I've had this problem with Word for OSX from the beginning. I'm
reviewing someone else's Word files, and when opened the font,
spacing, and many other things I assume are dictated by the style
setup are not honored.
In fact, any document I open comes up with the same type and odd
expanded spacing.
I realize I have a lot to learn about this whole template/style thing,
and I'll get to that in my retirement years, but for now-
is there some preference or setting somewhere that will make Word
recognize and honor the style embedded in various files? I've hunted
and hunted...
The styles in the document should win the race over styles in your
default template if they have the same name. They would win anyway if
they did not. If the sender used fonts that you did not have, your copy
of Word would substitute fonts, usually with the results you describe.
On top of that, early versions of Word v.X made a complete mess of
character and interword spacing. You never said which version of Word
you are using, nor whether you had applied all the updates, so there is
not much more to be said about that.
The answer to your final question is therefore no. It will always
honour the style of the document, so no preference is needed.
Open the doc. Select a paragraph that looks messed up. Choose format »
style » modify. You can paddle about in there looking at the font it
thinks it is using and all the relevant spacing and leading malarkey
that does not look right.
Do the same for a fresh document of your own to see what is different.
Use Font Book to confirm that you have the other bloke's font and that
it is enabled.
Before you start, go to Tools » Autocorrect » Autoformat as you type
and make sure the box at the bottom of the panel labelled "Define
styles based on your formatting" is turned off.
For safety's sake, check "prompt to save normal template" in the save
section of preferences. That gives you a chance to avoid wrecking
future documents if you inadvertently butchered a style while you were
playing in here.
If you intend using Word again before retiring, you better get your
head round styles. Particularly if you are working on other people's
documents.
Get "Bend Word to Your Will" from
http://word.mvps.org/Mac/Bend/BendWordToYourWill.html
follow the "how to read this" instructions, then go back and play with
what it has to say about styles. A lot.
