font, set the font size to 28-30 points. (It will be "28" or "30" on the drop-down Font Size menu).
For 2nd-grade-sized Primary Lines, set the Font size (same font) to 16-18 points.
My reasoning for the colors I choose...
Red is the typical "warning color" I want to "warn" my kids not to cross the top line.
Gray is a "background" color. It should be noticed but not "glaring" at you, so it's easy to see it for the letters that depend on it, but not so "obvious" that it's a distraction for the letters that don't depend on it.
Blue is for "water". All of our letters "walk on water", but some of them "go fishing" (or dip below the water level with their "hooks").
Thanks for sharing this! I just wanted to add that you can easily set the spacing for the lines to measure: Right click over the table.
Select "Table Properties" from the list.
Select the tab titled "Row"
Tick "Specify Row Height".
In the first box, type in the measurement of the line width you want.
Make sure that you mark EXACTLY in the second box.
I like to do it this way when I want to add more lines to the back of a purchased or downloaded notebookinbg page - they never have enough pages for my dd! Now I can match exact spacing.
Welcome to my blog...Why "gidget"? Well...my husband tried to teach me how to surf before we were married. I was lousy at it, but he called me his "gidget" and the name stuck.
Why "Treasure Trove"? I love sharing about my sweet little "treasures"...and God has blessed me beyond measure....and no, I didn't mean that to rhyme.
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