Compatibility report says I'm set for Word 6.0/95, but I'm not

[Bill Bonetti]

This is very frustrating. I'm running Word 2008, version 12.1.7 with update
12.1.7 on Mac OS X 10.5.6. I create a new document, type some text, and run
a compatibility check. No problems reported. I then save it as a Word 97 -
2004 (.doc) document and run the compatibility check again and I get a
warning saying "Word 6.0/95 compatibility options are set" and it instructs
me to change my compatibility preference settings to Word 2000 - 2004 and X,
but when I check it's already set to that.

Is this a bug? It's very annoying and I want to make sure I'm not missing
something.

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Bill:

Relax: It's a bug in the way the error message works. If you save back to
the old format you will get a compatibility warning.

It's trying to tell you that the format you have saved the file in will not
contain some of the new objects that Word 2007/8 can create. If you use
some of the new pictures, they will be down-converted to bitmaps and you
won't be able to edit them after.

So the warning is "If you use the old format, you may lose some pretties".
It's up to you to decide whether that matters to you.

I use the old format only when emailing documents to people who are too
silly to install the free converter, and I always keep valuable work in the
new format.

Cheers

This is very frustrating. I'm running Word 2008, version 12.1.7 with update
12.1.7 on Mac OS X 10.5.6. I create a new document, type some text, and run
a compatibility check. No problems reported. I then save it as a Word 97 -
2004 (.doc) document and run the compatibility check again and I get a
warning saying "Word 6.0/95 compatibility options are set" and it instructs
me to change my compatibility preference settings to Word 2000 - 2004 and X,
but when I check it's already set to that.

Is this a bug? It's very annoying and I want to make sure I'm not missing
something.

--
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
Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[Phillip Jones, C.E.T.]

You set that in preferences click on Compatibility. then look for
button setting recommended for in your case you have set for 6-95. click

 

[Bill Bonetti]

John,

I understand that some new features don't port backwards. It's just that
the message is WRONG. It says my compatibility setting is set to Word 6.0/95
but it's set to Word 200 - 2004 and X.

I haven't seen this mentioned in any KB articles. Does Microsoft know that
this is a bug and are there any plans to fix it soon?

Knowing it's a bug, I'll just ignore it from now on.

Thanks for responding.

Bill

 

[Bill Bonetti]

Phillip,

As I mentioned in my original post, my compatibility settings are already
set to Word 2000 - 2004 and X, so the compatibility checker is erroneously
reporting that my settings are incorrect.

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Bill:

Yeah, we know the message is wrong, and so does Microsoft

That bug was reported during the beta test. But like every other software
team, the Microsoft developers assign each confirmed bug to a "priority".

These priorities range from "1" ‹ A bug has been found that destroys or
endangers data on the user's computer or another computer (data outside the
document) down to "5" ‹ Annoying/cosmetic but not worth the cost to fix it.

This one is a "5". All the 'softies are currently fully committed to
building Office 2010 now ‹ nothing lower than "1" will get fixed in 2008.

The Priority 1's are basically security holes ‹ Service Pack 12.1.7 came out
last week to patch a few of those.

Cheers

John,

I understand that some new features don't port backwards. It's just that
the message is WRONG. It says my compatibility setting is set to Word 6.0/95
but it's set to Word 200 - 2004 and X.

I haven't seen this mentioned in any KB articles. Does Microsoft know that
this is a bug and are there any plans to fix it soon?

Knowing it's a bug, I'll just ignore it from now on.

Thanks for responding.

Bill

--
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
Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[Bill Bonetti]

Got it. Thanks for the clarification.

Bill

Hi Bill:

Yeah, we know the message is wrong, and so does Microsoft

That bug was reported during the beta test. But like every other software
team, the Microsoft developers assign each confirmed bug to a "priority".

These priorities range from "1" ‹ A bug has been found that destroys or
endangers data on the user's computer or another computer (data outside the
document) down to "5" ‹ Annoying/cosmetic but not worth the cost to fix it.

This one is a "5". All the 'softies are currently fully committed to
building Office 2010 now ‹ nothing lower than "1" will get fixed in 2008.

The Priority 1's are basically security holes ‹ Service Pack 12.1.7 came out
last week to patch a few of those.

Cheers




--
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
Sydney, Australia. mailto:[email protected]

 

[Phillip Jones, C.E.T.]

John posted a reply which better answers why the message.

 

[Phillip Jones, C.E.T.]

I believe what its actually telling you is the document you are opening
has been originally saved in that format.

I still have some old word 6.0.1 Files that have never been converted.
and when they open they will in fact show that.