FAXING

PRINTING

Stop Word 2003 from Crashing When You Print

The Annoyance:

The upgrade to Word 2003 was a cinch, until I tried to print a document. Word crashed. I tried it again. Word crashed again. The document I'm trying to print is nothing excitingjust a one-page report with a handful of cells from an Excel spreadsheet.

The Fix:

This is a bug in Word 2003's handling of documents that contain OLE (Automation) objects, such as cells from a spreadsheet or slides from a presentation.

The temporary fix is to choose Tools Options, click the Save tab, uncheck the "Allow background saves box, click the OK button, save the document, and then print it. Leave background saves turned off unless you prize them for your other documents.

The longer- term fix is to install Microsoft Office 2003 Service Pack 1, which fixes the problem. Go to http://support.microsoft.com, download the Service Pack, and run it to install its contents.

Stop Word XP from Crashing When You Print

The Annoyance:

I opened my document in Word XP, checked the header, chose File Print, clicked the OK button, and boom ! Word flatlined, and I got an apology for the "inconvenience." I tried it again, and the same thing happened . What's going on here?

The Fix:

When background printing is switched on, Word XP is a mite sensitive to your editing headers and footers, working with comments, or running macros that return document information (for example, the number of pages) before printing. Having text boxes or multiple sections in the document makes things worse .

The immediate solution is to turn off background printing: choose Tools Options, click the Print tab (see Figure 6-1), and uncheck the "Background printing box. Save the document and try printing again. For a more long-term fix, install Office XP Service Pack 3or better still, upgrade to Office 2003, which is less buggy as a whole.

Figure 6-1. Turning off background printing means you have to wait longer before resuming your work, but it helps you avoid certain crashes in Word XP.

Troubleshoot Word's Refusal to Print

The Annoyance:

I'm royally stuck. Word 2003 won't print anything at all. I know the printer is fine, because I can print from Excel, the Photo Printing Wizard, Notepad, and every other application I've tried.

The Fix:

Take a deep breath , and then try Plan A:

1. Quit Word, restart it, and try printing again.

2. If that didn't help, shut down your PC, restart it, open Word, and try printing again.

Still no good? Never mind. It's just as well to start with the easy solutions in case they work, but you can fall back on Plan B:

1. Create a new document, type a few characters , and try printing it. If it prints, your problem is most likely confined to the template on which the offending documents are based. Create a new template, attach the documents to it, and see if they'll print. If not, continue with the next step.

2. Quit Word, rename Normal.dot (see "Word Hangs on Startup" in Chapter 1) to a harmless name such as oldNormal.dot , and then restart Word. Word automatically creates a new Normal.dot . See if you can print now.

3. No? The printer driver may have become corrupted, and Word has revealed the problem first because it works the printer driver harder than your other applications do. Quit Word again, choose Start Printers and Faxes, right-click the printer, choose Delete, and click the Yes button in the confirmation dialog box. Click the "Add a printer link in the Printer Tasks list, and reinstall the printer.

4. Still no good? Bad news: You will need to get rid of customizations you've made, which means you'll need to make them again if you want to restore them. Close Word, choose Start Run, type regedit , and press Enter to launch the Registry Editor. Navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Word\ subkey , right-click the Data subkey under it, choose Delete, and confirm the deletion. Choose File Exit to close the Registry Editor, and then restart Word. Word will automatically re-create the Data subkey, which should resolve the printing problem.

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Tip: If you can print from neither Word nor other applications, the problem most likely lies with the printer driver. See Step 3 in the solution for the fix.

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Identify Fields That Change When You Open and Print a Document

The Annoyance:

All I did was open the document and print it. Why is Word asking me if I want to save changes when I close the document?

The Fix:

The document contains one or more fields that were updated automatically either when the document was opened or when it was printed. Often, the field that changes is a date field that changes to the current date, so check that the printout contains the date you want it to have. For an older document of which you're printing a new copy, you probably will neither want the date to change nor want to save the changed version of the document. To prevent Word from updating the field when you print, choose Tools Options, click the Print tab, and uncheck the "Update links box.

If you can't immediately identify the field, choose Tools Options, click the View tab, choose "Always in the "Field shading" drop-down list, click the OK button, and then look for the shading in the document.

Make the Print Button on the Standard Toolbar Display the Print Dialog Box

The Annoyance:

The Print button on the Standard toolbar prints the whole document on the default printer without displaying the Print dialog box. The other Print commands (File Print, Ctrl+P) display the Print dialog box. Aargh!

