Thanks, Andrew; I appreciate your insights. As I said, I have tried to replicate the behavior so that I can give a more precise explanation when asked, as I am occasionally, or even help to avoid it. That's why I wonder about the specific settings -- such as Merge styles, Keep source formatting, etc. I have not taken the time to methodically test every combination of the four, simply because, in my experience that they don;t behave predictably anyway, and, combined with the vagueries of SharePoint, individuals' own settings, versions, etc., it seems more efficient to deal with the problems as they arise. Usually, it's not too big a problem. This particular SoW is a real doozy (did you know that the term originated from the Dusenberg auto?) in multiple ways. Why lead a boring life?