Check whether this peace of code solves your problem:

Local loWordApp AS Word.Application
loWordApp = CREATEOBJECT('Word.Application')
loWordApp.Visible = .T.
loWordApp.Documents.Add
loWordApp.ActiveDocument.PageSetup.TextColumns.Add(;
loWordApp.CentimetersToPoints(7), ;
loWordApp.CentimetersToPoints(1), ;
.f.)

>In our company we are using a dutsch version of Windows XP and Office XP. We're using the 'Word Application' object. When we set the Width property to 7 we get an ole error code : 'Width' is not a by reference property. When we raise the width to 8 or higher we don't get the error.
>
>A customer of our company uses a American version of Win XP and Office XP. They get the error always, no mather the entered width. If we enter 80 no error occurs.
>
>Does anyone know what the problem is? We think the measure-unit in Windows is bugging us...

HTH