Word menu buttons disappear

[shf]

When I make my menus fully vertical (one button/icon per row, or to
put it another way, a single column), the *icons disappear*. When I
hover over the menu bars, the icons appear, but if I don't know
exactly where the button is, it can be very frustrating. The cursor
also disappears.

Why is this happening?

Thanks for any advice,
Shira

Office 2004, also in Office X/2001
Mac OS 10.3.5 and also when I was using 10.2

 

[JE McGimpsey]

When I make my menus fully vertical (one button/icon per row, or to
put it another way, a single column), the *icons disappear*. When I
hover over the menu bars, the icons appear, but if I don't know
exactly where the button is, it can be very frustrating. The cursor
also disappears.

Why is this happening?

I can't reproduce this in Word 2001, v.X or Word 2004. Are these
built-in toolbars or custom toolbars? If built-in, have you customized
them?

Do you have any haxies (OS X third-party system extensions) running?

Does replacing the Normal template

http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/MacWordNormal.htm

help?

 

[shf]

I can't reproduce this in Word 2001, v.X or Word 2004. Are these
built-in toolbars or custom toolbars? If built-in, have you customized
them?

Do you have any haxies (OS X third-party system extensions) running?

Does replacing the Normal template

http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/MacWordNormal.htm

help?

No Haxies. Built-in toolbars - some slightly customized, but it
happens to any of them. Only when they are 100% vertical.

I tried the template thing but I'm not successfully managing to create
a new Normal.

Thanks,
Shira

 

[Beth Rosengard]

No Haxies. Built-in toolbars - some slightly customized, but it
happens to any of them. Only when they are 100% vertical.

I tried the template thing but I'm not successfully managing to create
a new Normal.

Hi Shira,

What do you mean when you say you can't create a new Normal? If Word is
quit (not closed, but quit) and you rename Normal (say, to OldNormal), Word
*must* create a new Normal when you relaunch it. Have you by any chance
changed the location of Normal? In Word 2004, it should be in the Microsoft
User Data (MUD) folder.

Also, exactly what do you mean by vertical toolbars? How are you creating
or rotating them?

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org>

 

[Franz Metcalf]

Also, exactly what do you mean by vertical toolbars? How are you creating
or rotating them?

Since I've just upgraded to Word 2004 and am now having the same
problem Shira did, let me answer your question, Beth, and see if it
will help find a fix.

I've created a custom toolbar, putting about ten items in it and
placing it so it runs vertically along the left side of my document.
It worked fine the first time, maybe two, I ran Word after creating
it. But now the menu appear entirely blank, a pure, white space, until
I roll my cursor over it, then the icons (or text) for the toolbar's
commands appear.

This occurs each time I move from Word to another application (not
QUIT, just use another application with Word in the background. Note,
the problem occurs even when the document is minimized and moves to
the dock). Sometimes opening a new document brings back *some* of the
icons, sometimes not. It never brings back all of them; that takes the
cursor. One more note: this does NOT happen when I move the toolbar to
run horizontally above the document by clicking and holding the lower
right corner of the toolbar and moving it to change the toolbar's
shape.

This is surely a known bug, yes? Is there a solution?

Thanks,

Franz

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Franz,

Sorry, I've been away for a few days and am finally catching up.

Thanks for the full explanation. I will escalate this to MS and see if I
can get some answers. If/when I do, I'll post back here on this thread. No
telling how long it could take but if you don't see anything in, say, a
couple of weeks, feel free to remind me to check.

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org>

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Franz,

A possible workaround in the meantime: When the problem occurs, go to
Tools> Customize> Toolbars/Menus, select your custom toolbar and click
reset.

Hope this helps.

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org>

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Franz (and Shira),

I've just learned that this is indeed a known issue. As to when it will get
fixed, that's anyone's guess; but Microsoft is known to respond to the
squeaky wheel so the more people that report this, the sooner it's likely to
happen. Use the Feedback feature on Word's Help menu to make your voice
heard.

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/index.htm>
Entourage Help Page: <http://www.entourage.mvps.org>

 

[Franz Metcalf]

I've just learned that this is indeed a known issue. As to when it will get
fixed, that's anyone's guess; but Microsoft is known to respond to the
squeaky wheel so the more people that report this, the sooner it's likely to
happen. Use the Feedback feature on Word's Help menu to make your voice
heard.

Beth,

Many thanks for the fowarding of the issue. I'll use the feedback
feature, as well. In the meantime, I must admit this is hardly a
life-or-death issue. It's just that--as you so well know--Word is a
great program that could be so much greater with the right efforts.

Thanks for making them,

Franz