Text shows up in Word file on-screen but is invisible when printed

[bik1933]

When I create a Word file and try to print it, the type doesn't show
up, except for the horizontal lines I created by hitting three
consecutive hyphens to create a section break. Same with a PDF I
create out of the Word doc. And regardless of the printer. Word files
created by other people print just fine, so some setting is messed up
in my version of Word, I assume. Other things, like webpages, print
just fine. This happened after a weird glitch when a file somehow
took on the filename of another file I had just opened, as if I'd done
a Save As -- but I didn't. Should I just reinstall Word? Or uninstall
(how do I do that) and reinstall?

This is a brand-new MacBook Pro running Leo and office 2008.

 

[CyberTaz]

Reinstalling Word/Office is not the answer - at least not yet That's
rarely a solution on a Mac & can actually intensify the problem & cause
others. There are typically other avenues to explore first, but there's a
bit of further clarification needed. (One of which is that the hyphens don't
create a Section Break - they merely generate a bottom Paragraph Border.
There's a big difference) I don't think, however, that your printing
problem stems from that.

The first thing to be sure of is the status of your printer driver. Even
though you aren't experiencing difficulty with all print jobs it could be a
factor - especially if the docs from "other people" are not in the new
format. Leopard (especially 10.5.2) has had some issues with Office 2008
using certain printers, and those issues have yet to be resolved. So visit
the printer mfr's web site & find out if there is a new driver update for
your printer. Apple, MS & the mfrs are still working to get the mess
straight.

If that isn't it or if the problem continues after the update:

What does the doc look like in Word's Print Preview? Is the text visible
there? Do the borders appear to be close together (as though the text is
actually absent) or are they spaced as though the text is there but simply
not visible?

If you go to the Print dialog & click the Preview button there, does the
text show up in the Preview app window? Does it print from there? If so,
that can serve as a workaround until the issues above are resolved.

The answers to those questions will be helpful for others as well, so please
take the time to come back with the answers.

[Also, can you provide more specific detail on exactly how the "weird
glitch" took place? What you describe is a virtual impossibility although
I'm sure that's how it may have appeared. If you can indicate exactly what
you did step-by-step it will help determine what really did happen. Post
this as a separate message.]

Now, in order to [possibly] resolve your problem:

If your printer offers various levels of resolution try to print the doc
using a lower resolution setting. The resolution can usually be adjusted in
Print Settings from the third drop-down in the Print dialog. Also set the
Color to Black and in ColorSync set Quartz Filter to None.

Should you still have the problem, make sure you quit Word first. Go to:

~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/

and rename the file called Normal.dotm (or drag it to another location).
Launch Word - it will create a new Normal template when you do, so startup
may take a few seconds more than usual - then enter some content similar to
what you had previously done into the new document & try printing.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[John McGhie]

Whatever you do, don't re-install On a Mac, that has a high possibility
of making things worse, and it rarely fixes things.

If documents created by other people are OK, then, as you say, "something"
has gotten messed up.

If it is happening to each document you create, then we can assume that it's
the Normal.dotm template that is messed up.

So rather than trying to work out what the cause is, let's go for broke and
replace the Normal.dotm template.

1) Quit Word (otherwise it will simply write the old one back to the disk
when it quits)

2) Find and drag the file Normal.dotm to your desktop. Unless you have
moved it, it should be in
~/User/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/

Try that. If it's not fixed, come back, we'll need to dig deeper.

Hope this helps

When I create a Word file and try to print it, the type doesn't show
up, except for the horizontal lines I created by hitting three
consecutive hyphens to create a section break. Same with a PDF I
create out of the Word doc. And regardless of the printer. Word files
created by other people print just fine, so some setting is messed up
in my version of Word, I assume. Other things, like webpages, print
just fine. This happened after a weird glitch when a file somehow
took on the filename of another file I had just opened, as if I'd done
a Save As -- but I didn't. Should I just reinstall Word? Or uninstall
(how do I do that) and reinstall?

