character mapping problems in Word 2003???

[Guest]

Someone sent me a Word 2003 document (font = TNR). It opens error-free on
his computer, and opens error-free on the computer lab computers.

However, when I open the document up on my computer, certain characters are
wrong and appear to have been replaced. For example, all "section" symbols
have been replaced with some sort of large apostrophe. In addition, all
normal apostrophes have been replaced with "equal" symbols. Left "double
quote" symbols have been replaced with some strange looking A looking
character, while right "double quote" symbols have been replaced with the @
symbol.

Does anyone know what I can possibly do about this? I really appreciate all
your help. I could easily manually fix everything, but I have to revise the
document and send it back, and am afraid the mapping problems will go in
reverse.

-Jason

 

[Anne Troy]

Jason: Sounds like YOU are the one with a missing font. Either that, or they
used a non-Windows font in the document, and shouldn't have. Click somewhere
in the text. Even if it's not on your machine, the formatting toolbar should
still show you the font that was used. Then first check to see if it's a
typical Windows font and it may just be corrupt on your PC, then check to
see that it's installed on your PC. If not, suggest they use a different
Windows font.
*******************
~Anne Troy

www.OfficeArticles.com
www.MyExpertsOnline.com

 

[Guest]

Actually, I don't think that's the problem. It was written in Times New
Roman on a Windows (don't know what version) PC on Word 2003. I presume it
is the same Times New Roman that came with my Word 2003 (Windows XP).

As I said, when I open the document up in the computer lab (Windows NT, Word
2000) it works fine. It is quite perplexing why some of the characters have
gone haywire. I even asked him to send me a Rich Text version (and he also
sent me a courier version) and the same characters are doing the same thing.

-Jason

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

This is often a symptom of a document converted from WordPerfect in which
the "curly quotes" used the WP Typographic Symbols font. If this is not
present on your computer, you'll see the results you're seeing. You *could*
install the font, but that just postpones the problem (anyone else who has
to deal with the document and doesn't have the font will have problems), so
it's better to use Find and Replace to replace the characters with the
correct ones.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

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