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#1
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Word 2000 mystery: page layout discrepancy between computers
A rare but recurring problem at work has stumped me. The same Word file will
have (automatic) page breaks in slightly different spots depending on the computer! One computer will have a heading at the bottom of page 53, for example, while another will have that same heading at the top of page 54. The file has no special manual page breaks, section breaks, weird styles, etc. I've noticed that some computers have Word 2000 ((9.0 .7616 SP-3) as the version number, and so far, each one has laid out the pages the same way (heading at bottom of page 53). Other computers are missing some security updates, and have Word 2000 (9.0 ..6926 SP-3). They show the heading at the top of page 54. I asked our IT department to upgrade my computer (we're not allowed to do this generally) with all security updates. Now I have Word 2000 (9.0.8950 SP-3), and I'm seeing the heading at the top of page 54, just like the machines with Word 2000 (9.0 .6926 SP-3). I should stress here that the page 53/54 example is just ONE example among many. This issue is not related to a single Word file--it has happened repeatedly with various projects, various Word files, and on various computers. On another discussion board, someone suggested that printer drivers help determine page layout. Is this true? I'm beginning to doubt my initial theory about security updates (it is pretty far-fetched), but having printer drivers change the on-screen layout of the file also seems rather far-fetched. What do you think could be responsible for these discrepancies? Do you have any ideas about how to troubleshoot this? Thanks in advance! |
#2
Posted to microsoft.public.word.pagelayout
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Word 2000 mystery: page layout discrepancy between computers
Printer drivers are a possibility: Word formats the document partly
according to its understanding of what the printer is going to do with it. In particular, depending on the printer driver settings, the document may get printed not with the fonts installed on the computer but with the equivalent fonts installed within the printer. Such fonts often have slightly different metrics, resulting in slight differences in line spacing, etc. Different versions of fonts are another (and more likely) possibility: fonts get updated occasionally to improve their microtypography. This too can result in slight metric changes. If you open the font itself in the Control Panel you can see its version and date. A piece of research: print out both versions of a page that differs between computers (eg the page 53 you refer to), superimpose them and hold them up against a window: check *exactly* what differs. "Benjamino5" wrote in message news A rare but recurring problem at work has stumped me. The same Word file will have (automatic) page breaks in slightly different spots depending on the computer! One computer will have a heading at the bottom of page 53, for example, while another will have that same heading at the top of page 54. The file has no special manual page breaks, section breaks, weird styles, etc. I've noticed that some computers have Word 2000 ((9.0 .7616 SP-3) as the version number, and so far, each one has laid out the pages the same way (heading at bottom of page 53). Other computers are missing some security updates, and have Word 2000 (9.0 .6926 SP-3). They show the heading at the top of page 54. I asked our IT department to upgrade my computer (we're not allowed to do this generally) with all security updates. Now I have Word 2000 (9.0.8950 SP-3), and I'm seeing the heading at the top of page 54, just like the machines with Word 2000 (9.0 .6926 SP-3). I should stress here that the page 53/54 example is just ONE example among many. This issue is not related to a single Word file--it has happened repeatedly with various projects, various Word files, and on various computers. On another discussion board, someone suggested that printer drivers help determine page layout. Is this true? I'm beginning to doubt my initial theory about security updates (it is pretty far-fetched), but having printer drivers change the on-screen layout of the file also seems rather far-fetched. What do you think could be responsible for these discrepancies? Do you have any ideas about how to troubleshoot this? Thanks in advance! |
#3
Posted to microsoft.public.word.pagelayout
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Word 2000 mystery: page layout discrepancy between computers
Jezebel,
Thank you! This is the second time in the course of a few days that you've helped me--I really appreciate it. I'll look into the font versions tomorrow (when I have access to the other computers). As for the printer driver possibility, if I change the default printer, close Word, and reopen it, will I see the effects (if any)? I suppose I should also muck around in the driver settings to see if the printer is set to download fonts or use its own, as you said. I'll post again tomorrow with what I find out. |
#4
Posted to microsoft.public.word.pagelayout
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Word 2000 mystery: page layout discrepancy between computers
If the different computers are running different versions of Word, there's a
