formatting doesn't stick
Posted: 2005-03-21 15:01:06
I've had this problem a number of times on a number of different documents and can't figure out what leads to it.
I'm writing away, using various formatting, particularly line changes, and I save and close up for the day. Next time I open, some of the formatting is gone!
Today's example: Working on a 5-page document with traditional indented first line for each paragraph. Day 1: Created the doc. Day 2: Re-opened doc and discovered -- curses -- that the LAST lines of the first eight or so paras were indented to the left to the same point as their correctly indented first lines! (Lines in between were flush left, as should be.) Clicking on any wayward last line and checking ruler settings, then similarly clicking on any other line in the same para, the ruler shows no change from what it should be. So apparently Express still considers the para to be one para, as opposed to having decided that the last line is now its own para that should start with a left-indent. But what formatting would left-indent the LAST line of any para? Interestingly, after these eight or so wayward paras, subsequent paras had no problems -- in other words, their last lines were flush left, as should be. How I fixed it: I went through each wayward para, placed cursor immediately before the wrongly indented first word of the last line, and backspaced (deleted) once. Word backed up to adjoin last word of previous line and pulled them both down to the front of the next (last) line. I hit the spacebar once to put it back in, the words separated again and the second word wrapped to the next (last) line again, but now it was flush left, as it should be. Saved my changes. Day 3: Re-opened today and last lines were wrongly indenting again, except now only two or three paras involved, not eight or so like yesterday! Rhyme or reason?
As I say, I've had this problem before, especially with indented first lines. Was a nightmare with an 18 page doc that I had to print out on separate to distribute professionally; each time I opened it I had to use valuable time combing it for format changes which seemed to occur in different paras at different times! Yet other times it doesn't happen.
Feels and acts like a bug. Are you Nice Us people onto this?
I'm writing away, using various formatting, particularly line changes, and I save and close up for the day. Next time I open, some of the formatting is gone!
Today's example: Working on a 5-page document with traditional indented first line for each paragraph. Day 1: Created the doc. Day 2: Re-opened doc and discovered -- curses -- that the LAST lines of the first eight or so paras were indented to the left to the same point as their correctly indented first lines! (Lines in between were flush left, as should be.) Clicking on any wayward last line and checking ruler settings, then similarly clicking on any other line in the same para, the ruler shows no change from what it should be. So apparently Express still considers the para to be one para, as opposed to having decided that the last line is now its own para that should start with a left-indent. But what formatting would left-indent the LAST line of any para? Interestingly, after these eight or so wayward paras, subsequent paras had no problems -- in other words, their last lines were flush left, as should be. How I fixed it: I went through each wayward para, placed cursor immediately before the wrongly indented first word of the last line, and backspaced (deleted) once. Word backed up to adjoin last word of previous line and pulled them both down to the front of the next (last) line. I hit the spacebar once to put it back in, the words separated again and the second word wrapped to the next (last) line again, but now it was flush left, as it should be. Saved my changes. Day 3: Re-opened today and last lines were wrongly indenting again, except now only two or three paras involved, not eight or so like yesterday! Rhyme or reason?
As I say, I've had this problem before, especially with indented first lines. Was a nightmare with an 18 page doc that I had to print out on separate to distribute professionally; each time I opened it I had to use valuable time combing it for format changes which seemed to occur in different paras at different times! Yet other times it doesn't happen.
Feels and acts like a bug. Are you Nice Us people onto this?