Sylvia,
I've been researching the margin problem ever since I started using XP
with Word 2002; I have a networked HP printer. You'll see lots of
stuff about HP drivers, normal.dot. I've given up on all that. Based
on all the suggestions I've read and tried, I've found a solution that
always works for me. Word XP freaks when you change margins AT ANY
TIME! I always use a document template. If you want to set or change
margins, always do it in your template before you create your doc. If
you want to change margins once you're in your doc, you will get the
dreaded margin error when you save or try to print. Do not panic. Save
your doc, but do not ever click the Fix button. Click Ignore. Close
your doc, exit Word, restart Word. Your doc will now be fine and will
print as it should, error free. I've used this approach on a whole
family of docs, no exceptions. I hope it will work for you.
I have used Word for 19 years and really count on applying a rational
solution, EXCEPT in this case. Another hint - Word XP may sometimes
lock up your entire machine when you open a doc, for no apparent
reason. You can't even display your Tasks list. Turn off your machine
and restart. Before you restart Word, do a search in Windows Explorer
for all files related to normal.dot - with and without ~, with and
without .tmp. Delete all of them because they are now corrupt. Word
will create a new normal.dot when you open it. Also, go to
Tools...Options...Save tab. Click "Prompt to save Normal template."
Unbeknownst to you, Word saves all kinds of formatting changes to
Normal.dot, whether or not you are using a custom template, and this
eventually corrupts Normal. You don't want to save ANY changes to
Normal.dot. After you turn on this option, you will see a reminder
EVERY time you close a document. Say No - you don't want to save
changes to Normal. Good luck!
