cannot view Word documents at actual size

[caro.line]

I am new to MAC and therefore a complete novice. My Word documents
appear half to 3/4 actual size (depending on how they are feeling) even
though it says 100%. I have tried everything including 'full screen'
to no avail. The horizontal ruler only goes up to 17cm for some reason
although not actual size anyway. I also have this problem with
Photoshop Elements when setting up blank documents - they appear at
different percentages of the actual size, seemingly at random.

I would be SO grateful for any help.

Thank you team
Caroline

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Caroline -

Since you didn't specify version of Word/OS, the Mac you're working with, or
any specific views by name other than Full Screen I can offer only some
general ideas.

Make sure that you are not using View>Reading Layout. Select Page Layout
view & then the first thing I would suggest is go to File>Page Setup and
check that a) the correct Paper Size is selected & (most important) that
Scaling is set to 100%.

If that isn't the issue, it could be one of resolution. Some 'video
anomalies' can be corrected by simply changing it through System
Preferences>Displays, then going there again and setting it back to what you
would normally use. This may or may not help as its effectiveness varies
based on hardware & software combinations.

If neither of these ideas help, post back with more detailed information as
indicated above as well as what specifically occurs when you use View>Normal
& View>Page Layout.

HTH |:>)

 

[Elliott Roper]

I am new to MAC and therefore a complete novice. My Word documents
appear half to 3/4 actual size (depending on how they are feeling) even
though it says 100%. I have tried everything including 'full screen'
to no avail. The horizontal ruler only goes up to 17cm for some reason
although not actual size anyway. I also have this problem with
Photoshop Elements when setting up blank documents - they appear at
different percentages of the actual size, seemingly at random.

I would be SO grateful for any help.

Almost everywhere you go on a Mac, actual size isn't. It is somewhere
between slack programming and nearly impossible.

In the far off days, when the world was new and all [1], every
Macinstosh screen displayed 72 pixels per inch, and lots of PCs
displayed 96.
Reduce that fraction to lowest terms and whaddya get? 3/4.
That's the slack programming part. These days screen resolution is all
over the place. This Powerbook of mine is 105.mumble f'rinstance. So it
is nearly impossible, and not very satisfactory anyway.

The best solution is to lie back and enjoy it. Adjust the screen zoom
for comfort. Page dimensions can be ignored till the print hits the
paper.

You can simply hit view->zoom and type in 133 to boost 3/4 by 4/3 to
get 'actual' size. You could record a macro to do the zoom and tie it
to a keystroke or a toolbar button. There are lots of ways to stretch
it.

Not everyone will agree with this, but my favourite way of working is
to set the document to page view and to set the zoom to page width.
From there I can drag the bottom right corner of the window (those
three little diagonal lines) to suit my current needs.
If I want to see if a whole page looks good, I can drag it down and
left. The type shrinks until I can see the whole page. If I'm typing
fresh stuff, it will be up and right, particularly if I'm feeling tired
and cranky and I'm having trouble focussing my eyes, let alone my
thoughts. When I'm reviewing stuff, I will make the window occupy a
whole screen to accomodate the comment and track changes balloons, yet
still show me as much context as possible.

That set up is baked into my normal template. I also recorded a macro
and assigned a keystroke to reset that set-up, so it is never far away.
Of course you won't bother with the mechanics of that that till you get
a bit more confident with your Macca and with Word. Ask again when you
are ready for it.

[1] Can you tell I have been reading Kipling's "The Butterfly that
Stamped" to a grand-child recently?

 

[caro.line]

Dear CT

Thank you for getting back to me. I have OSX 10.4 on this beautiful
IMac G5 and the newest version of Office Mac Student and Teacher
edition. I am using normal layout at 100%. When I try to enlarge the
page size, say to A3, or increase the percentage as suggested by
Elliott (thank you) the type enlarges but the template stays exactly
the same size so the type is bigger but cut off at the right. As I
said previously, the horizontal ruler seems stuck at 17 cms. Also, it
won't allow me to set custom sizes. I tried going into system
preferences but didn't know what to change (also, accidentally did
something that magnified everything and took me ages to get back to
normal size!)

There is probably some really simple, basic thing I am not doing/doing
but having just changed from a PC I am rather at sea re
troubleshooting.

Any further advice very welcome.

Thank you
Caroline

 

[CyberTaz]

I am using normal layout at 100%. When I try to enlarge the
page size, say to A3, or increase the percentage as suggested by
Elliott (thank you) the type enlarges but the template stays exactly
the same size

Sounds to be as it should... Normal View _does not_ display page edges,
regardless of page size. It is a 'productivity' mode which is more like a
continuous roll of paper towels with nothing shown but perforation lines
where page breaks occur.

so the type is bigger but cut off at the right. As I
said previously, the horizontal ruler seems stuck at 17 cms.

Based on my understanding of the above, I get the impression that the
document window is simply smaller than you'd like but that you are expecting
it to automatically change when you zoom or change other settings. This
_will not_ happen. You must either do as Elliott suggested & drag the lower
right corner to stretch the window (although clicking the green 'stoplight'
icon in its upper left end of the document title bar will sometimes adjust
effectively).

This is not really much different from a Windows PC... If the size of the
window is small relative to the % Zoom, the text & ruler aren't going to
fully appear. That's why there are Scroll Bars. Try this:

Stretch your window to fill the monitor screen, go to View>Page Layout, then
use the Zoom for Whole Page. Report back what you see.

Also, it
won't allow me to set custom sizes. I tried going into system
preferences but didn't know what to change (also, accidentally did
something that magnified everything and took me ages to get back to
normal size!)

What type of 'Custom Sizes' are you referring to? And what dimensions?
Custom page sizes must be set in File>Page Setup. Word has a max of 22" x
22" and you may also have limits imposed by you printer driver. More
specifics needed on this point after resolving the other issue.

HTH |:>)

 

[caro.line]

Thank you! I knew it would be something straightforward. All is clear
now that I understand I cannot change size of the document window and
that I can increase the viewing area by dragging bottom right corner.
So simple!

Custom size: I go into format/document/page set up/settings/custom
paper size. The up and down arrows by the size options are shaded.
Same happens when I do through File/Page Set up etc as above. Is this
because I have not yet attached a printer?

Thank you for your help so far.
Caroline

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Thank you! I knew it would be something straightforward. All is clear
now that I understand I cannot change size of the document window and
that I can increase the viewing area by dragging bottom right corner.
So simple!

And true for all apps on the Mac, of course. You can happily resize any
window and drag them around to see them side by side.

Custom size: I go into format/document/page set up/settings/custom
paper size. The up and down arrows by the size options are shaded.
Same happens when I do through File/Page Set up etc as above. Is this
because I have not yet attached a printer?

Sorta. Word does need a printer driver to deal with paper sizes but the OS
includes printer drivers and so you should be able to set Format For to Any
Printer, whether you have one attached or not.

But, the up/down arrows are supposed to be shaded anyhow. You just click on
them to bring up a drop down menu you can select from. (Now that you
mention it, up/down arrows usually change numbers up and down).

Or do you mean that the whole setting thing for Paper Size is greyed out,
and can't be clicked on?

Or, do you mean that you set Settings to Custom Paper Size, and the dialog
changed and now the up/down arrows where you specify the custom size are
greyed out? You have to check the box for "use custom paper size" first,
then set the size, and this works fine with it set for Any Printer.