Word Problem...

[seawasp]

Kathy's MS Word has suddenly developed a problem I don't know how to fix (nor how it happened).

EDIT: Version Microsoft Word X for Macintosh OS X.

Whenever she opens a document, it appears to be replacing a lot of characters like quotes, apostrophes, em-dashes, etc., with other symbols like accented "i"s and so on.

My guess is that SOMEHOW a setting has been nudged in Word which is causing it to use some wierd character set instead of the normal one, but  I can't find the place in Word's myriad menus of DOOM where such a setting might reside.
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Comments

[shana.livejournal.com]

Go to the tools menu, and check the 'options' and 'autocorrect options' settings.

My guess is that it would be something on one of those.

[alex swavely (from livejournal.com)]

I'd bet the default font got switched to one that isn't UTF compatible. In older versions, the default template was named 'normal.dot', but I don't know what it is in the newer (xml) versions.

[seawasp]

It's not a particularly new version of Word. I've had it for several years.

But the question is how to re-set it. I have no idea where in the maze o'menus to go.

[pedanther]

Which version is it?

This is important to know because not only do the newer versions of Word have different file wotsits, they also have a completely new maze o'menus (cue chorus of disapproval from people who were just getting the hang of finding the cheese at the end of the old one).

[seawasp]

Word X for Macintosh. Copyright notices appear to go to 2001.

[alex swavely (from livejournal.com)]

If the font is what's at fault, the easiest way to fix it is to save a new template and copy it over what's there. No muss, no fuss, no menus.

Since different versions might put it in different places, do a search for 'normal' (in Windows, in my case, it's in %user%\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates\) and note the location.

Fix the font (make sure the Style stays - if it changes, re-select the style and try again - in Office 2k, there are three pull-downs next to each other - Style, Font Name, Font Size), then "Save As.." and under "Save As Type:" choose "Document Template", and name it "Normal". Save it to your desktop, because your default template is locked while Word is open.

Close Word and copy the Normal template from your desktop over the one in your templates folder. Open Word and marvel at the change. :)

[krmtdfrog.livejournal.com]

Now your computer has swine flu, too?! Sheesh, contagious as all hell, ain't it.

[seawasp]

I wouldn't compare Microsoft products with swine. What did the pigs ever do to you?

[baronger.livejournal.com]

Never trust a pig.

They will always squeal on you.

[nuranar.livejournal.com]

It also sounds like a version issue, as if it's suddenly been switched to act as if it's an older version of Word and you're setting it to read newer ones. Occasionally at work I'll try to open ancient documents and it's all gibberish.

But the font suggestion is probably better.