If you have selected inches as the unit of measurement on the General tab of
Tools | Options, then it's possible you're seeing character units. See
http://www.gmayor.com/Character_Units.htm

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Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
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> Somehow, in XP, my page setup now reflects in "16 pts" rather than 1 inch
> left, right, margins...How can I reset this to inches?