Word wont print graphics

[difrance]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

I use word to produce reports that contain images of graphs and charts which I produce in Excel and then cut and paste into word (as PDF). I have done this before and it worked fine. I am not sure what is going on but I printed a report yesterday before going to a meeting (to discuss that report) and every page that included a pasted chart was blank!! Any text added to the page by word itself was printed but the chart itself was not there. ALso, when I tried to re-print the affected pages, in the print menu when I would select to print the current page (I would have the cursor on the page with the chart) the preview would show a blank page?? Please help if you can.

Thanks in advance.

 

[difrance]

Hi folks...some responses to threads about this graphic issue in Word 08 suggest that a work around involves "...grouping all of the various components of an image together." Does anyone know how to do this? Please advise. Thank you.

 

[John McGhie]

Enable the Drawing toolbar.

From there, enable the Object Cursor (first icon)

Drag over the graphics elements to select them all.

Right-click and choose "Group".

Cheers

Hi folks...some responses to threads about this graphic issue in Word 08
suggest that a work around involves "...grouping all of the various components
of an image together." Does anyone know how to do this? Please advise. Thank
you.

--
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, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[difrance]

Hi John and thanks for that. Can you tell me how to handle the case where my graphic items are spread out through the document (over 40 pages)...how do i group them ALL together...as none will print OR show in print preview (the one on the print dialogue). Is there a way to group ALL graphics in the document so that they will print? Can you tell me if there is a fix in the pipe for this issue?

Thanks again JOhn.

Cheers

Enable the Drawing toolbar.





From there, enable the Object Cursor (first icon)





Drag over the graphics elements to select them all.





Right-click and choose "Group".





Cheers

Hi folks...some responses to threads about this graphic issue in Word

08 > suggest that a work around involves "...grouping all of the various
components > of an image together." Does anyone know how to do this? Please
advise. Thank > you.





-- 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, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[CyberTaz]

Well, you can't group objects that aren't on the same "page", but it doesn't
sound like Grouping is the real issue or solution. Have a look in Word>
Preferences - Print to make sure there is a check in the box for Drawing
Objects as well as Print Background Colors & Images.

If that isn't the fix you might do well to check the printer mfr's site for
an updated driver. Also, make sure that Office & OS X are fully updated and
that you run Disk Utility - Repair Disk Permissions after any updates.

Should none of that resolve it you'll need to provide a much more detailed
description of what you're referring to collectively as "graphics". What are
the actual objects, types of files & method used for inserting them? Any
additional details about the document would be helpful.

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

 

[difrance]

Hi John, actually there are several references to this issue on here so its not a matter of check boxes in prefs. I did check again though and both are checked as you suggest. Also, I have the most recent versions of OSX, Word and the printer drivers. I just completed running disk utility to repair permissions...ran it twice...first time it found a couple of items, second time it was clean. I then did a restart, went to finder, double-clicked my file (if you email me directly, I can send you the file), it openned in Word and I proceeded to go to a page with a chart, the put my cursor on that page, hit cmd-P, and in the print dialogue I select "Current Page"...the first indication you get that something is wrong is that in the little view window, only the title of the chart (which was typed into Word directly above the chart) appears. It does not print either. Interestingly, if I select print preview from the file menu, then it does show the charts...but they still do not print.

As for the details, I am using an iMac 3.06 with 4 gbs ram and 500 gbs of disk space. Also, I have an HP2840 all in one colour laser. The process used to create this document is one which I have used for decades (since undergrad). I produce charts in excel (or even tables or flow charts) and then I copy them and in Word I select "Paste Special" and usually paste the chart into the word file as a pdf.

Actually there are two types of "graphics" in this file (I have this problem with other files too) - one type includes images that have been clipped from a pdf or a web site and pasted into word. The second time consists of excel charts which are copied from excel (08 for mac) and then pasted (using paste-special) into word as a pdf (this seems to give the best resolution on the clipped graphic). Typically, when I insert an excel chart, I use the page-setup menu in word to turn the page landscape to give it more space for the horizonal axis..this involves setting a section break to allow me to flip one page on its side while leaving the others in the normal orientation.

