Latest Word for Mac (16.84) removes rules (lines across page) and fails to accept my "default" font

[Paul_Ora]

The latest version of Word for Mac (Office Home & Business 2021) was recently updated - and a font that works on all other apps on my Mac - isn't recognized by Word. I believe it's because it's my "default" font - because all other fonts that I've bought are recognized - but they're not set in as the "default." 

I use rules (lines across the page) a lot - that are inserted by hitting three consecutive hyphens and then a return. The new Word removed all rules I had in place in a file I was working on. They were all just deleted. I can enter new ones, but the ones that were there were removed. 

Microsoft doesn't test their new versions well enough. 

Note this is for "Word for Mac" - "Office Home & Business 2021" - version 16.84

[#2]

@Paul_Ora 

I am not on a Mac.

It would be a good idea for you to edit your original post to add that you are on  a Mac in the title of your post. You will get better answers. Also, I would suggest inserting (lines) after the word "rules" in your title.

Do the lines (rules) in older documents print even if they do not appear on the screen?

The insertion of such lines is controlled by the AutoFormat as You Type settings under AutoCorrect.

[#3]

@Charles_Kenyon - Thanks for your reply. Good idea to have mentioned Mac in the title and clarified what "rules" are. I might repost it with your suggestions. 

I opened an older document that has those rules, and they appear fine on the screen. But I opened two other documents, and the rules are not there. I printed one to a PDF, and the rules are still absent.  

I can insert lines in a document, but a few that I had inserted them in before I used the newer version - no longer appear. So I'm not yet clear about the extent of the damage. 

I'm thinking of re-installing a version of Word from before I had the problem. But that would mean I'll never get any more new versions. Do you think that's a bad or good idea? 

Thanks again,

Paul

[#4]

@Paul_Ora 

Do not repost!

That leads to confusion.

You should be able to edit your original post.

I am not on a Mac, but rolling back to a version before the problem is a good workaround.

Be sure to post feedback directly with Microsoft's feedback mechanisms about the problem. They are likely to fix it in a future release.

These lines or rules are paragraph borders in Word, distinguished from what you get when you insert a line as a shape. You could use those lines instead. They are what I use for the vertical rules in my pleadings.

You may want to save sample documents both with the working rules and those with the problem on OneDrive or DropBox and post share links here. That way someone who is on the Mac can look at them on their own systems and see if they can find a fix or better workaround.

Why a sample file is important for troubleshooting - - - - - - - and how to do it.

Also, post information about your Mac OS version.

[#5]

Thanks again, Charles.

Good idea to edit the original. I may do that. These rules I use are not borders, but are entered by typing three hyphens and then a return, from the beginning of the line. I used to use those paragraph borders, but there was a different bug with them. Whenever I opened the file, the lines would get shorter - until they all reached a minimum length. But for my serious writing, I use a style to insert the rule, and I think that's more reliable (I checked only one such file, and it's okay.)

Regarding the font, I think I see the bug. I changed my default font to be the one that stopped getting recognized by Word. And this happened to someone else (who posted in a forum) - so I think Word is failing to include (install) a font when it's marked as the default font. I have other fonts that I bought, and every one is recognized by Word - except the one I set as the default font. I wrote to them about it. I doubt they'll read or heed anything I write.

I decided not to revert to an old version, because then I can never upgrade again, and that seems like a door not worth closing forever. So I'm looking for a new favorite font. But I also plan to remove this one as the default one, then see if that font gets recognized - first by restarting Word, then rebooting my Mac, then reinstalling the latest version of Word.

Thanks again.

Paul

[#6]

@Paul_Ora 

Hi Paul,

When you type three of something, a hyphen, an asterisk or several other characters and press enter to get a line, that line is a border, applied to the paragraph by AutoFormat as You Type.

Troublesome Lines - Borders by Suzanne Barnhill, MVP