BUG: You receive a "The document may be in the incorrect format" error message when you try to restore AutoCorrect entries in Word (275322)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 2002
  • Microsoft Word 2000
  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
This article was previously published under Q275322

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to restore your AutoCorrect entries by using the AutoCorrect utility, you may receive one or more of the following error messages:
There was an error. The document may be in the incorrect format.
5488 Unable to add because AutoCorrect entry is too long. <text of the AutoCorrect entry appears here>

-or-

There was an error. The document may be in the incorrect format.
5484 AutoCorrect entries cannot be blank. <text of the AutoCorrect entry appears here>

-or-

There was an error. The document may be in the incorrect format.
5491 AutoCorrect cannot replace text which contains a space character. Please remove the space, or replace it with something else.
|
After you click OK, only part of the AutoCorrect entry that you wanted to restore is actually restored.

CAUSE

This problem can occur when the AutoCorrect entry that you want to restore consists of several paragraphs. When the AutoCorrect entry was backed up, the second and remaining paragraphs of the AutoCorrect entry were separated incorrectly in the table structure of the AutoCorrect backup file.

An incorrectly saved AutoCorrect backup file may appear similar to the following example, for an AutoCorrect entry that consists of more than one paragraph.

Name Value RTF
Myquote The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.  
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.    
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. True  

WORKAROUND

To prevent this problem when you have an AutoCorrect entry that consists of several paragraphs, follow these steps before you restore your AutoCorrect entries:
  1. Open the AutoCorrect backup file in Word. By default, the AutoCorrect backup file is named AutoCorrect Backup Document.doc and is saved in the My Documents folder. However, the location may vary on your system or if you saved the file to a different location (for example, a floppy disk).
  2. Find the AutoCorrect entry in the table that is similar to the example in the "Cause" section of this article, and modify the entry so that all of the text is contained within the same table cell, as in the following example.

    Name Value RTF
    Myquote The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
    The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
    The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.    		 False
         
         
  3. After you rearrange the AutoCorrect text into the correct table cell, several blank table rows may remain. Delete these blank table rows. To delete the table rows, follow these steps:
    1. Click into any table cell contained in the blank table row.
    2. On the Table menu, point to Select and then click Row.
    3. On the Table menu, point to Delete and then click Rows.
    Repeat steps a through c for each blank table row that remains in the AutoCorrect backup file.
NOTE: If you do not delete the blank rows, Word displays a 5941 error message similar to the error message listed in the "Symptoms" section of this article when you restore your AutoCorrect backup file.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

The AutoCorrect utility creates a document that contains a three-column, multiple-row table to back up AutoCorrect entries. The three columns are titled Name, Value, and RTF.

The Name column contains the name of the entry (for example, abbout).

The Value column contains the actual text that you want (for example, about).

The RTF column contains either a True or a False entry. The only time this column should be True is if the Value is in the Symbol or Wingdings font.

If all of your AutoCorrect entries are in the AutoCorrect Backup Document.doc document but are not in the correct format, the best method to restore the entries is to change the document to conform to the correct format for the utility.

REFERENCES

For additional information about the AutoCorrect Utility, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

289506 HOW TO: Install and Use the Support.dot Template in Microsoft Word 2002

237356 WD2000: How to Access Sample Macros for Word 2000

162490 WD97: How to Access Sample Macros for Word 97

For additional information about moving AutoCorrect entries between computers, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

269006 WD2002: How to Move AutoCorrect Entries Between Computers

207748 WD2000: How to Move Word AutoCorrect Entries Between Computers

186237 WD97: How to Move AutoCorrect Entries Between Computers

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/27/2006
Keywords:kbtshoot kbBackup kberrmsg kbinfo kbbug kbnofix KB275322
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