Two questions, Default language and font

[i_like_macs]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard)
Processor: Intel

Hello,

I'm an American studying in the UK. I have an American English Apple Keyboard connected to a MacBook Pro with an American English layout keyboard. Although I've set my default spell-check language to British English, after a while, this reverts to no language selected at all.

My second problem is that although in my two styles I've created and my default font are selected to "Times New Roman," any text pasted into my Word 2008 file displays as Cambria font. Even if I try to select "Match Destination Formatting" upon the pasting operation, there is no way out.

I would like to know, if possible at all, how to ameliorate these small but nagging issues I have to deal with every other minute. Thank you for your help in advance.

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

Hello,

I'm an American studying in the UK. I have an American English Apple
Keyboard connected to a MacBook Pro with an American English layout
keyboard. Although I've set my default spell-check language to British
English, after a while, this reverts to no language selected at all.

Open the Normal template, select all, set the language to UK-English and
save. All new documents *should* then be created with the same settings.

Corentin

 

[i_like_macs]

Thank you for your help.

To add some additional information, I've just found out that my pasting error only happens when pasting text in a table cell. Is there a way to apply a default font in tables, as is done in Excel?

 

[Corentin Cras-Méneur]

Thank you for your help.

To add some additional information, I've just found out that my pasting
error only happens when pasting text in a table cell. Is there a way to
apply a default font in tables, as is done in Excel?

Well I guess you could edit the styles for that. Word has a quite
powerful Sytle support.

You could even create a custom style for the tables you want to format
this way,

Corentin

 

[i_like_macs]

Hello,

As there are no VBA macros in Word 2008, I am constructing my dissertation by linking associated files to construct each chapter. Although I've set and confirmed that the default font in the Normal.dotm template and the current document has been set to "Times New Roman," linked file text reverts to Cambria. This is true for both text in the body and text in tables.

Corentin, any thoughts on how to quell this unexpected behaviour? Many thanks in advance.

 

[i_like_macs]

Oh no, when I update any fields, the text also reverts back to Cambria! How can I stop this madness?

 

[Phillip Jones]

*Caution*:

/If you have any special settings already saved to your Normal Template
the direction below will remove those added features and you will have
to reset everything/

/This warning is given to prevent cringing of the regular MVP's for
such instructions. However, when 2008 first came out most MVP's were
recommend what amounted to the same instructions/.

--------------------

Do you have any other versions of Office? Office 2004?

If so locate the Normal Template for 2004 will just be *normal*.

remove that and temporarily put in the the *Trash* (park it there.)

Then remove the Normal Template for Office2008 it should have *dotm* on
the end. Move it to trash.

Now open Office2008 will create a blank Normal.dotm document. And open
your document.

Try out what you need to do.

If fixes the problem. Your ready to go. After you have fixed the problem
move the *Normal* template back to its rightful place in office2004.
Office 2008 *had* a defect originally may have been fixed with recent
updates, or may not have. In which It would read contents of 2004 Normal
template and attempt to take on those characteristics. Unfortunately it
would get mangled.

In truth it should absolutely ignore any and all previous versions so
that you can start anew.

Once the Normal.dotm is created the first time seems to not have the
problem again.

Oh no, when I update any fields, the text also reverts back to Cambria! How can I stop this madness?

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[John McGhie]

Which styles are in use?

Check format>Style and ensure that "Automatically update" is not set for any
of them.

The "Default" font affects only the font setting in the Normal style. If
you are not USING the Normal style, or you have the Normal Style set to
"Automatically update" then it will have no effect.

Which method are you using to "Link" the files? The behaviour of each is
different. Generally, the "linked" text will retain its local style
settings.

Which template is attached to the linked files? For sanity, the linked
files should all be attached to the same template as the destination
document.

Finally: Why are you linking? At less than 2,500 pages you do not really
need to link. That must be a helluva dissertation -- they will make you
Chancellor

I would be very inclined to leave hem all as separate documents while you
are working ion them, then simply use Insert>File to insert them all in a
single document at the end.

Hope this helps

Hello,

As there are no VBA macros in Word 2008, I am constructing my dissertation by
linking associated files to construct each chapter. Although I've set and
confirmed that the default font in the Normal.dotm template and the current
document has been set to "Times New Roman," linked file text reverts to
Cambria. This is true for both text in the body and text in tables.

Corentin, any thoughts on how to quell this unexpected behaviour? Many thanks
in advance.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[i_like_macs]

Many thanks John for your detailed help.

