MS Word

Save Your Document When You Paste in an OLE Object

The Problem:

I pasted an equation from my working document into my thesis. Word 2004 flatlined, and I had to force-quit it. What gives?

The Solution:

Most likely, you closed the working document before you saved your thesis. This shouldn't cause problems, but it sometimes does. Always save the destination document before closing the source document of the OLE object.

Save Graphics in PNG Format, Not PICT

The Problem:

I used the "Save As Picture" command in Word 2004 to save a graphic as a PICT. That seemed to work, but when I opened the graphic in Photoshop, it looked weird.

The Solution:

This happens sometimes with the PICT format, whose support in Word 2004 is a little undernourished. Try using the PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format instead, and you should get good results.

Restore Page Setup to Your Preferred Settings

The Problem:

I created a landscape document a while ago and somehow set landscape as the default orientation. I've tried choosing File » Page Setup, but I don't see a way to change it back.

The Solution:

Choose Format » Document; choose the margins, layout, and any other settings that you want as defaults for your documents; click the Default button; and then click the Yes button in the confirmation dialog box (see Figure 10-4).

Figure 10-4. Word double-checks when you try to change the default orientation of your documents.