Can't read Russian text of Word file

[Gary Goldberg]

I was sent a Russian text by the author but all I can read are the few
words in Latin letters. I'm using Word 2004 with the latest updates.

The displayed font is Times New Roman.

How do I read it? Isn't Unicode built into this version? Normally I
don't have problems reading Russian Word files? Does the author need to
save it differently?

Regards,
Gary

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Gary:

Yes, Unicode is built in to Word 2004, but you may need to install the
Cyrillic Fonts to handle Russian.

It's entirely possible that the originator has used a non-Unicode font, of
course...

Cheers

I was sent a Russian text by the author but all I can read are the few
words in Latin letters. I'm using Word 2004 with the latest updates.

The displayed font is Times New Roman.

How do I read it? Isn't Unicode built into this version? Normally I
don't have problems reading Russian Word files? Does the author need to
save it differently?

Regards,
Gary

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Gary Goldberg]

G'day John!

Where would I find free Cyrillic fonts if not included with Word 2004?
As I said, I've been able to open Russian Word files before and I
have several fonts whose names end in CY (but not Times CY).

Could the "Times New Roman" that's displayed when I open
the file still mean that he used non-Unicode fonts?

BTW, just to help anyone's troubleshooting, the text appear as
nonsense characters, not the solid underlines that often
appear when trying to open such files. That's what I got when
I tried to open it using Word 98 on another (OS 9.1) computer.

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Gary:

Google is your friend

My understanding is that Apple provides the fonts in OS X but if you have
not installed the Eastern European languages you need to do that.

Sorry: I know almost nothing about European fonts: Little Creature might be
along in a minute, she's from that region, she may know...

Cheers

G'day John!

Where would I find free Cyrillic fonts if not included with Word 2004?
As I said, I've been able to open Russian Word files before and I
have several fonts whose names end in CY (but not Times CY).

Could the "Times New Roman" that's displayed when I open
the file still mean that he used non-Unicode fonts?

BTW, just to help anyone's troubleshooting, the text appear as
nonsense characters, not the solid underlines that often
appear when trying to open such files. That's what I got when
I tried to open it using Word 98 on another (OS 9.1) computer.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Gary Goldberg]

Thanks John, I'll wait for the Creature

Apparently I have all the fonts I should need since
I've been able to read Russian-language Word files before
and, just this morning, receive - and easily read - another
Word attachment in Russian. This was from a Russian living
in the US, who may be using an English-based OS (Mac or
Windows), as opposed to the Russian who send me the
problem file, who lives in Russia and doubtless uses
a Russianized OS.

Gary

 

[John McGhie]

Gary:

I agree: I suspect the problem document is not using Unicode fonts at all,
it is probably using a Cyrillic code-page font, and that's going to be a
problem unless you can get a copy of the font they used.

Cheers

Thanks John, I'll wait for the Creature

Apparently I have all the fonts I should need since
I've been able to read Russian-language Word files before
and, just this morning, receive - and easily read - another
Word attachment in Russian. This was from a Russian living
in the US, who may be using an English-based OS (Mac or
Windows), as opposed to the Russian who send me the
problem file, who lives in Russia and doubtless uses
a Russianized OS.

Gary

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Gary Goldberg]

Just curious, why then did was the font name given as Times New Roman?
Or was that just Word 2004 substituting a font without telling me?

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Gary:

I can't tell without looking at the document. There are many flavours of
Times New Roman, they may be using a Russian one.

Normally, Word will show the original font name, but substitute the font it
is actually using to draw the characters. So you see the correct font name
but it's actually drawing the characters from something else.

Use the compatibility checker toolbox. That will tell you if it is
substituting fonts, and what it is substituting them to.

Cheers

Just curious, why then did was the font name given as Times New Roman?
Or was that just Word 2004 substituting a font without telling me?

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]