WD98: Limitations Converting Documents from Word 98 to 6.0/95 (189566)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition

This article was previously published under Q189566

SUMMARY

This article provides information about what happens when you convert a Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition document to Word 6.x for the Macintosh or Word 7.0 for Windows 95.

MORE INFORMATION

The following table identifies the Word 98 features that are supported, not supported, or are partially supported in converted documents.
                       Supported/ 
   Word 98 feature     Not supported     Comments
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Embedded fonts      Not supported     Embedded fonts are lost, and Word
                                         7.x or Word 6.x assigns the
                                         closest font available.

   Outline and         Not supported     Outline numbered lists and heading
   heading numbered                      numbered lists are converted to
   lists                                 regular text but retain their
                                         appearance.

   Multilevel bullets  Not supported     Multilevel bullets are converted
                                         to regular text but retain their
                                         appearance.

   Arrow Styles        Not Supported     Arrow styles for lines are lost.

   Page borders        Not supported     Page borders are not converted.

   Character shading   Not supported     Character shading is lost.

   Character borders   Not supported     Character borders are lost.

   Paragraph borders   Not supported     Paragraph borders and shading are
                                         lost.

   Animated text       Not supported     Animated text formatting is lost.

   Embossed and        Not supported     Embossed and engraved character
   engraved                              formatting is lost.
   characters

   EMF, PNG, and       Supported         Graphics are saved in applicable
   JPEG graphics                         EMF, PNG, or JPEG formats and are
                                         converted to WMF (Windows
                                         Metafile) or PICT (Macintosh)
                                         format.

   Grouped Drawing     Partially         Grouped drawing objects become
   objects             supported         a single box, unable to ungroup

   Floating pictures   Not supported     Floating pictures are converted in
   with text wrapping                    a frame to WMF (Windows Metafile)
   around them                           or PICT (Macintosh) format.

   Floating OLE        Not supported     Floating OLE objects are converted
   objects                               to text boxes.

   Highlighting        Partially         Highlighting is preserved in Word
                       supported         7.0 for Windows but lost in Word
                                         6.x for the Macintosh.

   Vertically merged   Not supported     Merged table cells are expanded
   table cells                           into unmerged cells.

   Vertically split    Partially         Vertically split cells in a row
   table cells         supported         are converted to separate rows.
                                         The table remains uniform.

   Vertically aligned  Not supported     Vertically aligned text is
   text in table                         reformatted so that the text
   cells                                 is aligned at the top of the cell.

   Vertical text in    Not supported     Vertical text is reformatted as
   table cells                           horizontal text.

   HYPERLINK field     Partially         The last value of the HYPERLINK
                       supported         field is retained.

                                         NOTE: Relative links may be lost.

   Tracked changes     Not supported     Tracked changes for properties,
   for properties,                       paragraph numbers, and display
   paragraph numbers,                    fields are lost, but other
   and display fields                    tracked changes are retained.

   Password            Not supported     All document protection is lost.
   protection of
   documents

   Document            Not supported     All document protection is lost.
   protection for
   tracked changes,
   comments, and
   forms

   New document        Partially         New document properties are
   properties          supported         preserved in Word 7.0 (Windows)
   introduced                            but are lost in Word 6.x for
   in Word 98                            Macintosh.

   ActiveX controls    Partially         ActiveX controls can be used but
   on forms            supported         not modified.

   Unicode characters  Not supported     Result in potential data loss.
                                         Unicode characters (2 bytes per
                                         character) are mapped to
                                         corresponding ANSI (Windows) or
                                         Macintosh equivalents (1 byte per
                                         character) or converted to
                                         question marks (?). Foreign
                                         language characters are the most
                                         likely to be affected.

   DOCPROPERTY field   Partially         The DOCPROPERTY field is retained
                       supported         in Word 7.0, but only the most
                                         recent value of the field is
                                         retained in Word 6.x.

   Visual Basic        Not supported     Macros created in Word 98 Visual
   macros                                Basic are lost.
				

Cannot Edit a Word Document Embedded Object in Word 7.0 for Windows 95

In Word 98, if you insert a Word document as an embedded object, save the document in the Word 6.x/95 format or Rich Text Format, and then open the document in Word 6.x or Word 7.0 for Windows 95, you may receive the following error message when you double-click the object to edit it:
Word cannot edit the object
This problem occurs because when you save the document created in Word 98 in the Word 6.x/95 format or Rich Text Format, the embedded object is not saved as a Word 95 document object. To edit the object, you must have Word 98 installed on your computer.

This problem can occur with any OLE object, including objects created in Word 98 documents. To see a list of OLE server programs (object types) installed on your computer, view the list in the Object dialog box (click Object on the Insert menu).

For more information about Word conversions, click Contents And Index on the Help menu (or on the Balloon Help menu if you are using a version of the Macintosh operating system earlier than 8.0), click the Index button in Word Help, type the following text

converting files, different versions of Word

and then click Show Topics. Select the "What happens when I save a Word 98 document" topic, or the "Share documents created in Word 98 and earlier" topic, and click Go To. If you are unable to find the information you need, ask the Office Assistant.

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:10/29/2004
Keywords:kbconversion kbinfo KB189566