Reassure me

[Phil]

Hi. I'm about to send a Word 2000 document to another user on a
different computer.

My document has several different styles in it, and these are styles I
created, with names that are unique to me.

But, there are also several paragraphs in my document whose style is
just "normal". And for me, "normal" is "Times New Roman, 12-point,
single spaced, 1/2 inch hanging indent".

When the other user opens my document:
- Will he be able to view my styled paragraphs correctly?
- Will my "normal" style definition prevail over his? Or will those
normal paragraphs change into "Wingdings quintuple-spaced 3 inch
indent right-justified", or whatever his "normal" style happens to be?

Thanks,
-Phil

 

[Jonathan West]

Hi Phil

Hi. I'm about to send a Word 2000 document to another user on a
different computer.

My document has several different styles in it, and these are styles I
created, with names that are unique to me.

But, there are also several paragraphs in my document whose style is
just "normal". And for me, "normal" is "Times New Roman, 12-point,
single spaced, 1/2 inch hanging indent".

When the other user opens my document:
- Will he be able to view my styled paragraphs correctly?
- Will my "normal" style definition prevail over his? Or will those
normal paragraphs change into "Wingdings quintuple-spaced 3 inch
indent right-justified", or whatever his "normal" style happens to be?

Go to Tools, Templates and add-ins. Make sure that the "Automatically update
document styles" box is *not* checked. If it is, uncheck it, make some
trivial change to your document and then save it.

Provided that you do this, the layout will be OK.

 

[Margaret Aldis]

Hi Phil

Be reassured

The document will carry its formatting with it, with these caveats:

* Never send a document with the 'Automatically update styles' box ticked in
Tools > Templates and add-ins. That's the setting which can cause the
recipient's styles to override yours.

* Use styles for bullets and numbering - list templates do travel with the
document, but if the recipient does any editing they won't necessarily
access the same ones you did unless they are attached to styles.

* View settings may travel with the document, but the recipient's view may
override or change. This includes whether or not non-printing characters are
visible, tracked changes, zoom and so on - so the document may not look on
screen exactly as you left it.

* Page flow is determined by the printer selected - so you can't guarantee
page breaks will be as you last saw them.

 

[Robert M. Franz (RMF)]

Hi Margaret

Margaret Aldis wrote:
[..]

* Page flow is determined by the printer selected - so you can't guarantee
page breaks will be as you last saw them.

Wouldn't making sure thatTools | Options | Comp.: «Use printer metrics
to lay out document» is *not* checked take care of that?

Of course, with missing fonts, for instance, pagination can be off
anyway ...

2cents
..bob
...Word-MVP

 

[Margaret Aldis]

Hi Robert

That setting (the default from 97 on, I think?) certainly removed the worst
issue - what is left probably is just a font problem, as you say. But it is
still a valid caveat, I think - I have documents which use PostScript
AvantGuarde, which changes pagination quite dramatically if I swap to a
printer driver for a non PS printer.

--
Margaret Aldis - Microsoft Word MVP
Syntagma partnership site: http://www.syntagma.co.uk

Hi Margaret

Margaret Aldis wrote:
[..]

* Page flow is determined by the printer selected - so you can't guarantee
page breaks will be as you last saw them.

Wouldn't making sure thatTools | Options | Comp.: «Use printer metrics
to lay out document» is *not* checked take care of that?

Of course, with missing fonts, for instance, pagination can be off
anyway ...

2cents
.bob
..Word-MVP
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign
\ /
X Against HTML
/ \ in e-mail & news

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

View and Zoom are (supposedly) saved with the document, but other
environment settings (display/nondisplay of nonprinting characters, table
gridlines, field codes, etc.) are determined by the recipient's machine (and
indeed may vary depending on the settings in the window from which he opens
it; this is driving me crazy in Word 2002/2003).