Return not advancing to next line on Word for Mac
July 25, 2013 1:56 PM Subscribe
Okay, gang: I'm typing a very long document on Word for Mac (I'm on page 48). Everything has been working fine until now, but as of about thirty minutes ago, hitting return doesn't advance the cursor to the next line. It just jumps about four spaces away from the end of the sentence, as though I had hit tab. But when I start typing, the word immediately jumps to the next line below.
So it ultimately functions okay, but the failure to move the cursor to the next line keeps psyching me out. Any idea what is going on and how I fix it?
Important clue: everything still functions normally if I type at the end of the document, but I'm writing a section toward the beginning and that's where things go weird.
So it ultimately functions okay, but the failure to move the cursor to the next line keeps psyching me out. Any idea what is going on and how I fix it?
Important clue: everything still functions normally if I type at the end of the document, but I'm writing a section toward the beginning and that's where things go weird.
Best answer: Perhaps your Normal template (the template your document is perhaps based upon) is wonky. You could use the instructions here (if you are running Word 2011) to locate the template file. Quit Word, rename the template file, restart Word. Copy your document text to a new document. See if you have the same issue.
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:00 PM on July 25, 2013
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 2:00 PM on July 25, 2013
Best answer: If somewhere else in your document is working correctly, that means the formatting in your section is acting wonky. Can you use the format painter to copy working formatting over the beginning of the document?
posted by dobi at 2:01 PM on July 25, 2013
posted by dobi at 2:01 PM on July 25, 2013
Response by poster: Yes, I'm on Word 2011. Looking at your link now, BP.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:11 PM on July 25, 2013
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:11 PM on July 25, 2013
Response by poster: I don't see "format painter" in Word for Mac (although that doesn't mean it isn't there). At any rate, even though it looked like everything I was typing was done with the Normal template, when I selected the whole wonky section and clicked on Normal, the problem resolved. Easy fix. Thanks for the help!
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:20 PM on July 25, 2013
posted by Pater Aletheias at 2:20 PM on July 25, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Gungho at 1:59 PM on July 25, 2013