Compatibility Mode (Word 2008)

[spem54]

Could someone please explain me what Compatibility Mode is? Everytime
I open an old doc file I get this label on the title of the document.
THX

 

[Michel Bintener]

The native file format used by Word 2008 is .docx, and any .doc file is
displayed in a compatibility mode since it is *not* in the native file
format. Don't worry about that, though; the old .doc will keep working just
as well in Word 2008. The "Compatibility Mode" message is just an optical
nuisance and not a warning message of any kind.

Could someone please explain me what Compatibility Mode is? Everytime
I open an old doc file I get this label on the title of the document.
THX

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:Mac (Entourage & Word)

*** Please always reply to the newsgroup. ***

 

[spem54]

Thank you for clarifying this. I am learning slowly. Office 2008 seems
to have problems but with the help of the community we may easy the
transition. Thanks.

 

[CyberTaz]

My take is a little different than Michel's

Keeping in mind that there are a number of features available in 2008
(.docx) which can't be supported in the older formats the Compatibility Mode
notices is a reminder that if you use those features in the .doc it will
have to be saved in .docx to retain those changes. Otherwise those changes
will be converted to something supported by the prior format or will be
stripped out altogether. It depends on what features are used as to what the
net effect will be if you continue to save in the older format. The most
noticeable are any of the 2008 raphic effects which rely on the new Escher
graphics engine.

 

[Michel Bintener]

My take is a little different than Michel's

Keeping in mind that there are a number of features available in 2008
(.docx) which can't be supported in the older formats the Compatibility Mode
notices is a reminder that if you use those features in the .doc it will
have to be saved in .docx to retain those changes. Otherwise those changes
will be converted to something supported by the prior format or will be
stripped out altogether. It depends on what features are used as to what the
net effect will be if you continue to save in the older format. The most
noticeable are any of the 2008 raphic effects which rely on the new Escher
graphics engine.

Hi Bob,

I don't seem to be able to use any of the new features which make use of
Escher 2.0 when I'm in Compatibility Mode. I can't insert any charts, nor
can I insert SmartArt graphics, and if I insert a picture, I can only apply
the same basic formatting that is also available in Word 2004. In that
sense, the "Compatibility Mode" message only states the obvious, since none
of these new features are actually available in that mode, and I can find
that out the moment I try to use them. In my opinion, a better solution
would be to run a "Compatibility Mode" message across the Elements Gallery
when the user is trying to access these features in a traditional .doc
document.

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:Mac (Entourage & Word)

*** Please always reply to the newsgroup. ***

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Bob,

I don't seem to be able to use any of the new features which make use of
Escher 2.0 when I'm in Compatibility Mode. I can't insert any charts, nor
can I insert SmartArt graphics, and if I insert a picture, I can only
apply
the same basic formatting that is also available in Word 2004. In that
sense, the "Compatibility Mode" message only states the obvious, since
none
of these new features are actually available in that mode, and I can find
that out the moment I try to use them. In my opinion, a better solution
would be to run a "Compatibility Mode" message across the Elements Gallery
when the user is trying to access these features in a traditional .doc
document.

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:Mac (Entourage & Word)

*** Please always reply to the newsgroup. ***

Hi Michel -

Yeah.... I may not have phrased that the way I meant it:-} Your description
is a bit more accurrate - I intended to more clearly say that certain
feaures can't be used unless you save as a docx. Bad wording on my part. It
appears that I was heading in the direction of what happens if you start off
in docx & save in97/2003 - not a very smooth segue, huh?!!

I think the rationalle behind the reminder is that many people may not even
know whether they've opened a doc or docx & if the features aren't available
it may give the impression that there is a more serious problem than just
file format compatibility.... not that "Compatibility Mode" makes it all
that clear, but at least it's one more 'visual indicator' of the
circumstances.

