WD97: Linked Picture Missing When Word 6.0/95 Document Reopened (173501)

SYMPTOMS

In Word 97, when you open, print or print preview a document that you have saved as "Word 6.0/95 (*.doc)," linked pictures may not be displayed or printed.

-or-

In Word 6/95, when you open, print or print preview a document that you have saved in Word 97 as a "Word 6.0/95 (*.doc)," linked pictures may not be displayed or printed.

This problem occurs when both of the following conditions are true when you insert the picture in Word 97:

You clicked to select the Link To File check box.

-and-
You clicked to clear the Save With Document and Float Over Text check boxes.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, use any of the following methods.

Method 1: Save Your Document in a Different Format

You can either update only the IncludePicture fields in your document, or update all fields. Use the appropriate method for your situation.

To Update IncludePicture Fields Only:
1. Press ALT+F9 to show the fields in the document.
2. For each IncludePicture field, click to select the field, and then press F9 to update the field.
3. Press ALT+F9 to hide the fields in the document.
NOTE: Your linked picture will now show in your document, when you Print Preview, and when you print the document.

To Update All Fields:
1. On the Edit menu, click Select All.
2. Press F9 to update all fields.
On the File menu, click Save As and save your document in a format other than the "Word 6.0/95 (*.doc)" format.

Method 2: Save As a Word 97 Document

In Word 97, save your document containing the linked picture as a Word 97 Document. To do this, click Save As on the File menu, and click Word Document in the Save As Type box.

To open the Word 97 document in Microsoft Word 6.0 or Microsoft Word for Windows 95 version 7.0, install the Word 97 converter.

For additional information about how to obtain the Word 97 converter for Word 6.0 or Word 7.0, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

162214 WD: How to Obtain the Word 97 Converter

Method 3: Select "Float over text"

Repeat step 1 of method 1 to update the IncludePicture fields in your document.
Right-click the linked picture, and then click Format Picture on the shortcut menu.
Click the Position tab.
Click to select the Float Over Text check box, and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Save As, and save your document in "Word 6.0/95 (*.doc)" format.
On the File menu, click Close.
On the File menu, click Open, and reopen your document. The linked pictures are now displayed.

Method 4: Insert Picture into Frame

For information about how to use frames in the Word 97, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

159942 General Information About Text Boxes and Frames in Word 97

For additional information, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

161692 WD97: Problems With Float Over Text Objects

157465 WD97: Can't See Field Codes for Some Objects

MORE INFORMATION

When you insert a picture in a Word document, if you select the Link To File check box and clear the Save With Document and Float Over Text check boxes, Word does not save any information about the picture, such as size and preview information. Instead, information about the picture comes from its source file. The location of the linked picture is stored in the IncludePicture field, and the path to the picture can be seen by pressing ALT+F9 to show the field codes.

When you save a Word 97 document containing a linked picture as "Word 6.0/95 (*.doc)" format, the Word 6.0/95 converter does not correctly save the preview information for the picture. Therefore, when you close and reopen the Word 6.0/95 document in Word 97 (or open in Word 6 / 95), the linked picture appears to be missing.

Also when you update the IncludePicture field(s) the picture will revert back to the original size of the source file.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

171684 WD97: Differences Between RTF and Binary Export Converter