I have created some styles of my own to help me write my dissertation.

"Automatically Update Styles" have been turned off since day one.

The method I'm using to construct my dissertation is to use

Insert >> File

of which then I select the Word (.doc format) file to insert.

The linked file is inserted to a file I created which contains the same styles.

I am linking my files, because I have used in my previous dissertation a similar method with Mac OS 9 Word, although then I used a Master Document Layout (I think) which involved Visual Basic macros. In this way, I can have a modular workflow. I must admit that after a while, my previous dissertation became corrupt, and does not open in Word 2008.

This is why I am contemplating using Windows Office under Parallels, and not bothering with the Mac side. Technical documents made in Windows Word are formatted incorrectly, and its MathType equations are not displayed in Word 2008. I would also like to use EndNote.

My naive impression is that Office 2007 is not the best version of Office either. Should stick to Office 2003 in this case?

 

[i_like_macs]

I do own Office 2004 also. Maybe I will also consider downgrading.

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

A guess:

hit option-F9 to show the field brackets {} instead of the field
results. Do any of the fields have MERGEFORMAT at the end? If so, that
*might* be related to format changes within fields.

FYI perhaps useful links re dissertation:
http://daiya.mvps.org/bookword.htm

 

[John McGhie]

Do not confuse "Automatically update styles on open" in Tools>Templates and
Add-ins" with "Automatically Update" in the Styles>Modify dialog It may
be the second one that is a source of grief.

If you do want to switch to PC Word in Parallels, my preference would be
Word 2007 for long and complex document work.

Word 2007 is substantially faster and more powerful on the same hardware,
more stable, and it enables you to work natively in .docx format which will
give you far less corruption. You can safely use Master Documents in .docx
format

I do long and complex documents in both. 2003 is a very good product and
that's what I use at one client's site. But for "mega" documents, I would
choose Word 2007 running in .docx format.

If you cannot run in .docx format, then certainly use Word 2003: the
performance advantage of Word 2007 would be negated in .doc format. In
which case, don't even think about using master documents.

Since you are in OS 10.5 on an Intel, I would consider setting up to
dual-boot. Parallels/Windows sitting on top of OS X will start to suck very
serious memory and processing power on a document that size. I think you
will get substantial performance gains by booting to Windows native when you
are working on that thing

Hope this helps

Many thanks John for your detailed help.

I have created some styles of my own to help me write my dissertation.

"Automatically Update Styles" have been turned off since day one.

The method I'm using to construct my dissertation is to use

Insert >> File

of which then I select the Word (.doc format) file to insert.

The linked file is inserted to a file I created which contains the same
styles.

I am linking my files, because I have used in my previous dissertation a
similar method with Mac OS 9 Word, although then I used a Master Document
Layout (I think) which involved Visual Basic macros. In this way, I can have a
modular workflow. I must admit that after a while, my previous dissertation
became corrupt, and does not open in Word 2008.

This is why I am contemplating using Windows Office under Parallels, and not
bothering with the Mac side. Technical documents made in Windows Word are
formatted incorrectly, and its MathType equations are not displayed in Word
2008. I would also like to use EndNote.

My naive impression is that Office 2007 is not the best version of Office
either. Should stick to Office 2003 in this case?

--

Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Nhulunbuy, NT, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[i_like_macs]

Hello John,

That was very useful information you've painstaking provided, so I'm grateful for your help. I should have visited this forum much earlier to save me grief!

Perhaps it's best if I say bye bye to Office 2008. Who knows if and when Spaces compatibility will be implemented? If I use Word 2007, I can turn Spaces back on!

Best regards

 

[John McGhie]

Sorry for the delayed response -- just back from the USA and it took a while
to get back here.

Yes, I think Word 2007 is a good choice for serious work: much snappier than
2003 on good hardware.

I am almost certain that the Spaces compatibility problem in Word 2008 will
never be resolved. It would require an architecture change: you don't make
those after a product goes on sale.

The thing was built for OS 10.4 (which is why I have not gone up...)

Cheers

Hello John,

That was very useful information you've painstaking provided, so I'm grateful
for your help. I should have visited this forum much earlier to save me grief!

Perhaps it's best if I say bye bye to Office 2008. Who knows if and when
Spaces compatibility will be implemented? If I use Word 2007, I can turn
Spaces back on!

Best regards

--

Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Nhulunbuy, NT, Australia. mailto:[email protected]