Word Document Using Columns Not Modified, But Suddenly Displays Differently
I am using MS Word on my Windows 11 desktop. I have been using a Word document that I created a couple of years ago. The document uses Columns. The last time I modified it was a year ago. I tend to print it out every two days. Suddenly, the document displays differently and prints those differences. It now displays vertical lines below four of the five squares. I moved the document to my Windows 11 laptop. Same problem there. I sent the Word document to my son who opened it on his Mac computer. On his computer, it displays exactly as it should -- No erroneous vertical lines. Again, I have not modified the document. I thought maybe a Windows update may have caused the problem, but I don't see any Windows update in about one month. I am displaying two images below, a "before" and "after" image. The "before" (i.e., correct) image shows five squares and the alphabet displaying vertically. The "after" image shows vertical lines below the first four squares. Can anyone suggest a fix for this? Repeating myself again -- I have not modified this file in a year. Thank you. Len Jacobson First Image -- Correct display of the five squares and the alphabet displayed vertically Second Image -- Incorrect display. Vertical lines appearing below the first four squares.
Office.js: Is there any supported way to retrieve multiple non-contiguous text selections in Word?
Hi everyone, I'm developing a Word Office Add-in using Office.js. In Microsoft Word (Windows Desktop), users can select multiple non-contiguous text ranges by holding Ctrl while selecting text. However, when I use: context.document.getSelection() It only returns a single Word.Range, and I couldn't find any API to detect or retrieve all the selected ranges. I came across this related discussion: Microsoft Tech Community – Support for Retrieving Multiple Selected Ranges in Word via Office.js My questions are: 1. As of 2026, is there any supported Office.js API to retrieve multiple non-contiguous text selections? 2. Is there any workaround to detect that the user has selected multiple ranges? 3. Or is this still a platform limitation? Our use case is an AI-powered legal research add-in, where users may want to select multiple clauses from different parts of a document and send them together as context. Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks!
Add-in Error of complements in Word Online with my Personal Account
Hi, I am getting an error when trying to insert any add-in (such as Mendeley Cite) in Word Online using my personal account. Error message: "Add-in Error: We couldn't connect to the catalog server for this document" (Original Spanish error: "Error de complemento: no pudimos conectarnos con el servidor del catálogo {0} para este documento") Here are the details and the troubleshooting I've already done: - Account-specific: It works perfectly with my old University account, but fails with my new Personal account. - Platform-specific: The add-in works fine on the Word Desktop App, but fails on Word Online (web browser). - Browsers: I have tried different browsers (Chrome, Firefox) and the issue persists. It seems to be a configuration or permission restriction specific to my personal account on the web version. How can I fix this? Thank you!
Ruler Feature Disappeared from Microsoft Word on Android Tablet
Hello everyone, My father recently bought a new Android tablet specifically to use Microsoft Word for his work because he relies heavily on the Ruler feature. When I first installed Word, the Ruler was available and worked perfectly. However, after restarting the tablet, it disappeared. Since then, I have uninstalled and reinstalled the app several times, tried different versions of Word, checked all the settings, and confirmed that we had an active Microsoft 365 subscription, but the Ruler is still missing. My father has also tried adjusting to different document layouts and workarounds, but unfortunately none of them are practical for his workflow. He simply cannot work efficiently without the Ruler feature. Has anyone experienced this issue? Is the Ruler still supported in Microsoft Word for Android, or has it been removed? If it's still available, is there any way to restore it or install a version that includes it? My father bought this tablet mainly for Microsoft Word, so this feature is essential for his work. Thank you for any help or clarification.