good chance they also have different versions of Windows, and this makes it very likely that the printer drivers (for the same printer) are also different, which can also make a difference in the metrics. Your best bet is usually to avoid manual page breaks and set up your formatting so that changes in line and page breaks won't cause problems in the document; see http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Benjamino5" wrote in message ... Jezebel, Thank you! This is the second time in the course of a few days that you've helped me--I really appreciate it. I'll look into the font versions tomorrow (when I have access to the other computers). As for the printer driver possibility, if I change the default printer, close Word, and reopen it, will I see the effects (if any)? I suppose I should also muck around in the driver settings to see if the printer is set to download fonts or use its own, as you said. I'll post again tomorrow with what I find out. |
#5
Posted to microsoft.public.word.pagelayout
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Word 2000 mystery: page layout discrepancy between computers
Suzanne,
Thankfully, we're all on the same version of Windows (Win 2K SP4). But there are many different printers here, so that looks increasingly like the culprit. I see what you mean about reflow, but I work for a publisher--we're actually going to publish these Word files--so manual page breaks are often necessary. (In case anyone's curious, we don't generally use real page layout software like Quark or InDesign for the workbooks that go along with textbooks. Instead, we make heavily-formatted Word files and then turn them into PDFs which are sent straight to the printer (traditional off-set printing, nothing fancy). "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: If the different computers are running different versions of Word, there's a good chance they also have different versions of Windows, and this makes it very likely that the printer drivers (for the same printer) are also different, which can also make a difference in the metrics. Your best bet is usually to avoid manual page breaks and set up your formatting so that changes in line and page breaks won't cause problems in the document; see http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Benjamino5" wrote in message ... Jezebel, Thank you! This is the second time in the course of a few days that you've helped me--I really appreciate it. I'll look into the font versions tomorrow (when I have access to the other computers). As for the printer driver possibility, if I change the default printer, close Word, and reopen it, will I see the effects (if any)? I suppose I should also muck around in the driver settings to see if the printer is set to download fonts or use its own, as you said. I'll post again tomorrow with what I find out. |
#6
Posted to microsoft.public.word.pagelayout
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Word 2000 mystery: page layout discrepancy between computers
If you're going to be turning them into PDFs, then perhaps the best solution
is to work on the Word files with Adobe PDF selected as the active printer. I've created a number of those workbooks myself, though I did them as camera-ready copy, first with a typewriter and later with Word. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Benjamino5" wrote in message ... Suzanne, Thankfully, we're all on the same version of Windows (Win 2K SP4). But there are many different printers here, so that looks increasingly like the culprit. I see what you mean about reflow, but I work for a publisher--we're actually going to publish these Word files--so manual page breaks are often necessary. (In case anyone's curious, we don't generally use real page layout software like Quark or InDesign for the workbooks that go along with textbooks. Instead, we make heavily-formatted Word files and then turn them into PDFs which are sent straight to the printer (traditional off-set printing, nothing fancy). "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: If the different computers are running different versions of Word, there's a good chance they also have different versions of Windows, and this makes it very likely that the printer drivers (for the same printer) are also different, which can also make a difference in the metrics. Your best bet is usually to avoid manual page breaks and set up your formatting so that changes in line and page breaks won't cause problems in the document; see http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Benjamino5" wrote in message ... Jezebel, Thank you! This is the second time in the course of a few days that you've helped me--I really appreciate it. I'll look into the font versions tomorrow (when I have access to the other computers). As for the printer driver possibility, if I change the default printer, close Word, and reopen it, will I see the effects (if any)? I suppose I should also muck around in the driver settings to see if the printer is set to download fonts or use its own, as you said. I'll post again tomorrow with what I find out. |
#7
Posted to microsoft.public.word.pagelayout
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Word 2000 mystery: page layout discrepancy between computers
Problem solved: it was the printer drivers.
The drivers for the Xerox WorkCentre Pro 65 use [i]slightly[I/] less linespacing than the HP printers we have. Most groups print only to HP printers, but we have two Xerox photocopier/printer combos, and whenever the default printer was set to those, the linespacing was a teeny bit bigger. Over the course of a long file, when conditions were just right, paragraphs would jump back from one page to the previous one. I've recommended that everyone switch their default printer either to an HP model or, as Suzanne mentioned, to the virtual Adobe PDF printer driver. Thanks for all the tips! |
#8
Posted to microsoft.public.word.pagelayout
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Word 2000 mystery: page layout discrepancy between computers
Oops--make that "smaller." The Xerox linespacing (if anyone cares) is tighter.
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