The Fix:

"This behavior is by design," as Microsoft has been known to say all too often, but that doesn't mean you have to like it. Presumably somewhere there are Word users who always want to print a full copy of the document on the default printer without seeing the Print dialog box. For everyone else, the Print button is a prime target for customization:

1. Choose Tools Customize, click the Commands tab, and make sure Normal.dot is selected in the "Save in" drop-down list.

2. Drag the Print button off the Standard toolbar into the document area. Drop it, and it will vanish .

3. With File selected in the Categories list, scroll down to the Print... item ( not the Print item without the ellipsisthat's the one you just disposed of), and drag it to the Standard toolbar. Click the Close button to close the Customize dialog box.

4. Shift-click the File menu and choose Save All. If Word prompts you to save Normal.dot , click the Yes button.

Now when you click the Print button on the Standard toolbar, the Print dialog box will appear.

Print a Range of Pages

The Annoyance:

I know how to print separate pages or ranges of pages by entering 1,6,8-20 or whatever in the Pages text box in the Print dialog box. But now I need to print only some sections of a documentor, better yet, only some pages within particular sections.

The Fix:

You can tell Word which sections you want to print by using s and a number to represent each section. For example, s1 prints Section 1, s1-s3 prints Sections 1 through 3, and s2,s4 prints Sections 2 and 4.

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Tip: To create sections within your documents, choose Insert Break and select the appropriate type of section break.

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Tip: By default, the Print dialog box appears with the All option selected in the Page Range group box. See "Display the Print Dialog Box with Current Page Option or Pages Option Selected" in Chapter 8 for a way of making Word select the Current Page option or the Pages option by default.

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Print in Reverse Order

The Annoyance:

I'm pretty much cool on printing, except that I have to run the printouts through our copier in reverse order to get the copies into the right order for stapling. (No, I don't understand our copier either.) It would be handy if Word offered a setting for this.

The Fix:

It does, but not in the main Print dialog box. Choose File Print, click the Options button, and check the "Reverse print order box on the Print tab. (If this dialog box looks familiar, that's because it's the Print tab of the Options dialog box in drag.) Click the OK button to return to the regular Print dialog box, and you'll be ready to go.

Print Double-Sided Pages Without a Duplex Printer

The Annoyance:

Okay, here's the problem. I need duplex printingbut all I've got is a single-side laser printer. The copier wants the first page facing forward, the second page facing backward, the third page facing forward, and so on.

The Fix:

You've got me turned around toobut you should be able to achieve the effect you need by playing around with the "Odd pages" and "Even pages" options in the Print drop-down list in the regular Print dialog box and the "Front of the sheet" and "Back of the sheet" boxes on the Print tab (click the Options button in the regular Print dialog box). Print out one set of pages, print out the other, and then shuffle the two in your best casino manner and deal them to the copier.

Print in Draft Quality

The Annoyance:

Back when the dinosaurs were staggering to extinction , I used to edit manuscripts on paper in the evenings, often with a horn of mead and a dino-drumstick to crunch on. Old habits die hard, and in Word 2, I used to print what it called "drafts"manuscripts with minimal formattingfor editing manually. I'd like to try that again, with Gew ¼rz and chicken wings now that the kids are asleep, but the option seems to have disappeared.

The Fix:

Draft output hasn't actually disappeared in recent versions of Word; it's just hidden. Choose Tools Options, click the Print tab, and check the "Draft output box. Be warned that not all printers support draft output, so you may not succeed. But it's worth a try.

Turn Off Background Printing

The Annoyance:

When I print a long document, Word 2003 seems to bog down completely. The hourglass cursor disappears, and I can click in the Word window, but Word takes an eon to register each character I type.

The Fix:

It sounds as though you've got background printing turned on. Background printing (in theory) lets you get working again in Word more quickly, but it takes more memory, so if your computer is struggling to run Word and print, it's best to turn off background printing. To do so, choose Tools Options, click the Print tab, uncheck the "Background printing box, and then click the OK button. When you print a long document, get up and stretch, shadowbox with the watercooler, or bug your colleagues for a few minutes, rather than watching the document print.

Print Colored Text as Black on a Monochrome Printer

The Annoyance:

My colleagues keep sending me documents formatted in all sorts of colors that print in varying shades of gray on my wretched (I mean, trusty) old laser printer. How can I make them print in black?

The Fix:

Choose Tools Options, click the Compatibility tab (see Figure 6-2), choose the version of Word that youre using in the "Recommended options for" drop-down list, and then check the "Print colors as black on noncolor printers" box. Click the OK button.

Figure 6-2. Select the "Print colors as black on noncolor printers" box to make colored text print darker on a black-and-white printer.

Print the document on your trusty old printer, and the colored text will print firmly in black rather than gray. If in the future you want to return to printing the colors in shades of gray, go back and uncheck the box.

