MS Word "Your margins are pretty small" Annoying Dialogue

Ok, this started quite some months ago all of a sudden, and I have yet to find the solution. Every time I print something or even use the "Save as PDF" option on the print dialogue, I get this Word dialogue:



I had read where people said Word is being prompted to display this dialogue based on the printer's settings, but I certainly didn't change any settings on my printer's driver, nor did I get a new printer or install any new printer software. Also, my default margins are 0.5" all around--hardly anything unusually narrow, and in fact pretty standard. Any clues on how to get rid of this annoying extra click I have to make every time I print something to paper or PDF? Thanks!

macOS High Sierra Version 10.13.5
Microsoft Word for Mac Version 16.14.1 (180613)

Are yiu actually able to print one of the documents that has this issue? If so does it print correctly (i.e. no missing text)?

Also. what miodel printer are you using? Some have minimumum margin settings (though usually around a quarter-inch or so). I bet that creating a pdf relies on the same margin settings used for printing.

Slydude said:

Are yiu actually able to print one of the documents that has this issue? If so does it print correctly (i.e. no missing text)?

Also. what miodel printer are you using? Some have minimumum margin settings (though usually around a quarter-inch or so). I bet that creating a pdf relies on the same margin settings used for printing.

Click to expand...

Yes, there's never any issue with the printed document. It's an HP Envy 5530 and 7640 (this issue occurs for either printer).

I just checked thru my Word documents for margins. The standard margin for a Word document has always been what the Normal template is set at. The Normal template for Office 2011 and 2016 has margins set to 1.5". I use a 1" margin for most of my documents and that prints without errors. When I set the margin to .5" on either of my printers it will generate an error.

The error you're getting probably started showing up after you installed an Office update. I don't know how you've been printing in the past with .5" margins, but I know that I can't do it either on my HP Laser or my Epson all in one printer.

What margins are you trying to use when you get that message? Can you make the default margin just a tad bigger to avoid the message?

chscag said:

I just checked thru my Word documents for margins. The standard margin for a Word document has always been what the Normal template is set at. The Normal template for Office 2011 and 2016 has margins set to 1.5". I use a 1" margin for most of my documents and that prints without errors. When I set the margin to .5" on either of my printers it will generate an error.

The error you're getting probably started showing up after you installed an Office update. I don't know how you've been printing in the past with .5" margins, but I know that I can't do it either on my HP Laser or my Epson all in one printer.

Click to expand...

I don't know what to tell you. I've been printing with half-inch margins for as long as I can remember on many printers (HP, Samsung, Epson, etc.) and never had an issue. In fact, it's a preset choice on Word for Mac (Normal is 1"). See below:



Just reported the issue through the "tell us what we can do better" feedback within Word. They need to have a "do not show this warning again" option.

Opps. duplicate post, just ignore.

Using a different browser and getting used to its quirks.

- Patrick
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It seems that one gets that "error" message from the printer driver which is probably hard to change.

See:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...e-pretty/71d27fd0-fcca-4dfa-8702-2284f74080cc

Is your printer able to do "boarderless printing" 'cause that message should not show.

But maybe have a look here and see if it would work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVhVD310aS4

PS: Do you have an option to use "Page Setup" for your documents and does it improve or get rid of the message problem if you do???





- Patrick
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pm-r said:

It seems that one gets that "error" message from the printer driver which is probably hard to change.

See:
https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us...e-pretty/71d27fd0-fcca-4dfa-8702-2284f74080cc

Is your printer able to do "boarderless printing" 'cause that message should not show.

But maybe have a look here and see if it would work:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVhVD310aS4

PS: Do you have an option to use "Page Setup" for your documents and does it improve or get rid of the message problem if you do???





- Patrick
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Click to expand...

That's the thread I was alluding to when I said, "I had read where people said Word is being prompted to display this dialogue based on the printer's settings." The video makes no sense. Yes, I can go to File > Page Setup and see/edit the margins there too, but I'm not sure how that's relevant. I have the defaults for the Normal template set to 0.5" margins (as have for as long as I can remember).

