table print error

[DP]

Help!

My text is set out in a table, but the last line on the page doesn't print
propertly - the bottom 50% of each character doesn't print. It's not a
printer margin problem (I don't think) as the footer below prints correctly.

Any ideas gratefully received

thanks

David

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Is the table row set to an Exact height? Is it allowed to break?

 

[Trish T]

There was no further discussion on this topic, but I'm having the same
problem as David. My table row is NOT set to an exact height and it IS
allowed to break (which I definitely want since there are three paragraphs of
text in that row and it breaks in almost the exact middle of the second
paragraph.)

Thanks for your help.

Trish

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I would guess it might still be a printer driver (rendering) issue. Can you
experiment with a different printer/driver?

 

[Trish T]

I tried printing to three different printers in our office and they all did
the same thing in exactly the same place. One of them is a brand new printer
we just had installed, so I'm sure the driver is right.

I've tried going into Table - Options and changing the bottom cell margin
from the default .05" both up (to .08") and down (to .02"). I've tried
changing the bottom page margin both up and down (without changing the footer
"from edge" margin, since that would mess up the company logo in the footer.)
Nothing works. As a matter of fact, changing the margin changes which line
of text is last, but even if it's a line ABOVE the original last line
(leaving more space below it), it STILL cuts the line of text in half!!

Trish

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Are any merged cells involved? This can really confuse Word at the bottom of
a page.

 

[Trish T]

Do you mean cells that were created by merging? Or a larger cell that spans
the height of more than one cell in another column (which was created by
merging cells)? Neither of those applies. My table is an Executive Summary:
it's two columns wide and has a short title in the left column (ex. "Project
Team") and then several paragraphs of text in the right column regarding the
"Project Team", and so on down for several topics. Even thought the left
cell only has a little text in it and then a lot of space corresponding to
the paragraphs on the right, it's still just one cell--a very simple,
straightforward table with no merged cells.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Although it's by no means an ideal solution (and I'm not absolving Word of
creating the problem), you might try adding a new row at some point where it
is possible to break the text (between paragraphs), then set rows not to
break across pages. Sometimes it's easier just to throw in the towel and try
a workaround rather than try to figure out what's causing the problem so you
can effect a solution.

Another thing to investigate if this is Word 2002 or 2003 is whether the
table has become wrapped. There is an option in those versions to allow text
in wrapped tables to break across pages (something they can't do in Word
2000), but I can well imagine that the feature might not work perfectly.

Yet another possibility is that your footer has acquired some space before
(perhaps in the form of an empty paragraph) that is forcing the bottom
margin up, though this should not truncate text, just force it to the next
page.

Also, you mention a logo in the footer. Depending on the wrapping on the
logo, this could well be the cause of the problem; do you still see if it
you remove the logo?

 

[Trish T]

Well, I'd pretty much decided to work around it, since even an expert like
yourself couldn't figure it out. If I put a return at the end of the last
line that prints completely and then a couple of more returns to move the
rest of the text to the next page, the text prints properly, although the
last line on the page isn't right justified (I'm using full justification).
That's another option that I tried. I'll try yours, too, and see which looks
better. Thanks anyway for your help.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If you'll use a line break (Shift+Enter) instead of a paragraph break, the
last line will be justified. I know I've seen this problem reported before,
but I don't remember whether anyone ever figured out a cause or cure, and
all the KB articles I could find addressed a slightly different problem or
situation.

Google turns up a posting saying that SP 3 for Word 2000 cured the problem
for one user, and that it did not occur in Word 2002 or 2003. We never have
established what version you're using, so perhaps that's relevant. Another
user said he corrected the problem by adding a narrow blank row below the
one that was not printing correctly. A post from Cindy Meister in one of
these threads is a reminder that many of the Compatibility Options pertain
to tables, so that's another thing one could experiment with.