Table data rows at bottom of page acquire attributes of repeated header row on next page

[Three Lefts]

An odd thing just happened in a document based on a template that I
have been using for years. The template is for a case summary document
that is essentially 7-8 pages of tables each separated by a few lines
of text.

This afternoon, I used the template to create a new document. One of
the tables, containing a header row and 2 data rows, happened to fall
at the bottom of page 1 so that the page break occurs between the
first and second data row. The header and row 1 are at the bottom of
page 1. At the top of page 2, the header is repeated followed by row
2.

The odd behavior is that the cursor will not display in the parts of
the table at the bottom of page 1 (header row and row 1). If I click
anywhere in the header row or the first data row, the rulers indicate
that the cursor is there, but it is not visible.

If I position the cursor just above the table and use the down arrow
key to navigate into the table, the cursor disappears, but if I type,
text appears in the cells. If I hold the shift key and use the arrow
keys, no text is highlighted, but if I press the Delete key, text is
deleted. So the cursor is in the table, just not visible.

I did a little experimenting. I was able to make the behavior come and
go depending on where the table is in the document.



The cursor is invisible in these situations:

1. I added a page break at the top of page 1 so that the table now
spans page 2 & 3. Problem remains.

2. I deleted all of the text before the table. It works normally. I
then added blank lines until it crossed the page 1-2 break. Problem
returns.

3. I added more blank lines until the table is wholly on page 2.
Problem disappears. I added more blank lines until it spans pages 2 &
3. Problem returns.



The cursor acts normally (is visible) in these situations:

1. In Draft view or Outline view. It only occurs in Print Layout view.

2. If I add enough blank lines just above the table so that the entire
table moves to page 2 or if I delete enough text above the table so
that the entire table is on page 1. It only occurs if the table spans
2 pages.

3. There are several other tables in this document that span pages.
None of them exhibit the behavior. I copied one of these tables to the
same position at the bottom of page 1. It did not exhibit the
behavior.

4. I copied the table to the bottom of page 2 so that it spanned pages
2 & 3. It worked correctly.




This suggests to me that it may be related to the display attributes
of the repeated header row. It looks like the rows just above the
repeated header row have acquired some of the *display* attributes of
the header row on next page.

Puzzled...

Any suggestions?

 

[Terry Farrell]

The printer driver is critical in determining correct page layout both on
paper and on screen. So the first question is do both the screen view and
the printed page look identical (i.e. wrong)?

Have you changed printers or printer drivers recently?

If it is none of those, then maybe the template is partially corrupted. Open
the template and then copy/paste all but the final paragraph mark into a new
blank document and save as a new template for testing. (Ctrl+End,
Ctrl+Shft+Home will select all but the final paragraph mark.)

If that doesn't work, are you able to duplicate the problem starting from a
new blank document?

 

[Three Lefts]

The printer driver is critical in determining correct page layout both on
paper and on screen. So the first question is do both the screen view and
the printed page look identical (i.e. wrong)?

The problem is NOT the page layout (meaning the way the page is
formatted). The document formats correctly both on the screen and when
printed and both are identical.

The problem is that the the cursor becomes invisible in a few rows of
one table when it is split across a page.

I am very sure that the cursor is even operating correctly. I just
can't see where it is, so I am flying blind.

My subject line is misleading. It should have been something like,
"Cursor becomes invisible when table is split across pages".

Have you changed printers or printer drivers recently?

Not since these machines were purchased 9 months ago.

If it is none of those, then maybe the template is partially corrupted.
Open the template and then copy/paste all but the final paragraph mark into a new
blank document and save as a new template for testing. (Ctrl+End,
Ctrl+Shft+Home will select all but the final paragraph mark.)

Is Ctrl+End / Ctrl+Shift+Home different from Crtl+Home /
Ctrl+Shift+End / Shift+LeftArrow? Just curious.

If that doesn't work, are you able to duplicate the problem starting from a
new blank document?

None of the following actions were able to duplicate the problem:

1. Add/delete text above the table so that the table is either all on
page 1 or all on page 2.

2. Copy that same table to the bottom of page 2 so that it is partly
on page 2 and partly on page 3.

3. Create a new document using that template.

4. Edit the template itself.

5. Create a blank document (Ctrl-N). Copy the entire bad document
including the final paragraph mark.

6. Create a new document using that template. Select the entire bad
document including the final paragraph mark (Ctrl+A). Copy that to the
clipboard (Ctrl+C). Paste that into the new document at the top
(Ctrl+Home / Ctrl+V).


I was able to propagate the problem to a new document this way:

1. Create a new document using that template.
2. Delete everything in the new document (Ctrl+A / Delete).
3. Select the entire bad document including the final paragraph mark
(Ctrl+A).
4. Copy that to the clipboard (Ctrl+C).
5. Paste that into the new document (Ctrl+V).

This suggests to me that it has something to do with the collection of
settings and the location of that table.


When you say "corrupted", what kind of corruption are you suggesting?
Do you mean (a) a file system problem where the bits on the disk are
wrong havinbg nothing to do with Word, or (b) a Word problem where
Word mangled the information in the final paragraph mark, or (c)
something else?


It's odd that the problem only occurs in Print Layout and only affects
whether the cursor is visible. It's hard for me to imagine how file
corruption could cause an error like that.

 

[Terry Farrell]

When I meant corruption, I was thinking of a minor corruption in the Word
data structure of that template.

Now I have a clearer understanding of the problem, I have recently seen an
update to the graphics drivers for Intel integrated graphics chips that
cause some mouse pointer problems in very strange circumstances - though
they don't exactly match your problem. My action in your place would be to
check to see if there are updated drivers for both the printer and the
graphics you are using and reinstall both to see if that resolves the
problem.

Terry