Yes, my printer can print borderless photos and such. What really ticks me off is that I have used 0.5" margins all around for many years and NEVER had this stupid dialogue pop up until the last few months.

Yes, I can go to File > Page Setup and see/edit the margins there too, but I'm not sure how that's relevant. I have the defaults for the Normal template set to 0.5" margins (as have for as long as I can remember).

Click to expand...

I believe using the "Page Setup" sets and may over-ride some other print setting for the document being used.

Have a look here and note the comments on using "Page Setup":

If you want the new margin to be the default every time you open Word, choose Margins > Custom Margins. In Page Setup dialog box, on the Margins tab, choose Set As Default.

Click to expand...

https://support.office.com/en-us/ar...-in-Word-da21a474-99d8-4e54-b12d-a8a14ea7ce02

It's the same thing one had to do with some of Apple's own applications that would sometimes give the same "margins message".

But heck, it's no big deal to just click the message away with a mouse click or quick return key keypress is it??? Annoying yes, but tolerable and manageable. ;-)




- Patrick
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pm-r said:

I believe using the "Page Setup" sets and may over-ride some other print setting for the document being used.

Have a look here and note the comments on using "Page Setup":

https://support.office.com/en-us/ar...-in-Word-da21a474-99d8-4e54-b12d-a8a14ea7ce02

It's the same thing one had to do with some of Apple's own applications that would sometimes give the same "margins message".

But heck, it's no big deal to just click the message away with a mouse click or quick return key keypress is it??? Annoying yes, but tolerable and manageable. ;-)




- Patrick
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Click to expand...

Yes, that's how I originally made the 0.5" margin the default (File > Page Setup... > select Microsoft Word > Margins... > change margins > Default...). And, yes, it IS a big deal in terms of work flow. Imagine if every time you tried to open a file, Finder had a pop up asking, "Are you sure you want to open this file?" Between printing to paper or PDF, I am having to dismiss this dialogue MANY times per day, which I never had to do until a few months ago. It's definitely intolerable in my opinion to have useless steps added to one's workflow with no option to opt out of them.

By the way, when I change the margins in an Excel spreadsheet to 0.5", Excel does not have a warning dialogue that pops up. It just does what it's supposed to do and prints the page. So why can't Word?

@usagora:

What version of Office are you using? I'm wondering if an update to Office that you installed has changed something? I'm still using Office 2011 and am going to run a test on a document with .5" margins and see if I get an error. I know in the past, I could not print on either of my printers with that small a margin.

chscag said:

@usagora:

What version of Office are you using? I'm wondering if an update to Office that you installed has changed something? I'm still using Office 2011 and am going to run a test on a document with .5" margins and see if I get an error. I know in the past, I could not print on either of my printers with that small a margin.

Click to expand...

As stated in the original post, it's Microsoft Word for Mac Version 16.14.1 (180613). I'm an Office 365 subscriber, so it's always the latest version. However, I previously used Office 2011 for Mac and 2008 before that and never had this issue with those versions.

ok, HERE's something really interesting. I opened a new document clicked on Margins > Custom Margins, then changed the top, left, bottom, and right margins to 0.6" - the warning dialogue did not appear this time. So then I changed them all back to 0.5" and got the following warning:



So I clicked "Fix" and it changed just my bottom margin to 0.51" - However, the warning dialogue (the one that says "Your margins are pretty small") STILL APPEARED when I went to print with the "corrected" margins. And before anyone suggests it, I'm not changing my margins to 0.6" to resolve the issue. I want them at 0.5" like I've always had them.

I wonder if the paper size is correct? And in the Print Dialog box, is the proper paper size shown and print percentage at 100%? What I'm thinking is that if the paper size is incorrect, or if the percentage of the print is over 100%, the margins may be calculated to be out of the print zone.

