Converters Not Available After Installing Word 6.0 for the Mac

ID: q125409

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, version 6.0

SYMPTOMS

Several converters that are either included with Word or available on the Word 6.0 Supplemental Conversions Disk may not be registered correctly in Word following setup, resulting in the following:

The file formats supported by each converter do not appear on the file type list in Word's Open and Save As dialog boxes.
If you try to open a file from a format supported by one of these converters, Word will prompt to open the file as Text Only.

The affected converters supplied with Word include:

Microsoft Excel 3.x through 5.x
Works 4.0 for the Macintosh

The affected supplemental converters include:

Word 3.x through 6.0 for MS-DOS
Works 2.x through 3.x for the Macintosh
Word 1.x for Windows
MacWrite II
WordPerfect 2.x-3.x for the Macintosh

CAUSE

This behavior may occur for one of the following reasons:

The Excel 3.x-5.x and Works 4.0 for the Macintosh converters supplied with Word require OLE 2.0 support to be installed to function.
In order for the file formats supported by these converters to appear in the Save As and Open dialog boxes in Word, an entry that tells Word these converters require OLE support in order to read OLE 2.0 Docfile format must be set as an extended attribute in the Registration Database in the System:Preferences folder. Word Setup currently does not set this extended attribute.
Supplemental converters copied to the Word Extensions or Microsoft folder are not automatically registered in the Registration Database.

STATUS

We are researching this problem and will post new information here in the Microsoft Knowledge Base as it becomes available.

RESOLUTIONS

Method 1: Word automatically registers any noninstalled converter only

          during the first File Open in a Word session. To trigger
          autoregistration, you must choose to open a document that Word
          cannot automatically recognize (for example, a plain text file).
          Therefore, to autoinstall all converters:

          a. Quit and restart Word 6.0.

          b. Type a single letter (for example, "A"), save as Text Only,
             and close the document.

          c. From the File menu, choose Open, specify the name of the text
             file created in step b, select the Confirm Conversions option,
             and then choose the Open button.

Method 2: Converters can also be registered independently of Word. To do

          this, complete the following steps:

          a. Quit Word if it is running.

          b. Open the Word Extensions Folder in your Word folder.

          c. While holding down the SHIFT key, click once on the name of
             each converter you want to register. The names of the
             converters you have selected will be highlighted.

          d. Double-click the mouse or track-ball button on your
             Macintosh.

In either case, all converters will now be registered and will appear for use in Word.

If a converter is still not registered after following the methods above, an extension could be interfering with the automatic registration process. Restart the Macintosh with extensions off and again try one of the methods above to register the converters.

MORE INFORMATION

Double-clicking a native Word document to start Word does not constitute the first File Open in a Word session and does not initiate converter autoregistration.

Word 6.0 documents are based on the OLE 2.0 Docfile specification.

KBCategory: kbinterop kbsetup KBSubcategory: Additional reference words: 6.00 macword textconv word6 conversion convert converts converted converting translation translate translates translated translating transfer transfers transferred transferring autoinstall auto install auto installation automatic installation automatically install registry register auto register not registered

Last Reviewed: August 22, 1996