A table border in a Word document is printed as a solid line instead of as dots or dashes in Windows Vista

You print a Microsoft Word document that contains a table on a computer that is running Windows Vista. If the table border consists of dots or of dashes, the table border is printed as a solid line instead of as dots or dashes.

This problem may occur when you print the document by using the printer driver that was provided by Canon in the printer box.

To resolve this problem, install Windows Vista Service Pack 1.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

To work around this problem, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Change the print quality to "high"

To do this, follow these steps, as appropriate for the version of Word that you are running.

Microsoft Office Word 2007

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button
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   , and then click Print.
2. In the Print dialog box, click Properties.
3. On the Main tab, click High under Print Quality, and then click OK.

Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Word 2002, and Microsoft Word 2000

1. On the File menu, click Print.
2. In the Print dialog box, click Properties.
3. On the Main tab, click High under Print Quality, and then click OK.

Method 2: Change the page size

Use this method only when the Allow A4/Letter paper resizing check box is selected on the Print tab of the Print Options dialog box and the paper size that is set for the document is the same as the paper size that is set for the printer driver.

To do this, follow these steps, as appropriate for the version of Word that you are running.

Word 2007

1. Click the Page Layout tab.
2. In the Page Setup group, click Size.
   1. If the paper size of the printer driver is set to Letter, click A4.
   2. If the paper size of the printer driver is set to A4, click Letter.

Word 2003, Word 2002, and Word 2000

1. On the File menu, click Page Setup.
2. Click the Paper tab.
3. In the Paper size box:
   1. If the paper size of the printer driver is set to Letter, click A4.
   2. If the paper size of the printer driver is set to A4, click Letter.

Method 3: Change the table border color to a color other than black

To do this, follow these steps, as appropriate for the version of Word that you are running.

Word 2007

1. Click anywhere in the table.
2. Under Table Tools, click the Layout tab.
3. In the Table group, click Properties.
4. On the Table tab, click Borders and Shading.
5. On the Borders tab, follow these steps:
   1. In the Color box, click a color for the table borders that is other than black or Automatic.
   2. In the Apply to box, click Table.
6. Click OK to close the Borders and Shading dialog box.
7. Click OK to close the Table Properties dialog box.

Word 2003, Word 2002, and Word 2000

1. Click anywhere in the table.
2. On the Table menu, click Table Properties.
3. On the Table tab, click Borders and Shading.
4. On the Borders tab, follow these steps:
   1. In the Color box, click a color for the table borders that is other than black or Automatic.
   2. In the Apply to box, click Table.
5. Click OK to close the Borders and Shading dialog box.
6. Click OK to close the Table Properties dialog box.

Method 4: Reduce Spool Data size

To do this, follow these steps, as appropriate for the version of Word that you are running.

Word 2007

1. Click theMicrosoft Office Button
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   , and then click Print.
2. In the Print dialog box, click Properties.
3. On the Page Setup tab, click Print Options.
4. On the Print Options dialog box, click Reduce spool data size.
5. Click OK three times to print the document.

Word 2003, Word 2002, and Word 2000

1. On the File menu, click Print.
2. In the Print dialog box, click Properties.
3. On the Page Setup tab, click Print Options.
4. On the Print Options dialog box, click Reduce spool data size.
5. Click OK three times to print the document.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.
The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products.