WD97: Margins Outside Printable Error in Word Viewer

• Microsoft Word Viewer 97

SYMPTOMS

If you try to print a document from Microsoft Word Viewer 97 that has margins set outside the printable area for the current printer, you will get the following error message:

   The margins of section # are set outside the printable area of the
   page. Do you want to continue?

You are unable to adjust the margins of the document in Microsoft Word Viewer.

CAUSE

Word Viewer 97 does not have a Page Setup option that allows you to adjust the margins of the document.

Word Viewer is only for viewing and printing Word documents. To edit a document, you must use Microsoft Word.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1

Ignore the error by clicking the Continue button.

The document will be printed, but there is a danger that some of the text may be truncated in the printed version.

Method 2

Open the document in Microsoft Word and adjust the margins so that the error does not occur.

In Word Viewer 97, on the File menu, click Open For Editing.

This will start Microsoft Word 97, load the document, and allow you to make changes.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

MORE INFORMATION

Most printers cannot print all the way to the edge of the paper due to physical limitations in the printer and the way it handles the paper.

If you set your document margins closer to the edge of the paper than your printer is capable of printing, Microsoft Word and Microsoft Word Viewer return a warning message for each copy you send to the printer.

Most laser printers, such as the Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet, cannot print closer to any edge of the paper than 0.25 inch. Some laser printers, such as the HP LaserJet Series II, require 0.5-inch margins. DeskJet printers generally cannot print closer to the bottom edge than .67 inch. Most PostScript and dot-matrix printers have their own internal printer driver setting for margins.

The unprintable region is determined by the printer that is currently being used. To correct the margins that are set to close to the edge of the paper, open the document in Microsoft Word and follow these steps:

1. Make sure you are using the same printer driver that gave you the error in Microsoft Word Viewer.

2. In Word, on the File menu, click Page Setup.

3. Click the OK button.

   You will be presented with a warning dialog box about the unprintable regions.

4. Click the Fix button.

5. Save and close the document.

Keywords          : kblayout wdvw97 word97 kbprint kbusage
Version           : 97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug