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Microsoft Word documents display differently on different systems because of differences between the systems. Getting Microsoft Word documents to display identically typically means processing them into something else.
I have a document which was created in Word XP and is 226 pages. When I send it to a client who is using Word 2003, it looks totally different and is over 330 pages. How can I send the client the document without it changing? Also, they wanted a pdf version, which looks nothing like the word document. How can I get the word document to look like the pdf?
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Well, to be honest, you're trying to do something that Word documents aren't really intended to do. As counter-intuitive as it sounds Word isn't really about making the document look exactly the same everywhere.
But your client is on the right track, actually, since that's what PDF files attempt to do.
In a nutshell: it's all about the system, and the printer.
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The most common reason documents look different on one machine as compared to another is the printer.
When Word displays a document in "Print Layout" form, it actually uses the characteristics of the currently selected printer to determine what the layout should look like. Obvious items such as default margins, paper size, and other charaterstics of printers in general can have a document appear quite differently when viewed, or printed, on one system versus another.
In fact, if you have more than one printer on your system, you can watch this happen. While the document is up in Word, hit File, Print and then select another printer. When you do this the Cancel button will change to Close. Select Close, to close the document without printing it, and the document you're viewing will be redisplayed, taking the characteristics of the new printer into account. Depending on the differences between your printers, the change can be subtle, or quite dramatic.
Another possible difference is the use of fonts which are not common to all systems. If you create a document using one font, and then view that document on another system where that font is not installed, Word will attempt to substitute something "close" to the font you wanted. Unfortunately, "close" is fairly vague, and can often be startlingly different from the original.
PDF files are one approach at solving this problem. PDF, which stands for "Portable Document Format", is a document format that attempts to be rendered exactly the same everywhere, no matter what your system or printer characteristics.
Most commonly, PDF creation software acts like a printer - but in a sense it's a printer that's the same everywhere. You create your portable document by printer to a PDF virtual printer. The result, a PDF file, can then be viewed anywhere with a PDF reader, and should look, and even print to a real printer, exactly the same as your original PDF.
There are several options to creating PDF files. Adobe Acrobat is the most recognized tool, and actually defines the PDF standard. Another, cheaper alternative is the free and open-source PDFCreator.
So my bottom line recommendation is simply to create a PDF, authoring your document so that the PDF comes out the way you want it to, and then share that with your client. If you need to share editable Word documents, then simply realize that they will not display, or print, exactly the same everywhere.
Article C2750 - August 9, 2006
Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he
was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed.
After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers
to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.
If you do not want pdf, you can install the MS Office document image writer. Create document in word, excel etc, select print from file menu and change the default printer to the document image writer. It will give you an image of your document which will not change in different systems and can be viewed same as the original document by every one whom you forward it.
Posted by: Vinod CR at September 8, 2010 3:01 AMWe recently converted to Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft 2007 applications. Subsequently, we received larger (24-inch) monitors. When using MS Word 2007, we made the dicovery that the on-screen view (and printed version) of a document page is not necessarily the same view (and printed version) that another user will see when viewing (or printing) the same page. For example, my page 19 may be another's page 22. My layout looks great on-screen (and printed); another user's layout (page endings, etc.) is different and not what we want. What is the source of this problem? How do we fix this so that we can ensure that what we see is what others will see when we distribute our documents?
Posted by: Mercedes at May 12, 2011 4:46 PMWhen I send MS Word document via MS Outlook, the client sees a much larger document that takes up their entire page beyond the Margins. How do I assist to allow them to see the document as I see it, whichout it being "super-sized?"
Posted by: Gamble at December 29, 2011 12:41 AMIn 1995-6 I "wrote a book" on my Shakespearian laptop (already out of date at the time!). Now laptop is "broken" (no display on screen), how can I "read" this old format programme? (Old Word prog) Also have it on floppy disc but of course current PC's have no floppy input, and please I don't want to have to spend any money on new kit 'cos I don't have any spare! Many thanks, Hilary
Posted by: Hilary Walker at January 20, 2012 2:31 AM@Hilary
If you wrote it with a version of Word from long long ago, the new word will probably be able to convert it. Your big problem is getting the file off that old machine. Perhaps a local computer store will have an old computer with a floppy disk and can download it for you.
Does the old broken laptop have a hard drive? If so, your best conversion option might be to have the hard drive pulled out and copy the files directly off it.
Posted by: Connie at January 20, 2012 8:14 AM