If you have a printer installed and set as the default then that's probably
not the problem. Your additional details, that menu items are being
disabled, suggests the issue you are encountering could be caused by a
third-party add-in. To see if this is the case, exit Word and restart it
while holding the Ctrl key. Make sure you keep the Ctrl key held down until
you are prompted to start in Safe Mode. When you start Word in Safe Mode you
are using the factory defaults and add-ins/customizations are not loaded. If
you are now able to access the Symbols dialog box then take a look at these
articles for finding and disabling the add-in:
Start with this one and the Resolution section start with "To determine if
you are using global templates or add-ins". (Disregard the symptoms section,
the Resolution steps are applicable)
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;555221
If you are still unable to find the add-in after following the Resolution in
the first article then in this article start with the steps provided in the
Resolution section starting with "Method 1" (Like the first, the resolution
steps are applicable):
http://support.microsoft.com/default...b;en-us;555220
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Melton
What is a Microsoft MVP?
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/gp/mvpfaqs
Guides for the Office 2007 Interface:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/tr...295841033.aspx
"aardvark69" wrote in message
...
I have a Brother 7820N installed, along with the PDF driver. I can
reinstall
them, but, I suspect, the printer is not the problem. After poking around
in
Word, I discovered that there is an additional problem--after clicking on
Insert/Symbols, the Tools/Customize menu item becomes disabled. It's
possible
other items become disabled as well, but I was struck by this one. So
there
is a deep conflict within Word that's causing problems. The application is
up
to date and has not shown any other signs of compatibility problems.
"Beth Melton" wrote:
Do you have a printer installed? Word uses the printer driver information
for various tasks, such as gathering the list of fonts the printer
recognizes when you access the Symbols dialog box. If you don't have a
printer installed at all then Word can operate with internal printer
information but I'm not sure if that extends to the Symbols dialog box
since
the printer driver is queried the first time you access the dialog box in
your current Word session.
If you dont have one installed, try installing one. Note you do not need
a
physical printer attached to install a printer. I usually install an HP
Laser Jet printer for these situations. But if there's a printer you will
be
using then install the driver for it instead.