PPT97: Symbols Appear as Squares After Opening Presentation (176296)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q176296

SYMPTOMS

When you open a PowerPoint 97 presentation on a Windows 95 computer, you see "square" characters rather than symbol characters.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs when you create the presentation on a computer that is running Windows NT 4.0 and you insert a symbol using the [normal text] option in the Insert Symbol dialog box in PowerPoint. Windows NT 4.0 supports a greater number of special characters than Windows 95. Because Windows 95 cannot correctly display these special characters, it displays squares.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, use a symbol from a standard font that is shared by both Windows 95 and Windows NT rather than the [normal text] option. The symbol fonts in the following list are shared between Windows NT and Windows 95:

Symbol
MT Extra
Monotype Sorts
Wingdings

Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/24/2001
Keywords:kbFont kbprb KB176296
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