WD: Table Copied from MacWord to Excel is Misaligned

• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 4.0, 5.0, 5.1, 5.1a

SYMPTOMS

When a table created in Word is copied into Excel, the position of the table's cell contents is misaligned or shifted, or extra blank cells separate items.

If a table contains tabs or paragraph returns within its cells, when the table is copied and pasted into Excel, the tabs and paragraph returns are read as "new cell" instructions. The contents following a tab are moved one position to the right; paragraph marks are moved down a cell in Excel.

WORKAROUND

To copy the table into Excel without having this problem, use the Change command on the Utilities menu to change the tabs to another character, such as a space. Change ^t to ^32 in the Change dialog box. To retain a formatted appearance in Word and still copy cells containing paragraph returns to Excel, change the carriage returns to newline characters (obtained by pressing SHIFT+RETURN) by changing ^p to ^n (or ^l in Word 6) in the Change dialog box.

SHIFT+RETURNs are displayed as blank boxes in Excel. These boxes are not printed on a LaserWriter printer. However, these boxes are printed on an ImageWriter.