info in columns disappears on save & reopen

[Guest]

Hello,

I have a caption in a legal document that is set to two columns. I did this
by selecting the info & choosing "2 columns." There is non-columned info
above and below the caption. All is fine until I reopen the document. On
reopen, the info in the right-hand column is gone. I can get it back by
deleting the section breaks Word originally set up & going through the
formatting process again, but of course this is really annoying to have to do
this over & over.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Natalie
Word 2003

 

[Guest]

It's gone. I checked, and the file is opening in the print view. The
formatting is also changed on reopen -- the last two lines of text from the
left column are now forced into the right column, and the two lines of text
that are supposed to be in the right column are nowhere to be seen. The only
indications of formatting left are a continuous section break after the
noncolumned preceding text and a column break after the second column before
the remaining noncolumned subseqent text. So the formatting is different on
reopen than it was on save/close.

Thanks!

 

[CyberTaz]

Is it "gone" or does it continue down the left "column" below the content
that is *supposed* to be in the left column? The first thing that comes to
mind is that the file is simply reopening in Normal View - which doesn't
*display* column layout. Switch to Print Layout view & see if that doesn't
"bring the columns back".

However, the file *should* reopen in the same View in which it was last
saved, so even if this is what's happening there is some other problem
that's causing it to open in a different View. Post back with your response
to the above as well as checking for replies from others.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Try this: Go to Format | Columns and click on the Preset picture for One.
Click OK to close. Then reopen the Columns dialog and reselect the correct
number of columns, making sure that the "Equal column width" check box is
checked.

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

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Guest]

Thanks, Suzanne. That doesn't resolve it. No matter what I do or how I
format, the text still disappears on reopen. I have now found that if I
delete a blank line before the columns, the text reappears, but it still
re-disappears on reopen. If anyone wants to play with the file, just let me
know.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Send me the file, and I'll have a look.

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

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

It *is* an interesting file. I've exchanged a couple of emails with the OP
about it but haven't had time to really dig into it yet. If I find out
anything, I'll let you know. If not, I'll post it in the private .binaries
group for y'all to poke and prod before I forward it to Stuart Stuple for
examination.

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

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Suzanne -

That should be an interesting file - it sounds like El Corrupto may have
stricken once again

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

The bottom line was that the Compatibility Option "Don't balance columns for
Continuous section starts" was *not* checked, and the addition of a manual
column break had Word trying to balance two intentionally uneven columns.
Checking that Compatibility Option solves the problem. But columns are not
really the best approach for the given layout; I suggested using a table
instead.

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

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.