Formatting: Word is being too helpful

[jklein]

I created a print-on-demand book for a client. Before I converted to PDF for the proofreader, I applied the auto-hyphenate option. The proofreader would know to find bad breaks (e.g., "eve-ry" or "grad-er"), then I would isolate the hyphenated word and remove the hyphenation (highlight the word / Page Layout ribbon / Paragraph / click Don't hyphenate / click OK, done). But when I do that, the entire paragraph changes and shifts so that a word that might have been hyphenated at the end of the previous line is no longer hyphenated.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, except that now the proofed version looks different from the version the client has previously viewed. And I don't want Word to do this because it's undoing a lot of work that's already been done. How do I turn off this feature?

I work on a PC using Windows 8.1 I have Office 2013, the subscriber option. When I went to save the previous version (before proofreading) as a new document, Word asked if I wanted to "maintain compatibility with previous versions of Word." If I did, I needed to cancel and check the box accordingly. Is that a drawback with having a subscriber-based version of Office?



Julie Klein

[Charles Kenyon]

You seem to have two separate questions here.

Originally Posted by jklein

I created a print-on-demand book for a client. Before I converted to PDF for the proofreader, I applied the auto-hyphenate option. The proofreader would know to find bad breaks (e.g., "eve-ry" or "grad-er"), then I would isolate the hyphenated word and remove the hyphenation (highlight the word / Page Layout ribbon / Paragraph / click Don't hyphenate / click OK, done). But when I do that, the entire paragraph changes and shifts so that a word that might have been hyphenated at the end of the previous line is no longer hyphenated.

This isn't necessarily a bad thing, except that now the proofed version looks different from the version the client has previously viewed. And I don't want Word to do this because it's undoing a lot of work that's already been done. How do I turn off this feature?

Uhm... isn't the proofed version different from the version the client previously viewed. Is this not the purpose of proofing?

Changing hyphenation is intended to change the wrapping of paragraphs.

I work on a PC using Windows 8.1 I have Office 2013, the subscriber option. When I went to save the previous version (before proofreading) as a new document, Word asked if I wanted to "maintain compatibility with previous versions of Word." If I did, I needed to cancel and check the box accordingly. Is that a drawback with having a subscriber-based version of Office?

"I need to cancel and check the box accordingly."
Cancel the save?
Check which box?

Apparently the document you are editing was created using an earlier version of Word. Word is asking you if you want to remove any Word 2013 features that are not implemented in the earlier version. There may or may not actually be any that were used in your document.

[jklein]

Thanks for responding, Charles.

Yes, the proofed version is different, but I'm transferring the edits from the PDF. I realize now that it would have been better to proof in Word instead using Track Changes. Lesson learned.

Yes, changing the hyphenation changes the paragraph formatting. I just didn't expect it to change the first lines of the paragraph when the hyphenation change was made at the end of the paragraph. Again, lesson learned that it's better to let Word have its way and explain to the client about Word reformatting.

As far as maintaining compatibility, I failed to say that I was saving my own document as a new document when Word gave me this option. That's why I found it odd. Why wouldn't it be compatible with 2013 already? Or was 2013 upgraded behind the scenes, thereby requiring last week's documents to be made compatible with this week's upgrades? Inquiring minds and all that.

It's all good. Every time I trip on a Word quirk, I learn new things.

Best,
Julie Klein

[Charles Kenyon]

I suspect that your first document (the one you opened) was already in compatibility mode. If so, it would show in the title bar, I believe. Further, I don't use hyphenation, but suspect, from your description alone that hyphenation is a formatting choice that applies to paragraphs, not single words.