Save As Command Does Not Change the File Extension in WinWord

ID: Q37820

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.1a, 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

In Microsoft Word for Windows, if you have a document in normal Word for Windows format with a .DOC extension and you save it as a text file, Word does not change the extension to .TXT. Also, if you save a normal document with the Document Template format, the file extension does not change to .DOT.

Attempting to save a document as a text file when it has previously been saved in another format using the same name results in the following error message:

Word for Windows Versions 2.x

   You cannot save an open document in another format to the same
   location.

Word for Windows Version 1.x

   Cannot write foreign format over open document.

Version           : 1.x 2.x 6.0 6.0a 6.0c
Platform          : WINDOWS

Last Reviewed: July 30, 1997