Microsoft Word - Footnote remains on the original page after moving the original reference up
Issue I encountered an issue in Microsoft Word where moving the original footnote reference to an earlier location in the document did not move the footnote itself. The footnote remained on its original page even though the reference had been moved. This was particularly problematic because the same footnote was referenced multiple times throughout the document using cross-references. Cause The footnote is anchored to the original footnote reference in the main text. In my case, Word had somehow lost track of that original anchor, so the footnote stayed on its original page while all cross-references continued to point to it. Solution Hold Ctrl and click the misplaced footnote reference. Word jumps to the original footnote reference in the main text. Cut the original footnote reference (Ctrl+X). Paste it in the correct location using Keep Source Formatting. Press Ctrl+A, then F9 to update all fields. Verify that: the footnote has moved to the correct page, the numbering has updated correctly, all cross-references still work. In my document, one footnote had previously lost its connection to the original reference, so its numbering did not update automatically. That one had to be repaired manually. Important Do not create a new footnote or copy the footnote text itself. Move the original footnote reference in the main text. This preserves the existing footnote, its numbering, and every cross-reference that points to it. I hope this helps someone else. It took me quite a while to figure out what was happening.Section Page Count and Section Pages field Bugs
Posting for Greg Maxey I have Microsoft® Word 2019 MSO (Version 2508 Build 16.0.19127.20302) 32-bit. There are bugs in program related to accurately returning section page count. To produce, open a new Word document and perform the following: Type single short line of text e.g., Hello World. Apply an end note to that text. Hit the enter key until empty paragraphs push the end note to the very top of the next page. In the header enter a {Page} field and a {Section Pages} field. E.g., Page {Page} of {Section Pages} pages Update the fields. Look at pages 1 and 2 in the document. The Header {Section Pages) field incorrectly returns Page 1 of 1 pages and Page 2 of 1 Pages. The human eye and the {Page} field obviously are correct. The Section Pages field is wrong. Run the following macro: Sub ScratchMacro() 'A basic Word Macro coded by Gregory K. Maxey Dim oRng As Range Set oRng = ActiveDocument.Sections(1).Range MsgBox ActiveDocument.Sections.Count 'Correct. Word knows the document has 1 section MsgBox oRng.Information(wdActiveEndSectionNumber) 'Correct. Word knows the range is in that 1 section MsgBox oRng.Information(wdNumberOfPagesInDocument) 'Correct. Word knows that the document has 2 pages MsgBox oRng.Information(wdActiveEndPageNumber) 'Bug. Incorrect, should return 2. lbl_Exit: Exit Sub End Sub
Word/PowerPoint are not suitable replacements for Publisher
I’m writing following the guidance that Word and PowerPoint can be used as replacements for Publisher. This feedback is based on completing a real production document, not theoretical use Having just completed a fairly complex, layout-heavy technical document, I thought it only fair to share how that works in practice. In theory, I can see the logic: Word handles documents PowerPoint handles layouts Therefore, between the two, everything should be covered Unfortunately, in reality, this appears to be more of a theoretical exercise than a practical solution. Publisher was clearly designed for: Fixed, page-based layouts Precise positioning of objects Efficient alignment of mixed content (text, images, tables) Producing consistent, professional multi-page documents By comparison: Word is admirably committed to reminding you that it would prefer everything to flow freely, regardless of whether you want it to or not PowerPoint, while better behaved, does seem to assume every page is a standalone slide rather than part of a structured document Both tools can, with enough persistence, be persuaded into doing the job. However, this involves a level of manual intervention, workaround, and general negotiation with the software that feels somewhat at odds with modern productivity software. To put it simply: They are not replacements in any meaningful, real-world sense. The end result can be achieved, but the process is unnecessarily time-consuming, fragile, and prone to unexpected layout changes—particularly when precision actually matters. Replacing a purpose-built publishing tool with two applications that were never designed for that role gives the impression that this use case has been… optimistically simplified. I would strongly encourage Microsoft to either: Provide a genuine page-layout solution within the Office suite, or Enhance existing applications so they can support fixed-layout publishing without constant workarounds At present, the gap left by Publisher is very noticeable for anyone producing structured documents beyond basic text. I appreciate the direction of Microsoft 365 overall, but in this particular area, the experience feels less like an evolution and more like working around a missing tool. Regards Andy
Word Similarity Checker fails in desktop and web: “Something went wrong”
Hello, I am having an issue with Microsoft Word Similarity Checker. The Similarity Checker consistently fails with the message: “Something went wrong. Try again.” This happens in both: - Microsoft Word desktop - Word for the web / Microsoft 365 web version Product/account details: - Microsoft 365 subscription is active - Word shows activated under File > Account - Connected experiences are enabled - Word desktop version: Microsoft 365 Apps, Version 2606, Build 20131.20112 Click-to-Run Current Channel Troubleshooting already completed: 1. Confirmed Word is activated under File > Account. 2. Confirmed connected experiences are enabled: - Experiences that analyze your content: ON - Experiences that download online content: ON - All connected experiences: ON 3. Ran Office Update Now. 4. Restarted Windows. 5. Ran Quick Repair. 6. Ran Online Repair. 7. Tested in a brand-new blank Word document. 8. Tested on mobile hotspot instead of normal network. 9. Confirmed ProtonVPN was turned off. 10. Cleared Office Wef cache contents at: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Wef\ 11. Checked Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime. The installer says it is already installed for the system. 12. Signed out of Word/Microsoft 365, restarted Windows, and signed back in. 13. Tested again in Word desktop. 14. Tested again in Word for the web. 15. The same “Something went wrong. Try again” Similarity Checker error still occurs. I also previously saw a script error when clicking Update License in Word: URL shown included: https://oc.officeapps.live.com/odc/v2.1/hrd Error: 'Hrd' is undefined Because the issue occurs in both desktop Word and Word for the web after these troubleshooting steps, this seems like a Microsoft 365/Word Similarity Checker service-side or account-side issue rather than a local installation problem. Can someone from Microsoft confirm whether there is a known issue with Similarity Checker right now, or whether this needs to be escalated as an account/service-side problem?
