Disable Reading Layout

SUMMARY: Prevent Word 2003's Reading Layout for more accurate-looking documents onscreen.
 
When you open Microsoft Word 2003 documents from e-mail attachments or from other sources, Word 2003 displays them in what is called a "Reading Layout". While this layout is supposed to make the documents easier to scan through as it repaginates them to better fit your screen, many people dislike this feature as it can mess up tables of contents, lists, tables, and long paragraphs.

If you'd like to disable this feature and open documents in the default (Print Layout) instead, follow this tip.
 

Windows XP:
1. Click the "Tools" menu and choose "Options".
2. When the "Options" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click "General".
3. Uncheck "Allow starting in Reading Layout".
4. Click "OK" to close the dialog box.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windows Vista:

1. Click the Office button
2. Select Word Options
3. Click Popular in the left column
4. Deselect "Open e-mail attachments in Full Screen Reading View"