MacInWin said:

I wonder if the paper size is correct? And in the Print Dialog box, is the proper paper size shown and print percentage at 100%? What I'm thinking is that if the paper size is incorrect, or if the percentage of the print is over 100%, the margins may be calculated to be out of the print zone.

Click to expand...

Ok, it's not in the print dialogue box, but you got me thinking about the paper size. I have no idea why this worked, but here it goes:

I noticed under File > Page Setup... that the paper size was listed as "Index card Letter 8.5x11in." I have no idea what that means (never heard of a 8.5x11 index card), and I sure as heck didn't change it to that, so I changed it to simply "US Letter"



I then went to Format > Document > Default... and then clicked YES to the message "Do you want to change the default settings for page setup? This change will affect all new documents based on the NORMAL template."

I closed Word, opened it again, and created a new blank document. Even though the paper size still shows as "Index card Letter 8.5x11in." (???) it now prints without displaying the annoying "Your margins are pretty small" dialogue. It is BIZARRE to me why the paper size still shows the previous setting in spite of me changing the default settings, but the issue appears to be solved for now. Even previously created documents are now printing without the warning dialogue. Weird weird weird.

Sounds like the Normal template is messed up. Unless you have some unique settings there, I would look to MS to see how to reset Normal.dotx to the 'factory' standard, then set the margins you want and save that as the new Normal template. Sooner or later that "index card" setup is going to do something weird.

MacInWin said:

Sounds like the Normal template is messed up. Unless you have some unique settings there, I would look to MS to see how to reset Normal.dotx to the 'factory' standard, then set the margins you want and save that as the new Normal template. Sooner or later that "index card" setup is going to do something weird.

Click to expand...

The head-scratching continues. i took your advice and reset the Normal.dotm template by deleting it and restarting Word

[user] > Library > Group Containers > UBF8T346G9.Office > User Content > Templates

So Word starts with the default 1" margins, Calibri (body) font, etc. so I know the Normal template has been reset. So I immediately check Format > Document... > Page Setup... and the paper size is still showing as "Index card Letter 8.5x11in." However, even after changing the default margins back to my preferred 0.5" the warning dialogue does not appear anymore when I go to print. I mean, that's all good news, but where the heck is this odd "Index card Letter 8.5x11in." setting coming from? Well, I go back to Format > Document... > Page Setup... and switch the printer from my default (HP Envy 7640) to my other (HP Envy 5340) where it says "Format For:" and the paper size now changes to "US Letter Borderless." My printers are both set to simply "US Letter" as the default paper size under System Preferences > Printers & Scanners, so I'm not sure why this is not reflected in Word by default. In any case, both printers are now printing without Word popping up the warning dialogue, so that's good, but it's just so weird that nothing has visible changed in the settings from when the problem was occurring.

In any case, both printers are now printing without Word popping up the warning dialogue, so that's good, but it's just so weird that nothing has visible changed in the settings from when the problem was occurring.

Click to expand...

I won't bother replying to some of your previous comments as you seem to have things working and just as I suggested earlier by using your "Page Setup" option.

PS: You should be able to create a "default" printer setup using the Custom setting and even delete that "Index card Letter 8.5x11in." if you want, which actually may also be setup for printing on thicker card stock rather than normal 20-24lb letter paper.

Anyway, glad to hear you got rid of the annoying "error" margin message.




- Patrick
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pm-r said:

I won't bother replying to some of your previous comments as you seem to have things working and just as I suggested earlier by using your "Page Setup" option.

Click to expand...

Well, sort of. Still not sure what i actually changed, since all the settings there are still identical to what they were when the problem persisted. The paper size was never set to anything other than 8.5x11, and paper weight would obviously not have anything to do with the margins. Oh well, still a mystery, but at least it's working (for now). It sort of feels like the old bit of randomly hitting a broken machine with a hammer and then it comes back to life

It sort of feels like the old bit of randomly hitting a broken machine with a hammer and then it comes back to life

Click to expand...

Yup, some things are like that, and if it still doesn't work — then get a bigger hammer!! ;D




- Patrick
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