Converting office 97 files to office 2003

[drewy]

I'm currently upgrading numerous files to office 2003. I was wondering what
was the best way to convert these files.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

No conversion should be required. Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003 all use the
same file format.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If you save without specifying a different file format, yes, it will be
saved as a Word 2003 document, which should be essentially the same as one
created from scratch. You will still be able to open it in Word 97, but if
you want to be sure that a Word 2003 document can be opened by Word 97
*without any changes*, check the box for "Disable features introduced after
Word 97" on the Save tab of Tools | Options. This will prevent you from
using any of the new whizbang formatting features introduced in more recent
versions.

So if I were to open a Word 97 doc with Word 2003 and save it does it

now have all the attributes of a Word 2003 doc? Also would this be the as
same creating a new Word 2003 doc?

 

[Beth Melton]

As Suzanne explained, the file format has not changed since Word 97 however new features were introduced and the behavior of various features, such as tables, were changed.

If you want the Word 97 document to have the same attributes and behavior as a new Word 2003 document then you will need to go to Tools/Options/Compatibility and set the Recommended to Word 2003.

--
Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup. Email requests for assistance can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~
Beth Melton

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/