My MVP FAQs

Home Tutorials My MVP FAQs Useful Links

 

The following is a list of articles at the Word MVPs' FAQ site that I wrote or contributed to. For 17 years that site (http://word.mvps.org) was graciously hosted by several Microsoft MVPs who for 20 years provided free mail and Web hosting to present and former Microsoft MVPs. When those amazingly generous MVPs announced that MVPs.org would close its doors on January 28, 2017, many of the articles had already been revised and updated here, but at that point I went into overdrive to try to salvage the remaining articles and move them here. Fortunately, fellow Word MVP Lene Fredborg volunteered to take over and maintain the site, which she is hosting at her own expense at https://wordmvp.com, so some of the articles will remain there, though I will still work to update more of them and move them here.

Most Frequently Asked

Why is my “Blank Document” not blank? A perennial problem. Many add-ins (especially the Norton Office Plug-in and the Microsoft Works Suite Add-in for Word) have historically not only caused Word to prompt you to save the Normal template every time you quit Word but also seemed to result in saving a document as or in the Normal template. Although this is primarily an issue with older versions of Word, it still crops up even in the latest versions.

“Page X of Y” displays or prints as “Page 1 of 1,” “Page 2 of 2” (or “Page 2 of 1”) and so on. A "golden oldie": this problem was "fixed" by Word 2000 SR-1, then was reinstated by an Office XP service pack; it still tends to surface in various forms.

Formatting applied to one paragraph affects the entire document. Another very popular FAQ, addressing a problem evidently caused by add-ins.

Other Application Errors

I selected a block of text and pressed Delete (or Backspace) and nothing happened! Although the article doesn't say so, this also explains why certain keyboard shortcuts don't behave as expected (you get the Find dialog when you expect to go to the top of the document, for example, or you press Enter and lose your paragraph indent). This article has been updated in an article on this site.

There is a line in my document that I can’t delete because I can’t select it. How did it get there, and what can I do about it? (It's a border!) This article has been updated at this site in the article “Troublesome Lines.”

Whenever I open a document using File Open all my formatting is gone, and there is garbage at the end
But the document looks fine if I open it from the list at the bottom of the File menu or double-click on it in Windows Explorer
. This is primarily an issue with Word 2000 and earlier but is included here for reference.

Text at the top of the page is unaccountably indented (explains how an orphaned page number frame can cause problems)

Whenever I try to use Equation Editor I get an error message and the program shuts down (mostly Word 97, fixed by a Service Release)

Basics

What do all those funny marks, like the dots between the words in my document, and the square bullets in the left margin, mean? Read this article! Not only does it explain what the "funny marks" are, it explains why you might sometimes want to be able to see them. This article has been updated in an article on this site.

Ruler of all you survey: How to make the best use of Word’s rulers. If you don't have Word's rulers displayed, you're missing out on a lot of convenience.

Setting tabs: Or how to prevent tabbed paragraphs from going all over the place when pasted between documents. Explains not only how but also when to use tabs (and when a table is a better choice).

The strait and narrow: using columns. How and when to use columns

What is the Default Paragraph Font?

Page Layout

“Creating a Template - The Basics (Part I)” This article has been updated at this site here.

What is the difference between the Normal and Body Text styles? And why you should avoid using/customizing Normal.

Typographical Tips from Microsoft Publisher

Tips and tricks for copy fitting

Booklet printing: Or how to print a folded booklet with numbered pages half the size of your paper. This is one of my most popular articles. Although Word 2002 and above have a built-in booklet feature, it's just flaky enough to make a lot of users happy to use this more manual method instead. But most users should see my later article on booklet printing here.

I want the headings in my multi-column document to span the columns. How can I achieve this?

The rand “virus” (or how to insert dummy text into a document). When you're setting up a document template, you may want to get an idea of how a real document will look. There are several quick ways of inserting a block of dummy text for this purpose.

Why does the appearance (or layout) of my document change when I open it on a different machine? I created a document on my home computer and formatted it just the way I wanted it. When I took it to work and opened it there, it had completely changed. All the page breaks were in different places and my graphics were out of place. How can I make my document stay the way I want it? This is technically a "printing" problem, which is why it's also listed below under "Printing and Fonts."

Cleaning up text pasted from emails or Web sites

Long Documents

How can I create a landscape section and still have a portrait page number? A very common problem; this article gives step-by-step instructions for all versions of Word, beginning with explanation of how to create a landscape section.

“How to set up a document with front matter numbered separately.” Instructions for setting up a standard "long document" with front matter and chapters. This article was updated with a second article intended for Ribbon versions, but both articles have been updated at this site; see this one for Word 2003 and earlier and this one for Word 2007 and above.

Customizing your table of contents with switches. This article takes you beyond what you can accomplish through the Table of Contents dialog alone.

Why do my footnotes sometimes end up on a different page from their references in the text?
Or, I don’t want my footnotes broken and continued on the next page; I want the whole footnote on the same page. How do I do that?

I have a footnote reference in a column, and I want the footnote to span both columns. Is this possible?

