WD97: Page Borders May Be Displayed or Printed Incorrectly (167874)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q167874
For a Microsoft Word 2002 version of this article, see 291335.

SYMPTOMS

When you print or view a document in print preview, page borders in your document may not print, may not be shown or you may receive the following error message:
One or more margins are set outside the printable area of the page. Choose the Fix button to increase the appropriate margins.

CAUSE

The default page border is only 24 points (about 5/16 inch) from the edge of the page, regardless of the actual unprintable region for your printer. Even though your document margins may fit in the printable region of the page, the page border may still be in the unprintable region defined by your printer driver.

This problem affects HP DeskJet printers most frequently. The bottom unprintable region of the HP DeskJet printers is 0.67 inch or larger. The specific setting depends on the DeskJet series printer driver.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use any of the following methods to change the page border margins.

Method 1: Change the Default "Measure From Edge of Paper" Setting

Change the default 24-point page border from the edge of the page margin to a different value. This may allow the page border to move into the printable region of your page.

NOTE: The page border margins are adjustable between 0 and 31 points only. This is a distance of about 0.5-inch.

Method 2: Change the Measure from Option to Text

To move the bottom border farther up on the page, follow these steps:

  1. On the File menu, click Page Setup.
  2. Click the Margins tab.
  3. Increase the bottom margin to at least 0.67-inch and click OK.

    NOTE: Changing the margin settings may affect the formatting of the document.
  4. On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading.
  5. Click the Page Border tab, and then click Options.
  6. In the Measure From list, click Text, and then click OK twice.

Method 3: Change the Paper Size

To change the paper size from letter to a custom size, follow these steps:

  1. On the File menu, click Page Setup.
  2. Click the Paper Size tab.
  3. In the Height box, change the setting to 10 inches. This will also change the Paper Size setting to Custom Size.
NOTE: Changing the paper size settings may affect the formatting of the document.

Method 4: Change "Measure From" to Text

To change the "Measure From" setting, do the following:

  1. Click Borders and Shading on the Format menu.
  2. Select the Page Borders tab and then click Options.
  3. Under "Measure From", click Text.
  4. If necessary, change the margins to at least 10 pts.
  5. Click OK twice.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

Most printers cannot print all the way to the edge of the paper due to physical limitations in the way the printer handles paper.

If you set your document margins closer to the edge of the paper than your printer is capable of printing, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Word Viewer return a warning message for each copy you send to the printer.

Most laser printers, such as the Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet, cannot print closer than 0.25 inch to any edge of the paper. Some laser printers, such as the HP LaserJet Series II, require 0.5 inch margins. DeskJet printers generally cannot print closer to the bottom edge than 0.67 inch. Most PostScript and dot-matrix printers have their own internal printer driver setting for margins.

For more information about unprintable regions, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

84647 "Margins Set Outside Printable Area of Page" in Word

166055 WD97: Margins Outside Printable Error in Word Viewer

114429 Page Number and Footer Don't Print on HP DeskJet Printer

To Change or Add a Page Border

  1. On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading.
  2. Click the Page Border tab, and then select the options desired for your page border.
  3. To change the margins of the page border, click Options.

    The Options button is located in the lower-right corner of the Borders And Shading dialog box (above the Cancel button). Change the Margin, Measure From, and Options as desired.
  4. Click OK twice to return to your document.
For additional information about page borders, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

157098 WD97: General Information About Page Borders in Word 97

157134 WD97: 3-D Page Border is not Applied

NOTE: The third-party products discussed here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:9/7/2001
Keywords:kbbug kbprint kbusage KB167874
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.