This is a brand-new MacBook Pro running Leo and office 2008.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50

 

[bik1933]

Reinstalling Word/Office is not the answer - at least not yet That's
rarely a solution on a Mac & can actually intensify the problem & cause
others. There are typically other avenues to explore first, but there's a
bit of further clarification needed. (One of which is that the hyphens don't
create a Section Break - they merely generate a bottom Paragraph Border.
There's a big difference) I don't think, however, that your printing
problem stems from that.

The first thing to be sure of is the status of your printer driver. Even
though you aren't experiencing difficulty with all print jobs it could be a
factor - especially if the docs from "other people" are not in the new
format. Leopard (especially 10.5.2) has had some issues with Office 2008
using certain printers, and those issues have yet to be resolved. So visit
the printer mfr's web site & find out if there is a new driver update for
your printer. Apple, MS & the mfrs are still working to get the mess
straight.

If that isn't it or if the problem continues after the update:

What does the doc look like in Word's Print Preview? Is the text visible
there? Do the borders appear to be close together (as though the text is
actually absent) or are they spaced as though the text is there but simply
not visible?

If you go to the Print dialog & click the Preview button there, does the
text show up in the Preview app window? Does it print from there? If so,
that can serve as a workaround until the issues above are resolved.

The answers to those questions will be helpful for others as well, so please
take the time to come back with the answers.

[Also, can you provide more specific detail on exactly how the "weird
glitch" took place? What you describe is a virtual impossibility although
I'm sure that's how it may have appeared. If you can indicate exactly what
you did step-by-step it will help determine what really did happen. Post
this as a separate message.]

Now, in order to [possibly] resolve your problem:

If your printer offers various levels of resolution try to print the doc
using a lower resolution setting. The resolution can usually be adjusted in
Print Settings from the third drop-down in the Print dialog. Also set the
Color to Black and in ColorSync set Quartz Filter to None.

Should you still have the problem, make sure you quit Word first. Go to:

~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/

and rename the file called Normal.dotm (or drag it to another location).
Launch Word - it will create a new Normal template when you do, so startup
may take a few seconds more than usual - then enter some content similar to
what you had previously done into the new document & try printing.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

When I create a Word file and try to print it, the type doesn't show
up, except for the horizontal lines I created by hitting three
consecutive hyphens to create a section break. Same with a PDF I
create out of the Word doc. And regardless of the printer. Word files
created by other people print just fine, so some setting is messed up
in my version of Word, I assume. Other things, like webpages, print
just fine. This happened after a weird glitch when a file somehow
took on the filename of another file I had just opened, as if I'd done
a Save As -- but I didn't. Should I just reinstall Word? Or uninstall
(how do I do that) and reinstall?

This is a brand-new MacBook Pro running Leo and office 2008.

Nothing has worked, fellas. Indeed, this is not the only problem I've
had with Leopard and this HP 1020. Like others, I've had problems with
print jobs just freezing. I can set it to print five docs, and after
one or two are done, it just stops. Even if they're all the same type
of doc. Some combination of reinstalling the latest driver and turning
on and off the printer usually gets it going again.
To your points:
Driver is updated, for what that's worth.
Doc looks 100 percent normal in Preview, but still prints blank from
Preview, as otherwise.
The "weird glitch" was just weird. A Word doc I was working on
spontaneously closed and assumed the name of another document that was
not open. Seriously, I know this sounds like something a computer
newbie would claim, but I know how to re-name a file, and I didn't do
anything of the sort here.
There is no option anywhere in the Print dialogue box for changing
resolution. I've looked at every possibility.
Trashed the Normal.dotm file. It worked once, then the problem came
back. Re-trashed it (having quit first), but still no printing.
Note: I was aware that the multiple-hyphen bit doesn't create a page
break, merely an unbroken horizontal line. The strange thing is that
this line is the only thing that does show up when I print. Perhaps
the fact that it is created automatically once Word notices the series
of hyphens exempts it from this problem?