Tables, Borders, and Forms

“Table Basics.” This article actually went well beyond the "basics" thanks to the brilliant technical editing and additional content supplied by fellow Word MVP Dave Rado. I've now updated it in two versions: one for Word 2003 and earlier and one for Word 2007 and above.

Keeping a table together on one page. This article and the next one address users' common concerns about table placement.

How do I control where the page breaks will fall in a table which extends over several pages? Explains how to have heading rows repeat even when the table is broken by a manual  page break and why adding some text or a row may cause most of the table to jump to the next page

I tried to use the { =SUM(ABOVE) } formula in a table but the answer was obviously incorrect (this article includes a link to the TableCellHelper macro, which provides the current cell address, along with the total number of rows and columns in the table)

“Run for the border: using borders in Word.” The original article has been somewhat updated for Word 2003 and earlier only; for Word 2007 and above, I have written a new article.

Why don’t my table borders print? The difference between borders and gridlines (see also "Hiding Table Gridlines")

“There is a line in my document that I can’t delete because I can’t select it. How did it get there, and what can I do about it?” It's a border! This article has been updated at this site in the article “Troublesome Lines.”

I'm designing a form that needs to have "fill-in-the-blanks" lines. What is the best way to create them? This article included links to a series of forms tutorials by Dian Chapman, sadly no longer available, but form fields have largely been supplanted by content controls, anyway. An updated version of this article appears here.

Printing and Fonts

The bottoms of my pages don’t print. The page number, footer, or page border doesn't print or prints only partially (or one side of my landscape pages won't print). Possibly one of the most frequently asked questions in the Word newsgroups.

Word shows only one or two fonts in its Font list
I have a lot of fonts installed. I can see them in the Windows Font folder, and I can use them in other programs, including other Office applications, but they are not displayed in Word’s font list
Probably the most frequently asked question about fonts

How to create fractions in Word. Several different approaches to inserting or creating fractions other than  ¼, ½, and ¾.

“How can I insert special characters, such as dingbats and accented letters, in my document?” This article has been updated at this site here.

I’d like to delete some fonts, but I’m afraid I’ll remove some that Word needs. What fonts do I have to keep?

Why does the appearance (or layout) of my document change when I open it on a different machine? I created a document on my home computer and formatted it just the way I wanted it. When I took it to work and opened it there, it had completely changed. All the page breaks were in different places and my graphics were out of place. How can I make my document stay the way I want it?

Customization and Backup

“How to change the default settings for Word documents.” How to change the default font, page setup, line spacing, etc. This article has been updated at this site here.

How can I make Word open new documents in a certain view (Normal or Print Layout) or at a specified zoom ratio? Mostly for Word 97 and earlier; the Single Document Interface in Word 2000 and above makes this iffy at best, and Word 2013 and later always open in Print Layout view (except occasionally when they unaccountably open in Web Layout view). Word MVP Jay Freedman provides an add-in that reopens each window of a document in the same screen location (including on multiple monitors), with the same window size, view, zoom, and position in the document as it had when it was last saved; get SaveViewLocMulti.zip or SaveViewLocMulti_2007-2010.zip from Jay’s website.

“Word is always making changes I don’t expect. How can I get more control over my formatting?” AutoFormat As You Type can be tremendously helpful. It can also be extremely frustrating. You have to show it who's boss. This article has been updated in an article at this site.

“How can I make Word save or back up my document automatically?” Explains the various options in the Save Options dialog and clears up misconceptions about “automatic saves.” See “Word’s Save Options” on this site for an updated version.

Numbering and Dates

“How to set up a document with front matter numbered separately.” Instructions for setting up a standard "long document" with front matter and chapters. This article was updated with a second article intended for Ribbon versions, but both articles have been updated at this site; see this one for Word 2003 and earlier and this one for Word 2007 and above.

How to print two pages on one sheet of paper, with page numbering. Not a substitute for booklet printing, but users do sometimes want to do this. Word 2000 and above allow you to do this through the Print or Page Setup dialog ("2 pages per sheet"). This article is aimed at earlier versions, for an updated article that addresses all versions, see “2 Pages per Sheet” on this site.

Graphics

The graphics in my document keep reverting to their original size after I’ve resized them (mostly a Word 97 problem)

Creating upside down or rotated text in Word

The graphics in my document have turned into red X’s!

I inserted some graphics in a document, but now I can’t see them; or there is just an empty box where one should be; or my graphics won’t print

Spelling and Correction

How to edit your custom spelling dictionary How to remove or amend a misspelled word from your custom dictionary after inadvertently pressing the "Add" button while running the spell checker (also, how to add lists of words to the dictionary; how to create additional spelling dictionaries).

Exploiting AutoCorrect: How to use this Word feature to save many keystrokes in retyping frequently used terms. There’s an updated version at this site.

Useful Stuff

Is There Life After “Reveal Codes”? For users migrating from WordPerfect, this article describes how to get information on formatting and structure using a variety of Word tools and features. Find an updated version at this site.

“Better than an Easter egg: Using ToolsCalculate.” The Calculate command is a handy substitute for a formula field that can be used anywhere. This article has also been updated at this site.