When I export my manuscript to Word, Part 3 fails to wrap and runs off the page. Parts 1 and 2 compile normally, but Part 3 must be viewed in draft and, of course, doesn’t print. It looks fine in Scrivener. I have tried cutting and pasting to a Word document, but the same thing happens. I have never had any trouble compiling from other Scrivener files. Compiling to e-pub works fine. Just not Word–which I need for critique and submission. What can I do to fix this?
If the same thing happens when you cut and paste into a Word document, that suggests that the problem is in Word.
If it’s in Word, why does it happen every time I try to export this Scivener file (or rather, this part of this Scrivener file) and not happen in any othe Word document? Is there some way to see the formatting in Scrivener? Something like the Paragraph icon in Word that lets you see all the paragraph marks, indents, page breaks, etc.?
Format > Options > Show Invisibles
What version of Word?
There are three for the Mac that work currently even if only one is officially supported as of last month.
Without having seen your project and knowing the differences between you different parts and how you set up the compile process, it’s impossible to say what is happening. If lines are not wrapping in Word document the only two explanations I can think of is that you have somehow set a paper size and margins that are enormously wide lr that Word doesn’t see the text as wrappable, i.e. not consisting of individual words but rather as a ”keep together on one line” entry.
Have you tested to compile to .txt instead, or .rtf, and then open in Word just to see what happens?
There appears to be a bug in Word for lists and bullets. If you have set the right end of the page to an explicit value (no matter how wide) then Word won’t wrap the bullets at the end of the compiled line.
You can see it’s Word’s fault by compiling to rtf and opening in TextEdit then in Word. Only Word gets it wrong.
The solution is to make sure all bullets (or any text where you’re having the problem) have the right margin pulled as far to the right on the ruler as possible. Then Word sees it as ‘wrappable’ not fixed.
Thanks to KB for this solution - I have only just come across the problem myself so I’m passing his advice on.
Again, what version of Word are you talking about?
Mike, I’m using Word version 14.7.7.
Brookter, no bullet points or lists involved.
Compiling to rtf kept the text boxes. Opening the rtf in Word still ran off the page.
When I chose Format > Options > Show Invisibles (Thank you, Silverdragon!) I can see that the text in part 3 is all in a bunch of text boxes that I never intentionally created. So now my problem is how to get rid of the boxes, preferably without losing the content.
It’s NOT textbooks. It’s a table. But I still have the same problem: how to get the content out of the table format. Cutting and pasting takes the table with it. Do I have to retype 9 chapters?
Format -> Table -> Remove Table should take care of it.
Was this text created directly in Scrivener, or imported from another source? It’s not unusual for strange formatting to come along with imported text.
Katherine
Created directly in Scrivener like Parts 1 and 2, which are fine.
But, yes, Katherine! Format -> Table -> Remove Table took care of it. I was afraid that would remove me content. Thank you.
Ok, that’s the last update of Office 2011.
I’m pretty certain it’s not a bug. Bullet and indentation often seem to have a mind of their own in 2011 but, if you do it exactly the way that MS wants, it does behave.
I stopped using 2011 over that and other issues when El Capitan made 2008 run well again — which I will use until I can’t anymore. Then I will (most reluctantly) upgrade to whatever the current version is. If Apple is right and 32 bit stops working in OS 10.14, I’ll have little choice.
This is on the latest version of Word (15.3.3 I think). If Word doesn’t respect the margins of an imported bullet/list item when other rtf readers do, then it’s not an unreasonable assumption that it is Word which is not behaving correctly.
It would be good if you could test this: set up a test document with three sets of text - a para or two of standard text, then a couple of list items, then more standard text. Select them all, the set the right edge to a value that is NOT at the far right edge of the ruler ie give it an explicit value, no matter how wide or narrow.
Compile to .docx or .rtf. TextEdit will show the text perfectly. Word will bleed the bullets off the page on the right.
This is the scenario we’ve beeen testing. If you don’t get the same result, then it would be good to know what settings you use to avoid it. The only way we’ve found is to make sure the right margin is at the extreme right of the ruler: then Word sees the bullet as completely wrappable, otherwise it imposes its own off the-page values for the bullet, irrespective of the margin setting in Scrivener.
(Of course it’s easy to correct in Word, but it’s still a bug — or bad design if it’s deliberate.)
Thank you all. My problem is solved. Format -> Table -> Remove Table did not remove the content. ONly the formatting. I can now export without a problem. Love Scrivener!