Member Avatar for km_gater

Here is an odd one.

One of our users has to resize some of the columns of the same Excel spreadsheet every time he opens it.

This spreadsheet is updated by one person in our Planning department. The rest of the company has read only writes to it. When I open this spreadsheet the layout is fine. The person updating the spreadsheet has got all the columns formatted and sized OK. However when this one user (there could be others that haven't said anything) opens the spreadsheet several of the columns are sized too small to see the information and he has to resize them.

From what I can tell are all running the same operating system and the same version of Office 2003.

Any ideas?

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Both and offered useful starting points. The pattern you describe — one user's copy always opening with different column widths while others see it correctly — usually points to a machine-specific environment issue rather than the workbook itself. Try the checks below in the order given to isolate the cause.

On the affected PC, verify the default printer. Excel uses the installed printer driver to compute layout and print metrics; a different driver can change how columns are rendered on screen and on print. Temporarily set that machine's default printer to the same device the planner uses (or to a generic driver like the Microsoft XPS/Print to PDF driver) and reopen the file. If that fixes it, make the printer setting consistent for users or install the same driver.

Check Excel customizations and third‑party components. Start Excel in safe mode (hold Ctrl while launching Excel or run excel /safe) and open the workbook. If the layout is correct in safe mode, disable non‑Microsoft add‑ins and COM add‑ins one at a time (Tools/Add‑Ins or the COM Add‑Ins manager) until the culprit is found. This isolates any third‑party component that alters layout at load time.

Compare Excel builds and saved view settings. Confirm the exact build/service‑pack of Excel on every machine (Help → About). Save a fresh copy from the planner's machine (File → Save As with a new name) and test that copy on the problem PC to rule out a save-time anomaly. Also check for workbook-level saved views or window settings (Custom Views, saved WindowState) that might be applied differently.

Checklist: 1) Match default printers and test; 2) Launch Excel in safe mode and test; 3) Compare Help→About build/patch levels and update if needed; 4) Save a clean copy from the editor and retest. If any step fixes it, implement that change across affected machines.

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Member Avatar for bobbyraw

maybe this person is looking at the page with zoom on, or the default fonts or option for excel is set differently. check the default font on your pc, then check the zoom (what zoom % you are veiwing in0 then match this person pc to the same settings. also the desktop size and font can also affect how programs are displayed on the screen

Member Avatar for km_gater

Thanks, bobbyraw. I tried the zoom and font settings already but desktop size may be a factor. We have been replacing a lot of our old PC's and the new once have the wide screen monitors. I haven't seen what this person is running because the ticket was assigned to one of our technicians. I still have an older monitor.

Member Avatar for MidiMagic

Look for the following:

- Two versions of the file in different folders.

- A cached version of the file.

- A macro intended for a different spreadsheet is running when Excel opens.

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