Word X for Mac & Tiger & Font changes

[PaulHigg]

Hello, this is my first time posting here.

I just installed Mac Tiger on my iMac last night and everything went
smoothly except a problem with Word X.

When I type new text-I usually use Times, the text is very light.
But, when I scroll the page down so the newly typed text is off-screen
and then scroll it back up it is back to it's "darker" color of black.

Has anyone seen or heard of this? I would appreciate any help. Thanks a
lot.

Paul

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hi Paul:

Do you have the latest version of QuickTime installed yet?

Word X relies on QuickDraw to render fonts to the screen. If you update
QuickTime, you update that mechanism. You could also play around with your
display-smoothing settings. That's what is producing the effect.

However, the later versions of Word use the new ATSUI rendering technology.

If you were to go up to Word 2004, chances are the problem would be
resolved. However, you also have the option of waiting for the next version
of Mac Office. Chances are it's about a year away. I believe it will be
more Tiger-friendly than the current version.

Cheers

Hello, this is my first time posting here.

I just installed Mac Tiger on my iMac last night and everything went
smoothly except a problem with Word X.

When I type new text-I usually use Times, the text is very light.
But, when I scroll the page down so the newly typed text is off-screen
and then scroll it back up it is back to it's "darker" color of black.

Has anyone seen or heard of this? I would appreciate any help. Thanks a
lot.

Paul

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410

 

[PaulHigg]

Thank you John, you have ben most helpful. I will try your suggestions
and failing that I will have to either live with it or upgrade.

One more problem.

I can't press the Apple+Option+- sign to remove items from the work
menu any more. Any ideas?

Gratefully your's,

Paul Higginbotham

 

[JE McGimpsey]

One more problem.

I can't press the Apple+Option+- sign to remove items from the work
menu any more. Any ideas?

The most likely problem is that you've got Universal Access enabled in
the System Preferences/Keyboard and Mouse/Keyboard Shortcuts pane.

If Universal Access is enabled, by default the system intercepts the
CMD-OPT-minus combination and attempts to zoom out.

You can uncheck the appropriate checkbox in that pane to restore the
remove from menu command.

 

[PaulHigg]

Thank you also, I will try it and see what happens, without
knowlegeable people like you I'd be lost.

Gratefully,

Paul

 

[PaulHigg]

JE!! Thanks a bunch!! It works! Now I have my Apple+Option+- key
combination working to remove items from the work menu. Now, if I can
just fix that darn text from starting light and going dark then
vice-versa, ad infinitum.

Paul

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Already taken care of, but since I looked it up in Tools | Customize[1], I
am loath to waste the information....

The most likely problem is that you've got Universal Access enabled in
the System Preferences/Keyboard and Mouse/Keyboard Shortcuts pane.

If Universal Access is enabled, by default the system intercepts the
CMD-OPT-minus combination and attempts to zoom out.

You can uncheck the appropriate checkbox in that pane to restore the
remove from menu command.

You can also assign a new shortcut key to the remove from menu command, via
Tools | Customize. The name of the command is
ToolsCustomizeRemoveMenuShortcut, listed under All Commands under T.


[1] oh, for a search box in that dialog, though thanks be we still have
descriptions, apparently they have been removed from WinWord

 

[Phillip M. Jones, CE.T.]

QiuickDraw??

OSX use Quartz engine to draw fonts a form of PDF.

Quickdraw was pretty much abandoned after OS9.

Is there any way he can find and delete the font database Word uses and
make word rebuild a new one??

Hi Paul:

Do you have the latest version of QuickTime installed yet?

Word X relies on QuickDraw to render fonts to the screen. If you update
QuickTime, you update that mechanism. You could also play around with your
display-smoothing settings. That's what is producing the effect.

However, the later versions of Word use the new ATSUI rendering technology.

If you were to go up to Word 2004, chances are the problem would be
resolved. However, you also have the option of waiting for the next version
of Mac Office. Chances are it's about a year away. I believe it will be
more Tiger-friendly than the current version.

Cheers

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[PaulHigg]

Okay, I have QT 7.0 installed and I deselected all the settings in the
moreinfo box and it STILL gives me light text, then dark, and so on.

I also tried EVERY setting of Font Display smoothing settings and it
still does not work.

Please help. please? sigh...

Paul

 

[PaulHigg]

John, I REALLY appreciate your help on this annoying font problem. I
have discovered however, that it works fine in AppleWorks. It doesn't
get lighter/darker.

Could that be of help?

Sincerely, Paul

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

I haven't a clue, but while you wait for more knowledgeable people to come
along:

Test TextEdit? (and any other text programs you might have)

Test different fonts in Word?

Test different Views in Word (Normal, Page Layout, Outline)?

