why does the space size change when I type the next character?

[Guest]

When I type a space after a word, the cursor moves to the right by the width
of a fairly large space. Then when I type the first letter of the next word,
the size of the space shrinks down to a more normal width. Why does this
happen, and why only in some documents?

Also, I find that the gap that Word gives me if I type one space after a
period at the end of a sentence, is too small, but if I type two spaces Word
gives me a gap that's about 5 times bigger than the gap with one space.
What's going on?

 

[CyberTaz]

Hello-

First of all, don't be fooled by what you are seeing on screen... Even at
100%. Print Preview gives you the most accurate representation of what to
expect on paper, but even it is sometimes misleading because the display
cannot match the printer quality.

What you are observing is most likely evidence of proportional spacing.
Adjustments are being made every time you you type content in or change
character formatting in order to provide typeset quality output. This
applies to spaces as well... The actual amount of space is adjusted based on
the combination of characters that precede and follow it as well as the
other text on the line.

HTH |:>)

 

[Guest]

Thanks CyberTaz, but I still wonder why the strange spacing behavior occurs
only in some documents. I use the same fonts, same paragraph formats, etc.
in most of my documents. I viewed the file at up to 250% to see what was
happening.

Here's an example of one particularly strange behavior: (the "_" represents
a space)

- type "hello_world"
- on the next line, type "hello_"
- note where the cursor is positioned, relative to the characters in the
line above. In my "strange" documents, the cursor is positioned not at the
left side of the "w" above, but somewhere in the middle of the "w".
- type "w" after the "hello_".
- move the cursor back one character, to between the "_" and the "w".
- note that now, the cursor IS at the left side of the "w" above.
- hit DEL to delete the "w".
- note that the cursor moves to the right, back to somewhere in the middle
of the "w" above! It should not do that! It should not move at all when you
hit DEL.

I'm puzzled.

 

[Guest]

I agree that what you are describing is not related to the normal spacing
adjustments. It sounds like there is more at issue.

Are there certain docs where the same behavior exhibits all the time and
other docs where it doesn't happen at all? Or is it random as to which docs
it occurs? Any 'common thread' you may have noticed? Does it happen only in
Word, or do other programs exhibit similar symptoms?

Try selecting the entire content of a problem doc *except* for the last ¶,
paste it into a new blank doc, save & close. See what happens when you reopen
it.

You might also take a look at your StartButton>Control
Panel>Display--Settings, click the Advanced button. Content of the dialog box
that comes up can vary widely depending on monitor, video board, etc., but
look for something that refers to 'Enable write combining' (may be on a
"Troubleshooting" page) and remove the check if there is one there. Apply the
setting change, relaunch Word & see if that makes any difference.

If not (or if that setting isn't there) try the same dialog box & reduce the
Hardware Accelleration about half-way. Apply that & see what happens when you
start Word again. If that helps, you can go back as necessary & boost the
accel. up until the problem starts again, then back it down a little. (If it
makes no difference at all, go ahead & set it back to Full.

If nothing works out, keep checking back. I'm certain that this is not an
unheard of issue, so maybe other folks will have some suggestions/solutions.

Good Luck |:>)

 

[Guest]

I found the problem. In Word 2003, go to tools/options/compatibility and
UNCHECK the box "balance SBCS…". I have no idea what that's for and why it
was checked, but all's well now.

 

[Stefan Blom]

For information about the Compatibility options, see:

Description of the Compatibility options that are available in the
Options dialog box in Word 2003, Word 2002, and Word 2000
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;288792

Note that all the article says about "Balance SBCS characters and
DBCS characters" is that the option is not used in English versions.
Assuming that you are using an English version, I can't explain why it
does affect you. One possibility is that it depends on which
languages are enabled for your Office installation (see
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister/LangFmt.htm).

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP


in message

I found the problem. In Word 2003, go to

tools/options/compatibility and