WD98: Why Does the Pleading Wizard Use Negative Margins (181383)

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Word normally sets a positive measurement for the header or footer area. If the footer content expands outside of the footer area--the distance between the edge of the page and the measurement defined for the footer-- then as the bottom margin increases, the body text area decreases. This would negatively affect line numbering.

When you use a standard bottom margin, and the footer content exceeds the margin size, the bottom margin increases in size, allowing for a smaller text area. This smaller text area may cause problems with the line numbers in the body of the document. For example, if the bottom margin is increased, the body area decreases allowing for fewer line numbers.

If you have margins that are set to negative values, Word defines the footer to be a certain size. If the footer contents exceed the bottom margin size, the footer contents are clipped if they exceed the size of the bottom margin and Word does not change the size of the body area. That way, the line numbers are not disturbed.

In most pleading documents, the footer size is not as important as the line numbers. If the footer content is truncated, you modify the footer content rather than trying to adjust the line numbers (modifying the footer content is easier than adjusting the line numbers).