I frequently update a set of data in Excel, reorder it and so forth, then cut
and paste those cells into a corresponding Word file. The table in Word has
several columns which are tightly spaced to take up half the page, and the
document itself has two columns, so that the table continues from the bottom
of the left side of the page to the top of the right side of the page.

Because of the snug fit of the data on the page, I occasionally have to
adjust the columns or fontsize slightly in Excel, and repaste into Word to
ensure that most cells take up only one line. By and large, though, the
Excel column widths have now been carefully set up to fit just right when the
data is pasted into Word.

A few months ago I switched from Office 97 to Office XP and Office 2003.
Now when I paste the Excel data into Word, the table never fits properly.
The main problem seems to be that margins are included at the left and right
side of every cell/column. I can laboriously go through and tweak the
margins, but it's still almost impossible to get it to look right.

The alternative is that I can take those very same Excel and Word files to
the machine that still runs Office 97, and copy the cells from the Excel file
I had modified in Office XP to the Word document I had recently modified in
Office XP. It works fine. So the problem is not with the files themselves,
but rather with the assumptions the newer programs make during this procedure.

It is nice that I can edit the Excel files from any machine, and that I can
print the Word document from any machine. But to paste the data from the
Excel to the Word document properly, I need to be using Office 97.

Any suggestions how i can overcome this obstacle?

Thanks.