 

[John McGhie]

That bug is supposed to be fixed by the update:
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.0.1 Update
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx>

Cheers

Reinstalling Word/Office is not the answer - at least not yet That's
rarely a solution on a Mac & can actually intensify the problem & cause
others. There are typically other avenues to explore first, but there's a
bit of further clarification needed. (One of which is that the hyphens don't
create a Section Break - they merely generate a bottom Paragraph Border.
There's a big difference) I don't think, however, that your printing
problem stems from that.

The first thing to be sure of is the status of your printer driver. Even
though you aren't experiencing difficulty with all print jobs it could be a
factor - especially if the docs from "other people" are not in the new
format. Leopard (especially 10.5.2) has had some issues with Office 2008
using certain printers, and those issues have yet to be resolved. So visit
the printer mfr's web site & find out if there is a new driver update for
your printer. Apple, MS & the mfrs are still working to get the mess
straight.

If that isn't it or if the problem continues after the update:

What does the doc look like in Word's Print Preview? Is the text visible
there? Do the borders appear to be close together (as though the text is
actually absent) or are they spaced as though the text is there but simply
not visible?

If you go to the Print dialog & click the Preview button there, does the
text show up in the Preview app window? Does it print from there? If so,
that can serve as a workaround until the issues above are resolved.

The answers to those questions will be helpful for others as well, so please
take the time to come back with the answers.

[Also, can you provide more specific detail on exactly how the "weird
glitch" took place? What you describe is a virtual impossibility although
I'm sure that's how it may have appeared. If you can indicate exactly what
you did step-by-step it will help determine what really did happen. Post
this as a separate message.]

Now, in order to [possibly] resolve your problem:

If your printer offers various levels of resolution try to print the doc
using a lower resolution setting. The resolution can usually be adjusted in
Print Settings from the third drop-down in the Print dialog. Also set the
Color to Black and in ColorSync set Quartz Filter to None.

Should you still have the problem, make sure you quit Word first. Go to:

~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/

and rename the file called Normal.dotm (or drag it to another location).
Launch Word - it will create a new Normal template when you do, so startup
may take a few seconds more than usual - then enter some content similar to
what you had previously done into the new document & try printing.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

When I create a Word file and try to print it, the type doesn't show
up, except for the horizontal lines I created by hitting three
consecutive hyphens to create a section break. Same with a PDF I
create out of the Word doc. And regardless of the printer. Word files
created by other people print just fine, so some setting is messed up
in my version of Word, I assume. Other things, like webpages, print
just fine. This happened after a weird glitch when a file somehow
took on the filename of another file I had just opened, as if I'd done
a Save As -- but I didn't. Should I just reinstall Word? Or uninstall
(how do I do that) and reinstall?

This is a brand-new MacBook Pro running Leo and office 2008.

Nothing has worked, fellas. Indeed, this is not the only problem I've
had with Leopard and this HP 1020. Like others, I've had problems with
print jobs just freezing. I can set it to print five docs, and after
one or two are done, it just stops. Even if they're all the same type
of doc. Some combination of reinstalling the latest driver and turning
on and off the printer usually gets it going again.
To your points:
Driver is updated, for what that's worth.
Doc looks 100 percent normal in Preview, but still prints blank from
Preview, as otherwise.
The "weird glitch" was just weird. A Word doc I was working on
spontaneously closed and assumed the name of another document that was
not open. Seriously, I know this sounds like something a computer
newbie would claim, but I know how to re-name a file, and I didn't do
anything of the sort here.
There is no option anywhere in the Print dialogue box for changing
resolution. I've looked at every possibility.
Trashed the Normal.dotm file. It worked once, then the problem came
back. Re-trashed it (having quit first), but still no printing.
Note: I was aware that the multiple-hyphen bit doesn't create a page
break, merely an unbroken horizontal line. The strange thing is that
this line is the only thing that does show up when I print. Perhaps
the fact that it is created automatically once Word notices the series
of hyphens exempts it from this problem?