I have noticed a couple of odd things that relate to this. First, when I try to save the report as a pdf, Word saves it as multiple pdfs...seemingly breaking the main file at those points where I entered page breaks to enter the graphics. Another manifestation of the same problem (I think) shows up when I print the report from word in docx format (or doc format). As soon as I send the report to the printer from inside word, if I open the print queue manager, I see that word has sent this report to the printer as a series of 15 or so separate print jobs!

I have worked this way for years and years on a windows machine...I switched over to mac because I have always loved the quality of the machines and OSX seemed to be a superior OS...however it seems as though MS Office for Mac is plagued by many frustrating bugs which have been worked out of the windows version years ago...I hope this is not an attempt to make Mac users' lives difficult as penance for leaving the Windows world behind. Indeed, I still use a PC - so dont hold this against me.

HELP please !!!

 

[CyberTaz]

This little tidbit was woefully missing from your op

I proceeded to go to a page with a chart, the put my cursor on that page, hit
cmd-P, and in the print dialogue I select "Current Page"...

Yes, that's something that has been reported by a number of users & does
have foundation as a bug in Word 2008. It has been reported to MacBU & is
under investigation but has not yet been resolved. If you're scenario is
like the others, the graphics print if you print the entire document,
correct? What happens if you specify a page range that includes one of the
otherwise non-printing graphics [such as From Page: 6 To Page: 6]?

The multiple PDF file business is a different issue altogether - and keep in
mind that Word doesn't make the PDF. Also, the actual cause is not the page
breaks. This has long been an issue on both Mac & PC where Section Breaks
are used to accommodate changes in page orientation and/or margin settings.
Adobe has pretty much rectified the problem on the Windows side but [as I
understand it] has refused to cooperate equally on the Mac.

I don't claim to know the "truth" of the matter - MS blames Apple, Apple
blames Adobe, Adobe blames MS... mix & match as you wish - but the separate
PDF files can be joined into one easily enough just using Apple's Preview
app [4.0 or later] as well as other PDF utilities. In Preview you can open
the separate PDF files, display the Sidebar in each, then select the page
thumbnails from one & drag to the other. Granted it's time you shouldn't
have to invest but the result gives you what you want.

P.S. - Please don't get caught up in the old "MS is out to kill the Mac"
conspiracy theory If they were they'd just abandon the Mac market
altogether. There's no more logic to that argument than there is to the idea
that General Motors builds poor Pontiacs in order to sell more Chevys - bad
GM product regardless of labeling is the business equivalent of shooting
themselves in the foot. All current evidence indicates that MS is more
committed to the Mac platform than ever before.

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

 

[difrance]

Thanks for that reply Bob, ok, I will take your word for it and not buy into this...but it just seems like there are more bugs on this side of the fence that have not been an issue (for a long time or ever) on the PC side. That said, re the printing issue, I first noticed this issue when I was printing a hard copy of a report to take with me to a presentation with the client (the report was for them). As it was printing, I was working in Keynote on a presentation...when I went to the printer to collect the hard copy, all graphics had failed to print. I had pages with titles and no charts. Anything that I pasted in from Excel, PDF or the WEb was absent on the hard copy. It was embarrassing to show up and not have a paper copy of my paper...and the pdf version was problemmatic too as it consisted of many files...you can stitch them together, but I have founf that word will not spit out the complete file to pdf...some is always missing! So, it is a real problem.

More on the pdf issue, I tried several ways to get my document pdfed so that I could at least show that...well I could not get it all to convert...I had to save the word file on my PC which is networked to the mac and do the pdf conversion there....I must say this is an extra step I would not have had to do had I just stayed in the windows world. That said, I do really like Macs and OSx...so I hope I can remain on this side of the fence...but if it is going to be so difficult to use this machine for business applications, it makes it inefficient from a cost perspective to use macs...something which I hope does not materialize.

Your continued assistance is appreciated.

Cheers.

 

[Clive Huggan]

There's no more logic to that argument than there is to the idea
that General Motors builds poor Pontiacs in order to sell more Chevys

Philip Jones, C.E.T., Esq.: as our longstanding Professor Emeritus,
Conspiracy Theories, what's your take on this? We don't get to hear about
this down here in Australia, because we only have one brand of GM products.

Cheers,

Clive
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