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Tip: If you need to be able to print a document quickly in black and white without messing with the settings in the Compatibility dialog box, create a macro that switches the print settings for you. See "Print a Document in Monochrome" in Chapter 8 for details.

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Adjust Your Margins for Printing

The Annoyance:

I get really annoyed when I receive a Word document via e-mail or on disk, try to print it, and get the message "Your margins may exceed the printable area, do you wish to continue?" Sometimes it prints okay, sometimes it cuts off a portion of the words on the top or bottom, and sometimes it takes one page and turns it into two. Why, why, why? The document was fine on the PC that created it. Why doesn't Word keep the same parameters, or at least import the settings the document was created with into my copy of Word?

The Fix:

The problem is that different printers can print to different distances from the edge of the page. Some modern photo-capable printers can print right up to the edges of the page, but most laser printers and inkjets leave a margin of 0.2", 0.4", or more. Chances are that the document was laid out by someone whose printer can get closer to the edges of the paper than your printer can. You may also find that this occurs with a document you create yourself if you switch from one local (or network) printer to another that uses wider margins.

The fix is easy enough: if Word offers you a Fix button, click it to fix the problem automatically. Otherwise, choose File Page Setup, click the Margins tab (see Figure 6-3), and adjust the offending margin or margins. Unless youre creating intricate layouts, it's usually a good idea to leave large margins on your documents anyway; they look less crowded, and people can scribble notes on them more easily.

Stop the Printer from Cutting Off the Bottom of the Page

The Annoyance:

My printer keeps lopping off the bottom of the page. I wouldn't care, except that's where the footer is supposed to be.

The Fix:

The short fix is to choose File Page Setup, click the Margins tab (see Figure 6-3), and adjust the bottom margin. But if youre frequently getting this problem, make sure that you're using the same paper size as the person who set up the document.

Figure 6-3. If your printer cuts off the bottom of the page, check the depth of the bottom margin.

If you're working with Britons, the problem might be that they're setting up the documents for A4 paper rather than letter-size (8.5" x 11") paper. A4 is longer than letter-size paper, so the bottom of the page is apt to suffer when you print an A4 document on letter-size paper. Word includes a built-in feature for correcting this problem automatically: choose Tools Options, click the Print tab, and check the "Allow A4/Letter paper resizing box. You'll still need to check your documents in Print Preview (choose File Print Preview) before printing them, but this should take the edge off the problem.

Handle "Bizarre Swelling of the Right Margin Syndrome"

The Annoyance:

Okay, tell me what's going on. I printed the first few pages of the new sales report we've been working on, and the right margin is about two inches fatter than it should be. The bottom margin is bigger too. Did I hit a secret keystroke for the Insert Pork At East and South command while my espresso was kicking in?

The Fix:

It sounds as though the document contains tracked changes (or comments), the view is showing "Final with markup" or "Original with markup" rather than "Final," and the pages you printed don't have any tracked changes or markup on them. Word is reserving space in the right and bottom margins for the change balloons and notes, even though there aren't any on these pages.

To fix this problem, either get rid of the tracked changes (accept them or reject them, as appropriate) or switch the view to "Final" in the "Display for review" drop-down list on the Reviewing toolbar.

Create a Black Background with White Text

The Annoyance:

I need to print white text against a black background. I've changed the font color to white, but I'm just getting white text on a white backgroundin other words, sweet flatulent alpacas.

The Fix:

You need to set the background color of the paragraphs involved to black. Drag down the left margin to select the paragraphs, choose Format Borders and Shading, click the Shading tab, and click the black square in the Fill list. (The color name rectangle will show "Black when you click the right square.) Choose "Solid (100%)" in the Style drop-down list, and click the OK button.

If you set the background to black, you can leave the font color set to Automatic, and Word will automatically make the font color white so that it contrasts with the background.

Print to a File

The Annoyance:

My supervisor wants a full-color, glossy printout about the size of a barn door of our annual report. I called the local print-o-rama, and they can do it, but they don't have Word on their computers, and I can't install a copy there just to print. So I'm stuck unless I hike over to Kinko's in the city.

The Fix:

What you need to do is print to a file (that is, save the print output to a file), take the file along to the print shop on a CD or memory card, and print it there. For best results, find out which printer you'll use at the print shop, and then install the driver for that printer on your PC. Choose File Print, select that printer, check the "Print to file box, choose any other settings (for example, specify which pages to print), and click the OK button. In the Print to File dialog box, specify the name and location of the file. Copy the file to a CD or memory card and hop along to the print shop. Remember to switch back to the appropriate printer before you try printing another document.