WD: How to Obtain the Word 97 Converter

Last reviewed: February 5, 1998
Article ID: Q162214

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

In order to open a Word 97 document in an earlier version of Word (6.x and 7.x), you must use a converter. For more information about what happens when you use the converter, see the "Contents of the Wrd97cnv.doc Readme File" section of this article.

The most recent version of the converter (Wrd97cnv.exe) is available in the ValuPack folder included with the Office 97 SR-1 Enterprise Update (the CD version of SR-1).

The converter is also available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:

 ~ Wrd97cnv.exe (size: 984958 bytes) 

   This file includes a Setup program that installs either
   Msword8.cnv or Mswrd832.cnv on your computer (depending on the version
   of Windows you are running). The Setup program also installs the
   Wrd97cnv.doc Readme document.

   NOTE: Msword8.cnv is the converter for Word 6.0 for Windows.
   Mswrd832.cnv is the converter for Word 7.0 for Windows 95.

For more information about downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

If you are unable to access the file from the ValuPack folder or from the Microsoft Software Library, see the "How to Obtain This Converter" section of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

Contents of the Wrd97cnv.doc Readme File

The Microsoft Word 97 converter converts documents from Microsoft Word 97 format to Word 95, and Word 6.x for Windows or Windows NT.

For Network Install of Word 97 converter:

Type "source:\wrd97cnv.exe /A" (without quotation marks) and press ENTER, where "Source" is the directory containing Wrd97cnv.exe.
NOTE: All the files are extracted into the source directory.
Each Workstation will then need to run Setup.exe from the network server location.

Because not all Word 97 features are supported in earlier versions, Word 95 or Word 6.x users may lose data or formatting when they open Word 97 documents. The following tables describe data or formatting that may not be converted correctly.

                       Word 95 or Word 6.x
 Word 97 Feature        Conversion Issue     Comments
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Basic Use Features
 ------------------

 Embedded fonts         Not Supported        Embedded fonts are lost, and
                                             Word 95 or Word 6.x assigns
                                             the closest font available.

 Formatting Features
 -------------------

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

 Page borders          Not Supported         Page borders are lost.

 Character Shading     Not Supported         Character shading is lost.

 Character borders     Not Supported         Character borders are lost.

 Paragraph borders     Partially Supported   Paragraph borders are
                                             converted to Word 95 or Word
                                             6.x border styles.

 Animated text         Not Supported         Animated text formatting is
                                             lost.

 Embossed and          Not Supported         Embossed and engraved
 engraved character                          formatting is lost.
 formatting

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

 Floating pictures     Partially Supported   Floating pictures are
 with text wrapping                          converted in a frame to WMF
 around them                                 (Windows Metafile) or PICT
                                             (Macintosh) format.

 Floating OLE objects  Partially Supported   Floating OLE objects are
                                             converted in a frame.

 Highlighting          Partially Supported   Highlighting is preserved in
                                             Word 95 but lost in Word 6.x.

 Document Backgrounds  Not Supported         Document backgrounds are lost.

 Table Features
 --------------

 Vertically merged     Partially Supported   Merged table cells are
 table cells                                 exploded into unmerged cells.

 Vertically aligned    Partially Supported   Vertically aligned text is
 text in table cells                         reformatted so that the text
                                             aligns at the top of the cell.

 Vertical text in      Partially Supported   Vertical text is reformatted
 table cells                                 as horizontal text.

 Workgroup/Internet Features
 ---------------------------

 HYPERLINK field       Partially Supported   The result of the HYPERLINK
                                             field is retained.

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

 Password protection   Not Supported         Word 95 or Word 6.x users
 of documents                                cannot open password-protected
                                             Word 97 documents.

 Document protection   Not Supported         Document protection is lost in
 for tracked changes,                        Word 95 and Word 6.x.
 comments, and forms                         Documents can be opened
                                             without a password.

 New document          Partially Supported   New document properties are
 properties                                  preserved in Word 95 but lost
 introduced in                               in Word 6.x.
 Word 95.

 Miscellaneous Features
 ----------------------

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

 Unicode characters    Not Supported;        Unicode characters (2 bytes
                       result in potential   per character) are mapped to
                       data loss             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 Supported   The DOCPROPERTY field is
                                             retained in Word 95, but only
                                             the result of the field is
                                             retained in Word 6.x.

 Visual Basic macros    Not Supported        Macros created in Word 97
                                             Visual Basic are lost.

 AutoText entries      Not Supported         AutoText entries are lost.

 Customized menu and   Not Supported         Customized menu and toolbar
 toolbar settings                            settings are lost.

ADDITIONAL WAYS TO TO OBTAIN THIS CONVERTER

To obtain the Word 97 converter free of charge, use any one of the following methods:

Use the "Microsoft Word for Windows Supplemental Offers" coupon included in your Microsoft Office 97 or Microsoft Word 97 package.
Call the Microsoft Order Desk at (800) 360-7561. For information about purchasing products or about various Microsoft sales programs, call the Microsoft Sales Information Center at (800) 426-9400. Deaf or hard-of- hearing customers can call Microsoft Text Telephone (TT/TDD) services at (800) 892-5234.
Obtain the Microsoft Office 97 Resource Kit, available from Microsoft Press. To purchase the Resource Kit in North America, call (800) MSPRESS or (800) 677-7377. International purchases can be faxed to (425) 936-7329. Do not call the Microsoft Sales Information Center to order the kit.
NOTE: You can obtain this Microsoft Press title from any local computer bookstore or you can send in the Microsoft Office Supplemental Offers Coupon, which is included in your Microsoft Office retail package.

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

   ARTICLE-ID: Q157666
   TITLE     : Cannot Open Word 97 Documents in Word 6.0 or 7.0

   ARTICLE-ID: Q157091
   TITLE     : How to Import Word 97 Documents into Word 2.x, 6.x, 7.x

Keywords          : word8 word97 kbfile kbualink97 kbfaq
Version           : 97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbref

================================================================================

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Last reviewed: February 5, 1998
© 1998 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.