 

[spem54]

Thank you very much on your replies. Because not many have the new
Word, I would stick to open and save .doc files. This seems to be
safe, for now. So I will see for a long period the name of the file
with the Compatibility mode attached. Fine. How would I transform
this .doc file in a .docx file [no Compatibility mode attached] while
keeping a backup of it?
Have a nice day. THX

 

[Michel Bintener]

Simply click on File>Save As and choose the new file format from the
dropdown list. That way, you will end up with two documents, though, and you
will have to remember to perform another "save as" to resave it in the old
document format when you want to pass it on to other users.

Thank you very much on your replies. Because not many have the new
Word, I would stick to open and save .doc files. This seems to be
safe, for now. So I will see for a long period the name of the file
with the Compatibility mode attached. Fine. How would I transform
this .doc file in a .docx file [no Compatibility mode attached] while
keeping a backup of it?
Have a nice day. THX

Hi Michel -

Yeah.... I may not have phrased that the way I meant it:-} Your description
is a bit more accurrate - I intended to more clearly say that certain
feaures can't be used unless you save as a docx. Bad wording on my part. It
appears that I was heading in the direction of what happens if you start off
in docx & save in97/2003 - not a very smooth segue, huh?!!

I think the rationalle behind the reminder is that many people may not even
know whether they've opened a doc or docx & if the features aren't available
it may give the impression that there is a more serious problem than just
file format compatibility.... not that "Compatibility Mode" makes it all
that clear, but at least it's one more 'visual indicator' of the
circumstances.

--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:Mac (Entourage & Word)

*** Please always reply to the newsgroup. ***

 

[John McGhie]

Actually, I would strongly suggest that you do it the other way round.
Convert immediately to the new .docx format for everything you touch.

The new format is very very much more robust than the old one. It is also
about a quarter the size on disk.

You can safely send the new format to ANYONE. If they do not have the
converter for it, they can quickly get it, and it's free. On the PC, their
copy of Office will go out and get it automatically (and on the Mac too, if
they have enabled Office AutoUpdate).

Go up to the new format now, and stay there. Your documents will be much
more reliable, and anyone else can get the converter if they do not have the
latest version of Office.

Cheers

Thank you very much on your replies. Because not many have the new
Word, I would stick to open and save .doc files. This seems to be
safe, for now. So I will see for a long period the name of the file
with the Compatibility mode attached. Fine. How would I transform
this .doc file in a .docx file [no Compatibility mode attached] while
keeping a backup of it?
Have a nice day. THX

Hi Michel -

Yeah.... I may not have phrased that the way I meant it:-} Your description
is a bit more accurrate - I intended to more clearly say that certain
feaures can't be used unless you save as a docx. Bad wording on my part. It
appears that I was heading in the direction of what happens if you start off
in docx & save in97/2003 - not a very smooth segue, huh?!!

I think the rationalle behind the reminder is that many people may not even
know whether they've opened a doc or docx & if the features aren't available
it may give the impression that there is a more serious problem than just
file format compatibility.... not that "Compatibility Mode" makes it all
that clear, but at least it's one more 'visual indicator' of the
circumstances.

--
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]

 

[jamesdouglasallen]

When ever I "Save As"

It says there is 1 compatibility issue.

I run the compatibility Report and it says: Word 95/6.0 compatibility options are set.

It keeps saying this. Over and over. Even though in the Compatibility preferences, Microsoft Word 2000-2004 and X is showing for "Recommended options for:"

 

[John McGhie]

Yes, go to Preferences>Compatibility and change the options for that
document to "Word 2007, 2008 Recommended".

It is complaining that you are formatting the document for Word 6 on the
PC, which is an Old Windows/DOS product that is long dead. You will get
much nicer typography if you allow that document to come forward a few years


Note: This may be because the document is actually IN the old Word 6
format. Just check to see which format you are saving it in...

Word 6/95 and Word 97/2004 both had the .doc extension, but internally one
is eight-bit ANSI, the other is 16-bit Unicode.

Hope this helps

When ever I "Save As"

It says there is 1 compatibility issue.

I run the compatibility Report and it says: Word 95/6.0 compatibility options
are set.

