WV: How to Obtain Microsoft Word Viewers

ID: Q165908

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

Microsoft Word Viewer is a freeware program that allows users who do not own Microsoft Word to view and print documents that were created in Word. The latest version of Word Viewer can open documents created with all previous versions of Word for Windows and version 4.x and later of Microsoft Word for Macintosh.

You cannot edit an open document in Word Viewer; however, you can copy text to the Clipboard to paste it in other applications. Microsoft encourages you to distribute Word Viewer along with your Word documents to people who do not have Microsoft Word.

There are currently four versions of Microsoft Word Viewer available for download. For more information about each version, see the appropriate section later in this article.

You can also contact 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.

Word Viewer 97-2000 for Windows 95 and Windows NT

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:
Wd97vw32.exe
For more information about downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services
Word Viewer 97-2000 (which can also be used with Word 2000) is also available in the Office 97 ValuePack folder included with the Service Release 1 (SR-1) version of Office 97.

System Requirements for Word Viewer 97-2000

What's New in Microsoft Word Viewer 97-2000

Microsoft Word Viewer 97-2000 is optimized for displaying Word documents inside Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.x and later versions. If you have Netscape Navigator 2.x or later, Word Viewer Setup installs a plug-in that allows Word Viewer 97-2000 to display documents inside the Navigator window. Word Viewer 97-2000 includes the following, market-leading Microsoft Word 97 features:

Again Note: Microsoft Word 97 and Word 2000 share a common file format, so Word Viewer 97-2000 can read and display documents created in Microsoft Word 97 and Microsoft Word 2000. Microsoft Word 2000 has some advanced features that are not part of Microsoft Word 97, and these features may not appear correctly in Word Viewer 97-2000. Some examples include nested tables, text wrapping around tables, Web frame pages, and advanced Web formatting.

Installing Microsoft Word Viewer 97-2000

To obtain Word Viewer 97-2000, download Wd97vw32.exe and place it in an empty folder on your hard disk. Wd97vw32.exe is a compressed, self-extracting file. After you download Wd97vw32.exe, run it to install Word Viewer.

To install Microsoft Word Viewer 97-2000, you must have the file Wd97vw32.exe on your LAN or local hard drive. Close all other applications and ensure that you are not running any utilities or virus protection programs. In Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 or the Windows NT 3.51 File Manager, double-click the Word Viewer icon. This runs an unpack utility that extracts the Word Viewer 97-2000 distribution files and starts the Word Viewer 97-2000 Setup program. Follow these instructions to complete the installation.
  1. Word Viewer 97-2000 Setup prompts you for a folder in which to install.

    The default folder location for Word Viewer 97-2000 is \Program Files\Wordview (C:\WordView on Windows NT 3.51).


  2. After choosing the folder location for Word Viewer, click Install to install Word Viewer.


  3. If Word Viewer Setup detects Word for Windows (version 6.0 or later) on your system, it prompts you to determine which application should open Word documents by default. For example, the default application is used to open files with .doc file extensions when you double-click them in Windows 95/Windows NT 4.0 or in the Windows NT 3.51 File Manager.


Important

Choosing Open with Word means that Word is used by default to open Word files. Choosing Open with Viewer means that Word Viewer is used by default to open Word files. If you select this option, you cannot use Word as your e-mail editor or edit Word document objects. However, you can view Word document objects.

To restore Word as the default Word document handler, you must uninstall Word Viewer as described below and then start Word so that it can restore its registry information.

Word Viewer 97-2000 for Windows 16-bit Operating Systems

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:
Wdvw9716.exe
For more information about downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

System Requirements for Word Viewer 97-2000 for Windows 16-bit Operating Systems

Installing Word Viewer

To install Word Viewer 97-2000 for Windows 16-bit operating systems, you must have the file Wdvw9716.exe on your LAN or local hard drive (or one of the alternate file sets described in this document under "Distribution of Word Viewer"). Close all other applications and ensure that you are not running any utilities or virus protection programs. In Windows File Manager, double-click the Word Viewer for Windows 16-bit Operating Systems icon. This runs an unpack utility that extracts the Word Viewer 97-2000 distribution files and starts the Word Viewer 97-2000 for Windows 16-bit Operating Systems Setup program. Follow these instructions to complete the installation.
  1. Installation of Word Viewer is designed to take place from within Microsoft Windows. If Windows is not running, please start it before continuing. Make sure to close all applications first, and make sure you are not running any utilities or virus protection before proceeding. It is very important that your computer runs under a Windows 16-bit operating system in order to install this version of Word Viewer. The Setup application for Word Viewer 97-2000 for 16-bit operating systems prevents you from installing Word Viewer in a 32-bit operating system like Windows 95 or Windows NT. A 32-bit version of Word Viewer 97-2000 is also available.


