Plain Text Appears Bold on Screen (and Vice Versa)

 Last reviewed: February 5, 1998
Article ID: Q132505
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

SYMPTOMS

  • TrueType or printer fonts formatted with a point size of 9, 10, 12, 14, or 16 may appear bold when you set the zoom to 75, 100, or 150 percent.
  • Text formatted as bold may not appear bold on the screen.

CAUSE

Word 6.0 for Windows cannot display all aspects of true WYSIWYG ("what you see is what you get") at the same time because the screen resolution is much lower than the printer resolution. Words may appear differently in certain views due to the difference in resolution.

Word does smooth letter spacing to make the display much clearer than if it strictly positioned every character according to its exact position on the printer.

Note: Regular text may appear bold if you are in Normal view and you are 

      showing the Draft Font. You can disable this option by clicking
      Options on the Tools menu and selecting the View tab. This option is
      only available if you are in Normal view.

WORKAROUND

This is a display problem only. The text prints correctly.

KBCategory: kbdisplay
KBSubcategory: kbfont
Additional reference words: 6.0 6.0a 6.0c winword hinting wysiwyg bold
word6 text large fonts pointsize zoom resolution
Keywords : kbfont kbprint kbdisplay
Version : 6.0 6.0a 6.0c
Platform : WINDOWS

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Last reviewed: February 5, 1998
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