This article contains:

Data alignment
Positioning images and objects
Formatting images and objects
Cropping images
Incorrect numbering
Other formatting issues
Summary

Data alignment

If text in the document does not align as expected, it is likely that tabs or spaces were used to align data in Word, however these do not always render the same way in HTML. We would advise that by placing the text in a borderless table, the data can be aligned successfully.



Tip: To transfer existing data into a table, select the data to be put into a table, click the ‘Table’ button on the Insert ribbon, and select ‘Convert Text to Table’.

Positioning images and objects

If an image or object is not positioned where expected in the document, it is likely this is caused by the layout options. It is recommended that the layout options are set to ‘In Line with Text’ which will ensure the image or object is anchored within the document.



Note: if an image appears seemingly randomly in Please Review and obscures text behind it, it is because it is formatted as 'floating' in Word. Again, we recommend that the layout option is set to ‘In Line with Text’.

Formatting images and objects

If a picture is made up of several images and/or other objects which do not appear correctly in Please Review, it is recommended that the images/objects are grouped. Grouping multiple images/objects that need to appear relative to one another will ensure that they are treated as one object in Please Review.


Alternatively, using the drawing canvas within Word ensures the layout option for the canvas is set to ‘In Line with Text’ which will anchor the images/objects within the document.

Cropping images

If an image does not display correctly or appears stretched or skewed, it may be caused by the image being cropped within Word.



When using the crop tool within Word, it hides the rest of the image, but does not physically crop it. To avoid this problem, we recommend that you crop and edit images using an image editing application (e.g. Paint, the Windows Snipping Tool or a commercial product such as SnagIt). These applications will prevent the rest of the image being stored in Word and therefore will not display in Please Review.
 

Incorrect numbering

If the table of contents numbering is not appearing as expected in the Please Review navigation panel, it is likely that the numbering within the original document has been corrupted or has experienced conflicting settings.

This is common when documents have been converted from older versions of Word, or sections have been copied and pasted from different documents.

The simple solution to this problem is to correct the heading numbering of the document in Word. To do this, right click the heading number and select ‘Continue Numbering’.



Tip: To check numbered headings, click on one of the heading numbers and all heading numbers in the same range will display with grey shading. Any numbers that do not appear in grey will need to be updated.

Other formatting issues

This section of the document outlines some of the less common formatting issues experienced in the display of Word documents in Please Review.

Vertical text

Vertically oriented text does not appear vertical in Please Review, and there is no sensible workaround for this as HTML cannot display vertical text. As noted above, this only affects the display within Please Review itself - when the document is round-tripped, the text will appear vertical again.

Table cell height/width

If text within a table cell is obscured from view, or all the text within a cell does not display in Please Review, this is likely to be due to the cell height and/or width properties being set to an exact measurement. To resolve the problem, ensure table cell height and width properties are set to 'At least'.

Table borders

Older versions of Please Review (5.0 and earlier) will not show a table border in the Chrome browser if it is less than 1 pixel wide. To avoid this problem, use table borders of 3/4 point or more. This problem does not happen in Please Review 5.1 or later.

Content controls in table cells

In Please Review v5.2 and earlier, if there are content controls within table cells which display in Please Review outside the table, you can improve the display of the control by placing text in the control.

This text could be as simple as a full stop or a space, but by placing some text in the control, the control becomes locked to the table cell. In Please Review v6.0 and later, the handling of content controls has been enhanced. This includes the ability to edit both plain and rich text content controls within Please Review where the content control properties permit.

Hidden text

Please Review is unable to display hidden text. If hidden text needs to be part of the review, we recommend that a style is defined for hidden text prior to uploading into Please Review and then redefine all text within that style to ‘hidden text’ after the review.

Text appearance

If the paragraph text color is displayed differently in Please Review to that in the Word document, it is probably because the paragraph in question has a style applied to it where the style name starts with a number. Paragraphs which have Word styles starting with a number are ignored for display purposes in the Please Review interface. It is recommended that style names in Word do not start with numeric values. This will ensure the style is honored by the Please Review display and the text color appears as expected within Please Review.

Macros / VBA forms

In Please Review v5.2 and earlier, embedded VBA code, including macros, modules, and forms, will not be available in the ‘round-tripped’ document.

To ensure these VBA elements are available when downloading a ‘round-tripped’ document, they need to be stored within the template, not within the document. In Please Review v6.0 and later, macros/modules/forms are available when the ‘round-tripped’ document is downloaded, regardless of whether they are stored within the document or template. There is one exception to note (applies to all versions of Please Review): the document must be a .docx (not a .doc) file.

Embedded VBA code will not be available in the ‘round-tripped’ document if the document is a .doc file.

Word comments/tracked changes

In Please Review v5.2 and earlier, existing Microsoft Word comments, tracked changes and tracked moves will be visible in the document, however they will not be included as Please Review comments and/or proposed changes.

Existing Microsoft Word tracked changes will appear as either inserted (underlined) or deleted (strikethrough) text and existing Microsoft Word comments will display as a hyperlink within square brackets which, when hovered over, will bring up a link to the comment at the bottom of the document.

If a paragraph is edited which contains Microsoft Word comments or tracked changes/moves in Please Review v5.2 and earlier, the tracked changes/moves will be lost in the 'round tripped' document. In Please Review v6.0 and later, paragraphs containing existing Microsoft Word comments, tracked changes and tracked moves will be identified by a notification message:



Although Microsoft Word comments and tracked changes/moves will be visible in the document, they will not be included as Please Review comments and proposed changes.

If a paragraph is edited which contains Microsoft Word comments or tracked changes/moves in Please Review, the tracked changes/moves will be presented as accepted changes and the comment markers will not be displayed. If the Word tracked changes/moves need to be retained, the Author/Owner should select the ‘proposed changes applied as Word comments’ option under the 'Select comments' function prior to document download.

This will make all proposed changes appear as Word comments and the existing Word tracked changes and moves will be preserved. For detailed information, refer to the Please Review User Manual.

Summary

• Always use a table to display tabular information (instead of tabs, or spacing), as this will ensure the information aligns on the page as expected;
• Ensure all types of illustrations (pictures, shapes, charts, etc.) are positioned using the ‘in line with text’ wrap text option;
• Ensure all objects that relate to each other are either grouped or placed on a drawing canvas;
• Ensure all images are cropped to the required size in another application before putting into Word (e.g. Paint, the Windows Snipping Tool or a commercial product such as SnagIt).
• Check you have consistency on heading numbering (tip: if you click on a numbered heading, all headings in the same range will be greyed).