Word to PDF Table lines missing or faded

I'm having the same type of problem. My documents are much simpler - resume's in a Standard SF330 format. I've even tried re-setting all the table borders by doing "Table" "Properties" "Borders and Shading" - selecting "None" and then going back in and selecting "All", but that made it even worse - now more of the borders are missing!! I need to have all the resumes exactly the same, with borders around all the cells in the same thickness.

Hello - does anybody read these questions and try to answer them? I'm running out of time - need help!!

Word is sending out thin lines as thin rectangles and these overlapping rectangles can cause the on-screen dispaly to appear to have different line widths. Printing to a PostScript printer should print the correct line widths. When you use Distiller, make sure you're using a setting that embeds all the fonts.

My problem is that when I create a document in Word 2003 that contains a table, and I shade certains cells, then the lines disappear once converted to Adobe pdf.

It took me FOREVER to figure this out. This problem only occurs when the cells have internal top/bottom margins. If you want to keep the margins, you can edit the PDF with the "edit object" tool in Acrobat Pro. When you zoom in on the cells, there will be a short, wide rectangle near the top of each colored cell partly obscuring the line. Delete them, and it should look good at any magnification.

The problem also in appears in 2007. Any new fix for this?

No new fix that I've seen, but you can adjust the spacing of your text (under Paragraph, add a space before the line of text) in lieu of internal cell margins. You can adjust it so that the spacing of your table looks the same. And that should PDF cleanly.

The suggested fix does not work all the time. It does improve the issue, not does not solve it.

I have a large document in Microsoft Word wiith many tables all using shading.

When I convert to PDF there are many tables with missing lines or different thicknesses, when viewed at 100%.

The PDF file prints correctly, but I have to deliver the file both as a printed document and an electronic version.

The customer has complained about how the tables look when view on their computers.

If a take a table that has a problem then create a document and paste the table in a number of times after conversion, the table may be Ok depending where it is on the page!

All tables have no internal spacing.

I have tried many different formats, defining row height, using paragraph formatting, etc. etc. etc.

After conversion I salways have problems.

If I edit the PDF and use "Tools" "Advance Editing" "Touchup Object Tool" the problem is shown to be the conversion into PDF.

There are two line at the top of the shaded cells the black boarder and another line the same color as the shading. Sometimes this line is partialy over the top of the black line making it thinner, sometimes it totally obscures the line. othertimes the boarder line is OK.
If the colored lines are selected and deleted then the table looks Ok at all zoom factors.

This is clearly an error in the PDF conversion routine, putting a line on top of the boarder.

When the table has merged cells and shading the problem is even worse.

If you de-merge the cells and put the text in the individual cells and remove the internal lines of the group of cells then the PDF is again even worse, with white spaces in the boarder where the horizontal lines are not used.

If there is no correction to this error then I will have to look for a alternative PDF converter, or have to find a new electronic format to publish the document.
It is not feasable to edit 200+ tables in the PDF every time the PDF is generated, as we maintain the original in word.

This complete issue seems to have been passed off by Adobe as no problem and that there is a work around. I consider this an unsatisfactory resoponse from a major product supplier.

I look forward to a better resolution of this problem that has wasted far too much of my valuble time.
Paul

I was experiencing similar problems with Word 2007 and Acrobat 9 and ended up redefining all borders, shading, and their associated colors in Borders and Shading and then redefined the font colors of all fonts within the table...et voila...clean lines at any magnification.

Converting Word (table) to pdf - lines screwed up - googled as far back as 2004.
BUG STILL exists. HELP/FIX PLEASE?
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/missing-table-lines-conversion-pdf-t878406.php
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/305508

Trying to convert any word doc with tables (& shading) to PDF
- basic table, black borders throughout
- shaded headings, black outline border
- shaded subheadings, black outline border

However when convert to PDF:
- 'displays' NO top cell border for some/all shaded rows
- shows diff thickness lines
- each conversion, diff lines missing/incorrectly sized
- however converted pdf prints perfectly fine

Adobe know about the bug, per PRMW's (Paul's) post on 2009-07-15 15:44:34, however only offered a painful time consuming workaround using non-freeware Adobe Pro:
http://acrobatusers.com/forum/pdf-creation/word-pdf-table-lines-missing-or-faded#comment-78139
- "It is not feasable to edit 200+ tables in the PDF every time the PDF is generated, as we maintain the original in word.
- "This complete issue seems to have been passed off by Adobe as no problem and that there is a work around. I consider this an unsatisfactory response from a major product supplier.

Microsoft TechNet & NitroPdf said it's an Adobe issue & to contact Adobe to fix the bug.Tried, but proble exists:
* Word 2010 > File > Save & Send > Create PDF/XPS Document
* Word 2010 > Save As > Pdf
* Word 2010 > Print > PrimoPdf (even tried properties > advanced > dpi 300/600/2400) > Custom
* Word 2010 > Print > doPDF v7 (even tried 'high quality images)
* Word 2010 > Print > PDFCreator
* Word 2010 > Print > CutePdf Writer (even worse)
* Nitro Pdf Reader > Convert From File > (even worse)
* www.pdfonline.com > Word to Pdf (even worse)
* www.wordtopdf.com > email: Sorry, an unexpected conversion failure occurred when converting your file.Software:
* Word 2010 - tried with .docx & .doc (97 to 2003)
* Adobe Reader 8.2.6 (freeware), then upgraded to Adobe Reader X 10.0.1 (freeware)
* GhostScript 9.01 w32 (freeware)
* CutePdf Writer (freeware)
* PrimoPdf (freeware)
* Nitro Pdf Reader 1.4.0.11 (freeware)
* doPDF 7.2.361 (freeware)
* PDFCreator 1.2.0 (opensource - www.pdfforge.org)

Seems to display better at 300%, but lines still not right (even at 2400%), but who views pdf's at this zoom?

Has anyone found a solution?

Nope, more posts here...
http://acrobatusers.com/forum/pdf-creation/loss-xl-table-border-line-formatting-when-converting-pdf

Nope. Reported it to Adobe, they blamed Microsoft (Word), reported to Microsoft, they blamed Adobe.

Did you provide an example file for them to examine? It should be easy to replicate.

My tables continue to look very unprofessional in PDF, and I am surprised more people from the business world are not complaining.

This works for me.

The problem is related to word adding a default (0.05cm) top margin to some or all the table cells. When the table is converted to pdf, the cells with the margin hide the border.

Set the top cell margin to zero by-
1 highlighting the cell(s)
2 open Table Properties dialogue box - Cell tab
3 Click Options and set the top margin to zero

Trouble is sometimes you have to select individual cells, as applying this to a whole row or table does not work if individual cells have been set.

Once the margins are zero the pdf displays correctly at any zoom level.