[Nick]

Word 2003 with XP home.

The document I am working on requires various tables, lists and plain text. I normally have my 'spacing' settings set at 6 point, before and after for text and lists (including bullet lists). In my tables I like to use 2 point.

I have found on a number of occasions that the spacing setting within tables is only either 0 or 6 points. Efforts to change via the format menu do not appear to have any effect. If I enter 2 point, before and after, it gets changed to 1.2 lines - but only some of the time. To keep my tables similar in appearence, I have been using 0 point, before and after.

For my lists, (and this sometimes happens with text), '6' points, before and after, changes to various numbers of lines (ie, 2.5 lines before and after when trying 2 point, and 5.5 lines when entering 6 points) If I delete the entry in the spacing box, and enter "2", for "before" that is what I see, but when I tab to "after", the entry in "before' changes without any help from me to 2.5 lines. In fact as I play with it now, it doesn't even do that: I have entered "2" in the before and after boxes, and see 1.5 line in the before box, and 2 (as in 2 point) in the after box.

This problem does not happen all the time, and I cannot reproduce the problem reliably. In 'spacing' I have line spacing set at 'single', and I do not change this setting.

This is getting exasperating. Is my computer possessed?

Thanks Nick