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[bik1933]

That bug is supposed to be fixed by the update:
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac 12.0.1 Update
<http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx>

Cheers

Reinstalling Word/Office is not the answer - at least not yet That's
rarely a solution on a Mac & can actually intensify the problem & cause
others. There are typically other avenues to explore first, but there'sa
bit of further clarification needed. (One of which is that the hyphens don't
create a Section Break - they merely generate a bottom Paragraph Border..
There's a big difference) I don't think, however, that your printing
problem stems from that.
The first thing to be sure of is the status of your printer driver. Even
though you aren't experiencing difficulty with all print jobs it could be a
factor - especially if the docs from "other people" are not in the new
format. Leopard (especially 10.5.2) has had some issues with Office 2008
using certain printers, and those issues have yet to be resolved. So visit
the printer mfr's web site & find out if there is a new driver update for
your printer. Apple, MS & the mfrs are still working to get the mess
straight.
If that isn't it or if the problem continues after the update:
What does the doc look like in Word's Print Preview? Is the text visible
there? Do the borders appear to be close together (as though the text is
actually absent) or are they spaced as though the text is there but simply
not visible?
If you go to the Print dialog & click the Preview button there, does the
text show up in the Preview app window? Does it print from there? If so,
that can serve as a workaround until the issues above are resolved.
The answers to those questions will be helpful for others as well, so please
take the time to come back with the answers.
[Also, can you provide more specific detail on exactly how the "weird
glitch" took place? What you describe is a virtual impossibility although
I'm sure that's how it may have appeared. If you can indicate exactly what
you did step-by-step it will help determine what really did happen. Post
this as a separate message.]
Now, in order to [possibly] resolve your problem:
If your printer offers various levels of resolution try to print the doc
using a lower resolution setting. The resolution can usually be adjusted in
Print Settings from the third drop-down in the Print dialog. Also set the
Color to Black and in ColorSync set Quartz Filter to None.
Should you still have the problem, make sure you quit Word first. Go to:
~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/
and rename the file called Normal.dotm (or drag it to another location)..
Launch Word - it will create a new Normal template when you do, so startup
may take a few seconds more than usual - then enter some content similar to
what you had previously done into the new document & try printing.
HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac
On 2/29/08 5:27 PM, in article
(e-mail address removed),
When I create a Word file and try to print it, the type doesn't show
up, except for the horizontal lines I created by hitting three
consecutive hyphens to create a section break. Same with a PDF I
create out of the Word doc. And regardless of the printer. Word files
created by other people print just fine, so some setting is messed up
in my version of Word, I assume. Other things, like webpages, print
just fine. This happened after a weird glitch when a file somehow
took on the filename of another file I had just opened, as if I'd done
a Save As -- but I didn't. Should I just reinstall Word? Or uninstall
(how do I do that) and reinstall?
This is a brand-new MacBook Pro running Leo and office 2008.

Nothing has worked, fellas. Indeed, this is not the only problem I've
had with Leopard and this HP 1020. Like others, I've had problems with
print jobs just freezing. I can set it to print five docs, and after
one or two are done, it just stops. Even if they're all the same type
of doc. Some combination of reinstalling the latest driver and turning
on and off the printer usually gets it going again.
To your points:
Driver is updated, for what that's worth.
Doc looks 100 percent normal in Preview, but still prints blank from
Preview, as otherwise.
The "weird glitch" was just weird. A Word doc I was working on
spontaneously closed and assumed the name of another document that was
not open. Seriously, I know this sounds like something a computer
newbie would claim, but I know how to re-name a file, and I didn't do
anything of the sort here.
There is no option anywhere in the Print dialogue box for changing
resolution. I've looked at every possibility.
Trashed the Normal.dotm file. It worked once, then the problem came
back. Re-trashed it (having quit first), but still no printing.
Note: I was aware that the multiple-hyphen bit doesn't create a page
break, merely an unbroken horizontal line. The strange thing is that
this line is the only thing that does show up when I print. Perhaps
the fact that it is created automatically once Word notices the series
of hyphens exempts it from this problem?

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here:http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltdhttp://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

Will give it a try, thank you.