Cambridge IGCSE ICT (0417): Layout – Study Guide

Layout is how text, tables and images are arranged on a page. In Cambridge IGCSE ICT 0417 the document production tasks check that you can set up a page, format text consistently, build a table and add headers and footers exactly as instructed. These are practical skills, and the marks come from following each instruction precisely and then checking the result on screen, in print preview.

Where this fits in the specification

Topic 13 sits with the other document skills: images (placing pictures), styles (applying consistent formatting), proofing (checking the final text) and graphs and charts (inserting data displays). Layout choices should also fit the audience, so a leaflet for children will look different from a business report.

13.1 Create or edit a document

Page setup

• Page size (for example A4, 21 cm by 29.7 cm) and orientation: portrait (taller than wide) or landscape (wider than tall).
• Margins: the blank space between the text and the edge of the page (top, bottom, left and right). Change them when asked, and enter exact measurements.
• Columns: split text into two or more columns, as in a newsletter. You can set the width and the gap (spacing) between columns.
• Page breaks start a new page; column breaks push text to the next column; section breaks allow different settings in different parts of a document.

Formatting text and paragraphs

• Font (typeface), size, colour, bold, italic and underline. Use a clear font and size suited to the audience, usually 10 to 12 points for body text.
• Alignment: left, centre, right or justified (both edges straight).
• Line spacing: single, 1.5 or double, or an exact value.
• Spacing before and after paragraphs, to separate them without extra blank lines.
• Indents: first-line indent, or left and right indent, for paragraphs and quotations.
• Bullets and numbering for lists. Use numbering when order matters.
• Tabs: tab stops align text at exact positions, including decimal tabs for lining up numbers. Use tab stops and not the space bar.
• Text wrapping around images and hyphenation if requested.

Two habits to avoid: pressing Enter repeatedly to make space (use spacing settings or a page break) and using spaces to line up text (use tabs or a table).

Editing a document

You may be asked to open an existing document, insert or delete text, replace one word with another using find and replace, move or copy text with cut, copy and paste, import a file such as a table from a spreadsheet, or import text from a text file into a document. After a change, check the layout to see whether text has moved to a new page or a table has split awkwardly.

Worked example: columns and margins

A newsletter on A4 portrait paper (21 cm wide) must have left and right margins of 2.5 cm and three equal columns with a gap of 0.8 cm between them.

Width available for text = 21 - 2.5 - 2.5 = 16 cm.

There are two gaps between three columns = 2 x 0.8 = 1.6 cm.

Space for columns = 16 - 1.6 = 14.4 cm.

Width of each column = 14.4 / 3 = 4.8 cm.

Check: 3 x 4.8 + 2 x 0.8 = 14.4 + 1.6 = 16 cm. Word-processing software normally calculates equal column widths when you select three columns and set the spacing, but you should know how the numbers fit together so that you can set widths manually and check the result.

13.2 Tables

A table arranges information in rows and columns. The intersection of a row and column is a cell.

Tasks involving tables often include:

• Inserting a table with a stated number of rows and columns.
• Entering and aligning data. Left-align text, right-align or decimal-align numbers, and centre column headings if asked.
• Merging cells (for example, to make a title span the whole width) and splitting cells.
• Adjusting column width and row height. Wide enough to hold the data without wrapping if the task says so.
• Borders: style, thickness and colour, or removing borders.
• Shading (fill colour) for the header row or alternate rows to improve readability.
• Inserting or deleting rows and columns.
• Sorting rows by a column.
• Table position and alignment on the page, and keeping the table within the margins.

Worked example: fitting a table to the page

The text area is 16 cm wide. A table has four columns: Item, Description, Quantity and Price. Item is to be 3 cm, Quantity 2.5 cm and Price 3 cm. How wide must Description be for the table to fill the text width exactly?

Total of the set columns = 3 + 2.5 + 3 = 8.5 cm.

Description = 16 - 8.5 = 7.5 cm.

A header row spanning the whole table would be made by merging all four cells in the first row. The Price column is right-aligned so that the decimal points line up.

13.3 Headers and footers

A header is text or an image that appears in the top margin of every page, and a footer appears in the bottom margin. They should be set once, and they then repeat automatically.

Common contents:

• Automatic fields: page number, total number of pages, date and time, file name and file path. Using an automatic field means the content updates by itself, so do not type page numbers by hand.
• Fixed text: the document title, an author name, or a company name and logo.
• Alignment of items, for example the date on the left, the title in the centre and the page number on the right. This uses the header or footer’s tab stops.
• Different first page or different odd and even pages, where the task requests it.

Headers and footers should be placed within the margins and should not overlap the body text. The font should be consistent and normally smaller than the main text.

Typical instruction and result

Instruction: “Insert a footer with your name on the left, the automatic page number in the centre and the automatic date on the right.”

Result: a footer with three items separated by tab stops. The page number field appears as 1 on page one, 2 on page two, and so on. If you type the number 1 by hand it appears on every page and loses the mark.

Common mistakes

• Using the Enter key or the space bar to position text.
• Typing page numbers or dates by hand and not using automatic fields.
• Placing header and footer content in the body of the document.
• Forgetting to check that columns, tables and images stay inside the margins.
• Merging cells wrongly so that the table loses its structure.
• Using inconsistent fonts or alignment between paragraphs.
• Not checking print preview, so that a table splits over two pages or a heading is left alone at the bottom.

Exam technique

Work through the instructions in order and tick each off. Use the exact measurements and spellings given. Check with the print preview or show formatting marks. For theory questions, use the terms accurately: say “a header repeats at the top of every page” rather than “writing at the top”.

Check your understanding

1. State the difference between portrait and landscape. Portrait is taller than wide; landscape is wider than tall.
2. An A4 page (21 cm wide) has 2 cm margins on each side. What is the text width? 21 - 4 = 17 cm.
3. Why should you use tab stops and not spaces to align text? Tabs give precise, consistent alignment, whereas spaces change when the font or text changes.
4. What does merging cells do? It combines two or more cells into one, such as for a title across the table.
5. Why align numbers on a decimal point in a table? So that digits line up by place value and can be compared.
6. Give two examples of automatic fields for a footer. Page number and date, or file name.
7. A table of text width 15 cm has three columns; two are 4 cm each. How wide is the third? 15 - 8 = 7 cm.
8. What is a section break used for? To allow different page settings, such as orientation or columns, in different parts of one document.

Frequently asked questions

Why should you use tab stops instead of spaces to line up text? Tab stops give precise, consistent alignment, including decimal tabs for numbers, whereas spaces shift when the font or text changes. Pressing Enter repeatedly to make space is a similar bad habit; use spacing settings or a page break.

What is the difference between a page break, column break and section break? A page break starts a new page, a column break pushes text into the next column, and a section break allows different settings, such as orientation or columns, in different parts of one document.

How do you calculate column widths in a newsletter layout? Subtract the left and right margins from the page width, subtract the gaps between columns, then divide by the number of columns. For example, 21 cm minus two 2.5 cm margins leaves 16 cm, and three columns with two 0.8 cm gaps are each 4.8 cm wide.

How should numbers be aligned in a table? Numbers should be right-aligned or aligned on the decimal point so digits line up by place value and can be compared, while text is usually left-aligned.