What causes this problem? How can I resolve it?

The graph looks fine in Origin but when I paste into Power Point, for example, the "M" and the "e" in "Median" overlap one another. I've also experienced similar problems with text character overlap in the graph legend.

The tick labels come out fine and do not overlap at all.

I tested your report by performing the following operations:

1. Open a new worksheet in Origin.
2. Enter row values in A(X) and random values in B(Y) from row 1 to row 30.
3. Select B(Y) and then Plot => Scatter.
4. Double-click on the X axis (once the graph window is created) and select the Scale tab. Change the # Minor Tick value to 3.
5. Select the Minor Tick Labels tab and enable the Enable Minor Ticks check box.
6. Click OK.
7. Select Edit => Copy Page in Origin.
8. Launch MS PowerPoint (I have the same version as you) and begin a new, blank presentation.
9. Select Edit => Paste Special in PowerPoint.
10. Select Origin Graph Object and click OK.

At this point the graph that came in looked fine. My intention was to create a set of tick labels that were quite close together to see if they overlapped upon pasting the graph in PowerPoint. Unfortunately they did not. Is there a better way to reproduce this? If so, please respond to this post with some instructions.

I should also note that there have not been any reports of this problem before (I looked in our bug/suggestion database).

Sincerely,
Ryan Toomey
OriginLab Technical Support

From the sounds of it, the problem could be simple or somewhat complicated. The simple possibility is the following:

When you paste the graph into PowerPoint you are resizing the graph in one direction only (whether it be horizontal or vertical). If this is the case you are bound to see 'character overlap'. Unfortunately, this is something that cannot be avoided. It is also not specific to Origin or PowerPoint.

The somewhat more complicated possibility is this:

The default printer is not handling the information properly during the copy. To test this theory, try setting another printer as default before copy/pasting the graph. To do so, select the Start menu from the desktop and then Settings => Printers. Then, right-click on the new printer and select "Set as Default". Finally, launch Origin and test the problem.

Note: If you do not have another printer installed you will need to install one. For testing purposes we recommend installing the Apple Laserwriter driver. Furthermore, if you're not sure how to perform the installation and you have a systems administrator, please ask him/her. If you cannot obtain assistance please let me know and I'll be happy to describe the process to you.

If you find that the problem goes away while the new printer is set as default, you'll need to consider obtaining a compatible print driver for your printer. In most cases a compatible driver (whether it be older or newer) can be found on the Windows CD, but there may be situations where you'll need to go to the manufacturer's website (e.g. http://www.hp.com/). Again, if you need assistance with this, please let me know. Please be sure to let me know what printer you have, too!

I hope that this information proves helpful. If not, please let me know!

- Ryan