It keeps saying this. Over and over. Even though in the Compatibility
preferences, Microsoft Word 2000-2004 and X is showing for "Recommended
options for:"

--
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]

 

[Maggi Fuller]

What is the point of my upgrade to Office for Mac 2008, if I have to use Word in compatibility mode for any work I do from home, that will be 'compatible' with my work PC (Office 2003)? Running Word in this mode on my Intel Mac Pro, seems buggy & slow, no different to my previous XP version!

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Maggi -

There's no more reason to be upset than if you were still using a Windows
system & "upgraded" to Office 2007 - it has nothing to do with Mac Office
2008, the net result would be the same. Even so there may be a bit of a
misunderstanding. If your system at work has been appropriately updated,
Office 2003 programs are equipped with converters that allow them to open &
revise documents saved by 2007/2008 in the OOXML file format. The important
point is that the latest versions of Office (PC & Mac) include features that
are not supported in the earlier versions of the software... Hence the
[Compatibility Mode] when working in a file saved in the 97-2004 format. All
that means is that you are prevented from using certain features (primarily
graphics tools) that can't be effectively dealt with when the document is
reopened by one of the prior versions. But if the documents, themselves,
need to be "at home" primarily in a 97-2004 envirnment there's no point to
using those features or saving the files in the OOXML format.

Your second issue - performance - really has nothing to do with
Compatibility Mode. That, unfortunately, is a very real problem in itself
which MacBU is working very hard to improve upon. Make sure you have the
12.0.1 update applied which should alleviate the slowness somewhat. Better
performance (speed) should be forthcoming with the Service Pack that's now
being tested, and many of the "bugs" should be fixed as well.

If you have any specific concerns that you percieve as "bugs" please don't
hesitate to post back individually with descriptive detail on each one -
perhaps someone can offer an explanation, correction, or workaround.

 

[Maggi Fuller]

...........Your second issue - performance - really has nothing to do with

Compatibility Mode. That, unfortunately, is a very real problem in itself
which MacBU is working very hard to improve upon. Make sure you have the
12.0.1 update applied which should alleviate the slowness somewhat. Better
performance (speed) should be forthcoming with the Service Pack that's now
being tested, and many of the "bugs" should be fixed as well.

If you have any specific concerns that you percieve as "bugs" please don't
hesitate to post back individually with descriptive detail on each one -
perhaps someone can offer an explanation, correction, or workaround.

Thanks Bob,

Re the performance issue, Update 12.0.1? Are we still talking about Office 2008 here?

I am sure I have all the latest auto updates available to date, both for Office 2008, Leopard, Adobe etc etc!

It could be the type of files I am working with at present, that have heaps & heaps of text boxes & objects.

The reason I wondered about compatibility mode was because of all the Adobe CS2/3 & Rosetta issues.

Thanks again.

Maggi

 

[CyberTaz]

Hello again -

Thanks Bob,

Re the performance issue, Update 12.0.1? Are we still talking about Office
2008 here?

Yes, Office 2008 is version 12.0 & there was a minor update released back in
March - v12.0.1 - and there is a major update (Service Pack 1) which is in
the process of being tested now but hasn't been released.

I am sure I have all the latest auto updates available to date, both for
Office 2008, Leopard, Adobe etc etc!

Perhaps you have - I just mentioned it in case you had missed it., but you
also need the update to AutoUpdate in order for it to install. If you have
any doubt go to the Mactopia site & d/l from there:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx

It could be the type of files I am working with at present, that have
heaps & heaps of text boxes & objects.

Quite possibly Those are nice features, but each one is a "foreign body"
in a Word document & if you overdo it the file will bog down & eventually
may corrupt.

 

[Maggi Fuller]

Thanks again Bob. I just checked and I am running v 12.0.1.

Maggi

 

[naseem_Khan]

I feel diffident about asking such a simple question since I can hardly understand the terms of the long discussion above on Compatibility. However, diffidence apart.... I am a new mac user and have found a document on which I am working is in Compatibility Mode. There seems no tool in this for moving text around, and I wonder if I am missing something obvious? Should I be converting the docx to another format? If there are answers, I would appreciate a recognition of my beginners' status.