Anything else that occurs to you as a means of specifying the circumstances
that this happens under.

Try it with no other programs open?

Exactly what version of Word X is this? The About number is not reliable,
see here:
http://www.mcgimpsey.com/macoffice/office/vxversions.html

 

[PaulHigg]

Daiya, thanks for your help and here's the answers:

TextEdit, AppleWorks, Stickies, all okay.
Any font in Word will do this.
Any view the problem will occur.
This is strange. If I type some text, it is light, but if I scroll it
out of sight and back into sight it is the normal dark. If the text is
in view and it is dark but I select all of it then de-select it it goes
light.
It does this with any other or no other programs open.
Version as your URL described is: 10.1.6 (040913)

Thanks.

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hi Paul:

It tends to confirm that it's QuickDraw that's causing the problem.

As Phillip points out, QuickDraw is pretty much an abandoned technology, but
it's the one Word X uses (because it's faaast...)

AppleWorks, I think, was build native in Cocoa, so it would be using ATSUI.

No: I don't think anyone can help at this stage: personally, I have not yet
gotten my hands on Tiger. If it breaks for a lot of users, there is a small
possibility that Microsoft might release a patch for Word X in about six
months. But unless lots of users get the problem, they won't, because Word
X is coming to the end of its service life.

Sorry.

John, I REALLY appreciate your help on this annoying font problem. I
have discovered however, that it works fine in AppleWorks. It doesn't
get lighter/darker.

Could that be of help?

Sincerely, Paul

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hang about... Didn't Word X have a Font Smoothing option of its own?
(Sorry: It's a while since I had Word X in use...)

Have a look in Word's preferences: if you see anything about Quartz or Font
Smoothing, try turning that OFF. It may be competing with the system
version.

Daiya, thanks for your help and here's the answers:

TextEdit, AppleWorks, Stickies, all okay.
Any font in Word will do this.
Any view the problem will occur.
This is strange. If I type some text, it is light, but if I scroll it
out of sight and back into sight it is the normal dark. If the text is
in view and it is dark but I select all of it then de-select it it goes
light.
It does this with any other or no other programs open.
Version as your URL described is: 10.1.6 (040913)

Thanks.

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410

 

[Paul Higginbotham]

YES!!! That did it!!! Thank you all so much. It is so nice to have people
willing to help others like this and I REALLY appreciate it.

Paul

Hang about... Didn't Word X have a Font Smoothing option of its own?
(Sorry: It's a while since I had Word X in use...)

Have a look in Word's preferences: if you see anything about Quartz or Font
Smoothing, try turning that OFF. It may be competing with the system
version.

Daiya, thanks for your help and here's the answers:

TextEdit, AppleWorks, Stickies, all okay.
Any font in Word will do this.
Any view the problem will occur.
This is strange. If I type some text, it is light, but if I scroll it
out of sight and back into sight it is the normal dark. If the text is
in view and it is dark but I select all of it then de-select it it goes
light.
It does this with any other or no other programs open.
Version as your URL described is: 10.1.6 (040913)

Thanks.

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 4 1209 1410

 

[Paul Berkowitz]

It tends to confirm that it's QuickDraw that's causing the problem.

As Phillip points out, QuickDraw is pretty much an abandoned technology, but
it's the one Word X uses (because it's faaast...)

No, because they had to "carbonize" Word X for OS X very quickly, to help
Apple get Mac users to update to OS X, and it was much quicker to just
carbonize their existing code form Word 2001. In any case, Quartz was
nowhere near ready back in pre-OS 10.1, which was what was available when
they were making Word X. There was no alternative.

Word 2004 was made for Jaguar and Panther, and Quartz was finally ready
enough for MacBU to make their changes.

AppleWorks, I think, was build native in Cocoa, so it would be using ATSUI.

John, John... AppleWorks is so ancient it's barely even carbonized, very far
from being "native to Cocoa". It goes back to OS 7, or 6 maybe (as Claris
Works). I think there was a sort of slap-dash version for OS X, but it's
being deprecated. It's Pages that's native to Cocoa, but not ready yet to
actually replace AppleWorks (and will probably never be ready to replace
Word, but I imagine they might try.
It's great you remembered about that Quartz smoothing thing in X, that
solved it for Paul H.


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MVP MacOffice
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[Paul Higginbotham]

First, I would like to thank you all for your OUTSTANDING help. Leaving font
smoothing UNchecked in Word X is unacceptable for me, I write a LOT and the
jagged fonts would make me lose my mind, so today I bought the Mac Word 2004
upgrade. I haven't installed it yet, I've been VERY busy, but I will tonight.

I just want to pass along a deep seated feeling of praise for you all.

Paul