Word: Grid lines DO print, sometimes, and sometimes not

[Jan Spruit]

Grid lines in tables are supposed to be not printable. The first time I print
my document, the do indeed not show in print. When I print again they show
(sometimes), and also (hidden) borders. When I close and restart Word, the
first time printing is OK again. Print preview is always OK.
My printer is HP Laserjet 4250 tn, but it occurs also with other printers. I
do have the right printer drivers (I think).
Tables are used in the headers of thousands of letters we send, so a
solution would be very welcome.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The only explanation I can think of for this (aside from printer driver
issues) would be the following scenario:

1. You create a document based on Normal.dot or another document template.

2. You open the document on another computer; if you used a template other
than Normal.dot, a template with the same name is present on the second
computer.

3. The template in question has a different Table AutoFormat selected as the
default.

4. "Automatically update document styles" is enabled for the template in
question; the table style would be updated to the different formatting
(borders rather than no borders).

This seems pretty far-fetched, though.

 

[Jan Spruit]

Thanks for your suggestion, but UpdateStylesOnOpen is False, and it's not
only the borders that print, but also the grid lines, what results in a lot
of lines. And it occurs often, but not always.
I hoped it was a well-known problem with a simple solution. Can't imagine
i'm the only one tripping over these gridlines.

--
Jan Spruit
Housing department Amsterdam

The only explanation I can think of for this (aside from printer driver
issues) would be the following scenario:

1. You create a document based on Normal.dot or another document template.

2. You open the document on another computer; if you used a template other
than Normal.dot, a template with the same name is present on the second
computer.

3. The template in question has a different Table AutoFormat selected as the
default.

4. "Automatically update document styles" is enabled for the template in
question; the table style would be updated to the different formatting
(borders rather than no borders).

This seems pretty far-fetched, though.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

What you describe as "gridlines" *are* borders if they print. The only other
clue I can think of is something similar to the bug described in “WD2002:
Word Incorrectly Prints Column Break Marks and Section Break Marks†at
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=324326

Which brings us back to the presumption that the problem may be with the
printer driver. Is this an English or Dutch version of Word?

Thanks for your suggestion, but UpdateStylesOnOpen is False, and it's not
only the borders that print, but also the grid lines, what results in a lot
of lines. And it occurs often, but not always.
I hoped it was a well-known problem with a simple solution. Can't imagine
i'm the only one tripping over these gridlines.

 

[Jan Spruit]

I'm using a Durch version of Word. I think I must investigate it better to
find out what the lines are exactly. Some cells show a heavy line around
them, and a finer line around the text. What also shows are boundaries of
text fields and of images in text fields.
I also suspect the printer driver, though HP assures me I have the right
one. I will try to print to a file and see if the lines still show when I
send that to the printer in DOS. I hope that will circumvent problems arising
in the network.
I'm not at my work now, but wil investigate next week en let you know what I
find.

 

[Jan Spruit]

The problem is not in the printer driver. If in Word I chose File-Page setup
and press OK (even without changing anything), the first time printing is OK.
Second time the lines show again.
Word seems to change something after printing that causes the problem.
I recorded the File-Page setup - OK sequence in a macro but the macro does
not help, while choosing the command from the file menu does.
If I had a macro I'd have a workaround.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

This certainly is bizarre. It sounds to me as if some macro may already be
running when you print, or some field may be updating. Is this a native Word
table or something pasted in from Excel?

Can you send me a small sample of a document that exhibits this problem?

 

[Jan Spruit]

Thanks for your suggestion about corrupt Word-files
(http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/AppErrors/CorruptDoc.htm).
I did not find the solution for, or cause of, the lines that print, but I
found a workaround.
- the tables I originally used must have been somehow "corrupt" (is that
possible?). When I remake them, lines do no longer show in print. The
original tables were probably made on a different computer and maybe a
different version of Word.
- The additional lines showing in the tables have something to do with the
line height that comes with the font size. Selecting the table also makes
these lines visible.
- The only problem remaining is the boundary lines of text frames that
print. Nothing helps here. Turning them on and coloring them white only makes
it worse. (fine double lines) I will not use text frames anymore.
So, this all is not very satisfactory, but finding a real solution might
involve many more hours or even days, and I have to go on with my regular
work.

regards,
-
Jan Spruit
Housing department Amsterdam

 

[Charles Kenyon]

Yes, tables can corrupt.
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


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