  2. If you have installed Word Viewer from a prior beta, you should first uninstall that version before installing this one. For directions about uninstalling, consult the ReadMe.doc file included with the prior version of Word Viewer.


  3. Run the Setup.exe program on disk 1 of Word Viewer or the file Wdvw9716.exe if you downloaded the Word Viewer 97-2000 for Windows 16-bit operating systems from an online service.


  4. Word Viewer Setup prompts you for a folder in which to install Word Viewer, or you can accept the suggested default location. The default folder location for Word Viewer is C:\WORDVIEW.


  5. After choosing the folder location for Word Viewer, click Install to install Word Viewer for Windows 16-bit operating systems.


  6. If Word Viewer Setup detects Word for Windows version 6.x or later on your system, it prompts you to determine which application should open Word documents by default.

    Important: Choosing Open with Word means that Word is used by default to open Word files. Choosing Open with Viewer means that Word Viewer for Windows 16-bit operating systems is used by default to open Word files. If you select this option, you cannot use Word as your e-mail editor or edit Word document objects.

    To restore Word as the default Word document handler, you must uninstall Word Viewer 97-2000 for Windows 16-bit operating systems and reinstall Word so that it can restore its document handling information.


  7. To run Word Viewer 97-2000 for Windows 16-bit operating systems, in File Manager, double-click the WordView.exe file, or create an icon in Program Manager for Word Viewer.


Word Viewer Version 7.1 for Windows 95 and Windows NT

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:
Wd95vw71.exe
For more information about downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

System Requirements for Using Word Viewer

Installing Microsoft Word Viewer

Word Viewer for Windows 95 is available on the CD-ROM version of Windows. (It is not distributed on the Windows 95 floppy disks.) On the CD-ROM, Word Viewer is located in the Other\Wordview folder.

Read the Install.txt file, and then run Setup.exe to install Word Viewer. Note that Setup must install Word Viewer into a different folder than the one where you extracted the files. Setup proposes "Program Files\Wordview" as the default location on Windows 95 (C:\WordView on Windows NT 3.51).

If Word Viewer Setup detects Word for Windows (version 6.0 or later) on your computer, it prompts you to determine which application should open Word documents by default. For example, the default program is used to open files with .doc or .dot file extensions when they are double-clicked in the Windows 95 shell or Windows 95 Explorer. If you choose Open with Word, Word for Windows is used by default to open Word files. If you choose Open with Viewer, Word Viewer is used by default to open Word files.

NOTE: If you choose Open with Viewer and you later want to restore Word for Windows as the default program for Word documents, you must run the Word for Windows (or Office for Windows) Setup program again and choose Reinstall.

After Word Viewer is installed, you can delete the folder you ran Setup from. However, if you plan to distribute Word Viewer, either online or on floppy disks, you need the files in the original folder.

Word Viewer Version 6 for 16-bit Operating Systems

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:
Wordvu.exeWordvu.txt
For more information about downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

System Requirements for Using Word Viewer 6 for 16-Bit Operating Systems

Installing Microsoft Word Viewer

To obtain Word Viewer, download Wordvu.exe into an empty directory. Wordvu.exe is a compressed, self-extracting file. After you download Wordvu.exe, run it to extract the files it contains. Read the Install.txt, and then run Wv.exe to decompress and set up Word Viewer files.


MORE INFORMATION

Troubleshooting

If you have installed Microsoft Word Viewer but are observing unusual behavior, reinstall it by using the appropriate method for your operating system.

Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0 or later:
  1. Click the Start button, point to Control Panel, and double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.


  2. Click the Install/Uninstall tab.


  3. Double-click Microsoft Word Viewer, and follow the directions that appear.


Windows 3.1 or Windows NT 3.51:

  1. Go to directory where Word Viewer was installed.


  2. Run the file Setup.exe.


In all cases, Setup displays a dialog box with a Reinstall button to restore any missing files or settings. Click this button to start the reinstallation.

Uninstalling Word Viewer

To remove Word Viewer from your system, start Word Viewer Setup as described above and then click Remove All. After the uninstall is complete, start Word to restore its settings.

Additional query words: 7.0 obtain how8.0 8.0 


Keywords          : kbfile kbualink97 kbdta 
Version           : WINDOWS:
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: July 21, 1999