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Dotted lines in Office tables appear differently in PDF viewers


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Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:

You insert a table into an Office file.  The table border is formatted to display as a dashed or dotted line.  This file is saved as a PDF and printed to a physical printer.  In this scenario, the table in the printed file will display as shown in the Office application.  However, when the PDF file is opened in a PDF viewing application, the formatting of the table border will be displayed differently than the Office file and the physical printout.  The display of the table within the PDF viewing application will also change depending on the zoom level.

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Cause

This is a known issue with the Office applications.

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Resolution

To resolve this issue, use solid lines for the table borders. This issue can also be resolved by selecting a high zoom level (above 400%) when viewing the PDF.

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More information

This behavior applies only to tables, as shapes formatted with the same dotted line style will display correctly.  This behavior occurs regardless of the method used to save the file as a PDF.  The display will change depending on the application used to view the PDF.

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Keywords: KB2007923

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Article Info
Article ID : 2007923
Revision : 3
Created on : 9/2/2010
Published on : 9/2/2010
Exists online : False
Views : 541