Word 2000 mystery: page layout discrepancy between computers

[Benjamino5]

A rare but recurring problem at work has stumped me. The same Word file will
have (automatic) page breaks in slightly different spots depending on the
computer! One computer will have a heading at the bottom of page 53, for
example, while another will have that same heading at the top of page 54.

The file has no special manual page breaks, section breaks, weird styles,
etc.

I've noticed that some computers have Word 2000 ((9.0 .7616 SP-3) as the
version number, and so far, each one has laid out the pages the same way
(heading at bottom of page 53).

Other computers are missing some security updates, and have Word 2000 (9.0
..6926 SP-3). They show the heading at the top of page 54.

I asked our IT department to upgrade my computer (we're not allowed to do
this generally) with all security updates.

Now I have Word 2000 (9.0.8950 SP-3), and I'm seeing the heading at the top
of page 54, just like the machines with Word 2000 (9.0 .6926 SP-3).

I should stress here that the page 53/54 example is just ONE example among
many. This issue is not related to a single Word file--it has happened
repeatedly with various projects, various Word files, and on various
computers.

On another discussion board, someone suggested that printer drivers help
determine page layout. Is this true? I'm beginning to doubt my initial theory
about security updates (it is pretty far-fetched), but having printer drivers
change the on-screen layout of the file also seems rather far-fetched.

What do you think could be responsible for these discrepancies? Do you have
any ideas about how to troubleshoot this?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Jezebel]

Printer drivers are a possibility: Word formats the document partly
according to its understanding of what the printer is going to do with it.
In particular, depending on the printer driver settings, the document may
get printed not with the fonts installed on the computer but with the
equivalent fonts installed within the printer. Such fonts often have
slightly different metrics, resulting in slight differences in line spacing,
etc.

Different versions of fonts are another (and more likely) possibility: fonts
get updated occasionally to improve their microtypography. This too can
result in slight metric changes. If you open the font itself in the Control
Panel you can see its version and date.

A piece of research: print out both versions of a page that differs between
computers (eg the page 53 you refer to), superimpose them and hold them up
against a window: check *exactly* what differs.

 

[Benjamino5]

Jezebel,

Thank you! This is the second time in the course of a few days that you've
helped me--I really appreciate it.

I'll look into the font versions tomorrow (when I have access to the other
computers).

As for the printer driver possibility, if I change the default printer,
close Word, and reopen it, will I see the effects (if any)? I suppose I
should also muck around in the driver settings to see if the printer is set
to download fonts or use its own, as you said.

I'll post again tomorrow with what I find out.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If the different computers are running different versions of Word, there's a
good chance they also have different versions of Windows, and this makes it
very likely that the printer drivers (for the same printer) are also
different, which can also make a difference in the metrics. Your best bet is
usually to avoid manual page breaks and set up your formatting so that
changes in line and page breaks won't cause problems in the document; see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/TextReflow.htm

 

[Benjamino5]

Suzanne,

Thankfully, we're all on the same version of Windows (Win 2K SP4). But there
are many different printers here, so that looks increasingly like the culprit.

I see what you mean about reflow, but I work for a publisher--we're actually
going to publish these Word files--so manual page breaks are often necessary.

(In case anyone's curious, we don't generally use real page layout software
like Quark or InDesign for the workbooks that go along with textbooks.
Instead, we make heavily-formatted Word files and then turn them into PDFs
which are sent straight to the printer (traditional off-set printing, nothing
fancy).

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If you're going to be turning them into PDFs, then perhaps the best solution
is to work on the Word files with Adobe PDF selected as the active printer.
I've created a number of those workbooks myself, though I did them as
camera-ready copy, first with a typewriter and later with Word.

 

[Benjamino5]

Problem solved: it was the printer drivers.

The drivers for the Xerox WorkCentre Pro 65 use slightly[I/] less
linespacing than the HP printers we have.

Most groups print only to HP printers, but we have two Xerox
photocopier/printer combos, and whenever the default printer was set to
those, the linespacing was a teeny bit bigger.

Over the course of a long file, when conditions were just right, paragraphs
would jump back from one page to the previous one.

I've recommended that everyone switch their default printer either to an HP
model or, as Suzanne mentioned, to the virtual Adobe PDF printer driver.

Thanks for all the tips!

 

[Benjamino5]

Oops--make that "smaller." The Xerox linespacing (if anyone cares) is tighter.