Avoiding Compatibility Problems

If you commonly exchange Word documents with people who use other versions of Word, or other word processors in general, one of your first concerns is file compatibility.

Using Different Word File Formats

The default file format for documents you create with Word 2002 is fully compatible with Word 97 and Word 2000, although there are some minor differences. For example, if you create a nested table in Word 2002, and then open it in Word 97, the nested table is gone. The data's still there—in a single cell, with paragraph marks after each item that had been in its own cell—but if you make any sort of change to the document in Word 97 and save it, the nested table won't reappear in Word 2002, either.

In general, if you and your coworkers all use Word 2002, 2000, or 97, there should be just a few minor file compatibility problems. If you share documents with Word 6 or 95 users, compatibility concerns are a bit more serious. Here's a list of the most common problems:

• Side-by-side tables, diagonal lines in cells, and text that wraps around graphics in table cells (features in Word 2002 and 2000) won't be visible when you open a document in Word 97.

• Word 97 doesn't support 24-bit colors in borders and shading, or WordArt as bullets.

• Word 95 and Word 6.0 (the version in Office 4.x) use a file format that is dramatically different. It doesn't compress graphics well, so a graphics-laden document in Word 6/95 can be nearly twice the size of a similar file in Word 97/2000/2002.

• Word 6/95 documents are limited to 32MB in size; Word 97/2000/2002 files have no such artificial restriction.

• The Word 6.0/95 file format does not support any of the following features in Word 97/2000/2002: page borders, character shading, multilevel bullets, embedded fonts, animated text, versions, and Unicode characters. It also fails to recognize some types of merged table cells, paragraph and text borders, underscores, hyperlinking, tracked changes/revisions, drawings, and text wrapping around pictures.

In addition, passwords are lost in the transition to Word 6.0/95 format. To password protect a Word 97/2000/2002 document that's been saved in Word 6.0/95 format, you have to open the saved document in Word 6.0 or 95, and save it with password protection (File, Save As, Options).

Strategies for Mixed Word Environments

It's common, especially in large companies, to have working environments where significant numbers of people are using different versions of Word. This causes a number of problems:

• Word 6.0/95 users cannot open Word 97/2000/2002 files, unless they have a specific filter.

• If a Word 6.0/95 user installs the filter, opens a Word 97/2000/2002 document, and subsequently saves it, Word drops all the Word 97/2000/2002 features.

• Word 97/2000/2002 users might open Word 6.0/95 documents and unwittingly save them in Word 97/2000/2002 format, which can make the file inaccessible to Word 6.0/95 users (unless they have installed the import filter described later).

If some members of your workgroup use Word 95 or Word 6.0, you have two choices to reduce compatibility problems:

• Users of Word 97, 2000, and 2002 can save documents in Word 6.0/95 format. That means everyone in the workgroup will be able to open and work with the files, but you lose all the Word 97/2000/2002-specific features.

• Users of Word 6.0 or Word 95 can install an import filter to allow them to open and work on Word 97/2000/2002 files. But as soon as the Word 6.0/95 user edits and saves the file, all the Word 97/2000/2002-specific features disappear.

Changing the Default Document Format

To change the default document format for Word 97, 2000, or 2002 to Word 6.0/Word 95 format, choose Tools, Options, and click the Save tab. In the Save Word Files As box, choose Word 6.0/95 (*.doc).

In Word 2000 and 2002, every time you save a document, Word scans the document to see what features will be lost (see Figure 14.1). Click Continue to save in Word 6.0/95 format.

Is the standard word processor in your company something other than Word 2000 or 2002? If most of the people in your office use Word 95, and you save files in Word 95 format even though you're using Word 97, you can force Word 2002 to behave like Word 95. In fact, if most of the people you exchange files with use WordPerfect, other early versions of Word for Windows and MS-DOS, or Word for the Macintosh, you can make Word 2002 change how it displays your document, so it looks more like how it will appear with other word processors. To do so, choose Tools, Options, Compatibility, and select the other word processor in the Recommended Options For box.

Installing the Word 97/2000/2002 Import Filter for Word 6.0/95 Users

To install the Word 97/2000/2002 import filter so Word 6.0/95 users can open and edit files you create in Word 97/2000/2002 format, copy the Wrd97cnv.exe file (for Windows 3.x users) or Wdcnv97.exe (for other versions of Windows) from Microsoft's Office Update Web site (http://officeupdate.microsoft.com) to a temporary folder on the machine using Word 6.0 or Word 95. When you run Wrd97cnv.exe, it automatically detects the version of Word in use, installs the proper filter, and makes necessary adjustments to the Windows Registry. Using this filter, Word 6.0 and Word 95 users can open Word 97, 2000, or 2002 documents directly (although, as noted earlier, they can't save in Word 97/2000/2002 format).

Exporting Documents in Other Formats

Word 2002 contains dozens of export filters, which enable you to save Word 2002 documents in other file formats. To change the format of a file, choose File, Save As, and pick the format in the Save as Type box. Most of the file format descriptions are self-explanatory; see Table 14.1 for a list of those that aren't as easily understood.

Table 14.1. Save As File Formats

Format	Meaning
Rich Text Format (*.rtf)	A general-purpose format that generally retains all formatting. Can be read by many programs.
Plain Text (*.txt)	Straight text with no formatting, using the ANSI character set. Section breaks and page breaks convert to paragraph marks (that is, carriage return/line feeds). The "lowest common denominator" format.
Text with Layout (*.ans)	Same as Plain Text, but also places a paragraph mark at the end of every line, and inserts spaces to approximate indents and tabs.
MS-DOS Text with Layout(*.asc)	Same as Text with Layout, but uses the extended ASCII character set (which contains a few characters not in the ANSI character set).
Word 6.0/95 (*.doc)	Save in Word 6.0/95 format. (Actually, it's in Word 95 format, because there are slight differences between Word 6 and Word 95 formats; for example, highlighting doesn't appear in Word 6.)
Word 97-2000 & 6.0/95 – RTF (*.doc)	When you save in this format, Word actually saves the file in Rich Text Format (see first entry in this table), but it places a *.doc filename extension on the file.
Web Archive (*.mht, *.mhtml)	Saves all the components of a Web page, including text and graphics, in one HTML file.
Web Page, Filtered (*.htm, *.html)	Saves the document as an HTML file, with most HTML tags removed. If you save a document in standard HTML format, you'll be able to open the HTML file and edit it normally in Word (the so-called "round trip" feature). If you save in this special, trimmed format, the file will be much smaller and less complex, but you lose the round-trip feature: open a filtered HTML file in Word and many Word features (for example, bulleted lists) are lost.

To remove extraneous export filters from the list, use the Office 2002 CD-ROM to uninstall the ones you don't need.

→ For details on how to remove features after installing Office, see "Adding and Removing Office Features".

Strategies for Non-Word Environments

If you want to exchange documents with people who use other word processors, you have several options:

• Save your files in a format the other person can open. Although few word processors read Word 97/2000/2002 format documents directly, many can handle RTF or WordPerfect 5.0 format.

• Use a third-party format-conversion routine. There are several on the Web. WordPort has a free evaluation version available at http://www.fileconverter.com.

• Have your correspondent use a Word 97 document file viewer. Although he won't be able to make changes to the document, he will be able to see it as you intended. There's a free viewer available from the Microsoft Web site, http://www.microsoft.com. See Knowledge Base article Q165908 for a detailed description of platforms and installation instructions.