 

[CyberTaz]

Hello & Welcome -

Straight answer to your underlying question: Compatibility Mode simply means
that the document is of the file format used by versions of Word prior to
2007/2008. The file format used is indicated by a filename extension of
..doc, whereas the new default file format of Word 2007 & 2008 uses an
extension of .docx, which is an enhanced file structure.

Word 2007/2008 can open, edit & save in the old format, however, so working
with a document created by an earlier version should not be a problem.
You're notified of Compatibility Mode because the later versions include
features which aren't supported by the older file format. If you use those
features the file will have to be saved in the newer format in order to
preserve them accurately in the document. If saved back into the older
format certain "adjustments" will occur which will effect the appearance as
well as text flow in some cases. There's no *need* to convert the .doc file
to a .docx unless you do use some of the newer features (Smart Art graphic
elements & effects, Themes, Document Elements, etc.) which you want to
retain as unaffected when you save.

As to your specific question: You should not have any difficulty using Word
2008 to edit/revise a document of the older .doc format and save those
changes back to the same file *or* save a new copy of the file in the new
..docx format. If you're having a problem there must be another reason.

What sort of "tool" are you looking for? In any version of Word you "move
text around" in the same ways - primarily by selecting the text involved
then using cut/paste or drag 'n' drop to put it elsewhere. Rearranging
content can usually be done even more easily in Outline View but using the
same techniques. IOW, there's no difference between Word 2008 & any other
version of the program with regard to the basic task to which you refer.

I think it would be best if you submit a New Question - not another Reply in
this thread - giving all particulars about your exact versions of OS X &
Office as well as a detailed description of what you are trying to do, how
you're trying to do it, what you expect and specifically why/how it doesn't
seem to be working for you. It would also be helpful to know more about the
origin of the file and whether it's that file only or others as well that
present the problem.

HTH |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Naseem:

This is a difficult question to answer However, you have made it
"impossible" to answer by not stating your Mac and Word versions

Generically, the answer is critically dependent upon whether you are in Word
2008 or Word 2004. I am going to assume 2008.

This indicates that you are editing a document that was created in an
earlier version of Word, or that you have saved the document in .doc format,
or that you have saved the document with "Maintain compatibility..."
switched on. Which is it?

If you are in compatibility mode, there are some document parts that you can
insert that will be converted to pictures. You cannot move the text around
in these.

For any other kind of text, you can simply select it and drag it where you
want it. If this is not the case, you have a document which is in Protected
mode. Look on the Tools menu. If you see "Unprotect Document" on that
menu, the document is locked for editing. You must release protected mode
before you can move the text around. If this is the case, click "Unprotect
Document". You may be prompted for a password.

Give me some more detail, particularly about the document, and I may be able
to help a lot more.

Hope this helps

I feel diffident about asking such a simple question since I can hardly
understand the terms of the long discussion above on Compatibility. However,
diffidence apart.... I am a new mac user and have found a document on which I
am working is in Compatibility Mode. There seems no tool in this for moving
text around, and I wonder if I am missing something obvious? Should I be
converting the docx to another format? If there are answers, I would
appreciate a recognition of my beginners' status.

--

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, Microsoft MVP, Word and Word:Mac
Nhulunbuy, NT, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[byronstuck]

The native file format used by Word 2008 is .docx, and any .doc file is
displayed in a compatibility mode since it is *not* in the native file
format. Don't worry about that, though; the old .doc will keep working just
as well in Word 2008. The "Compatibility Mode" message is just an optical
nuisance and not a warning message of any kind.




--
Michel Bintener
Microsoft MVP
Office:Mac (Entourage & Word)

*** Please always reply to the newsgroup. ***

Why do I only see outlines of the pictures embedded in WORD documents when i open them in compatibility mode? Is there some security setting I'm missing? I have WORD 2008 opening a .doc file and I understand that puts me incompatiblity mode but I don't understand why my friend can see these embedded pictures and I can't?

Byron