Problem opening word document from Office 2004 for Mac on a PC

[Chellybelly02]

I have been using this (Mac) computer for almost 6 months now, and have never
had a problem until recently. For some reason, when I type a document in Word
and then email it to someone who is using a PC it will not open on their
computer. This problem just started happening and I can't figure out why. Any
help is appreciated!

 

[CyberTaz]

You may be able to resolve this easily if you think about what may have
"recently" *changed* - software updates, different email client, different
recipients, different documents. In order for any reasonable suggestions
other than guesswork it would be helpful to know more about what version of
OS X, what verson of Word (yours & recipient's), what email software, etc.
What happens when the recipients try to open the attachments - error message
(what does it say), system crash, 7th Fleet sunk, what?

Essentially you've called the doctor on the phone and said "Doc, I don't
feel good how do I fix it?"

 

[Chellybelly02]

Well I just downloaded an updated version of Office 2004 yesterday, and that
didn't fix my problem. I am using Mac OS X version 10.4.7, my version of Word
2004 for Mac is 11.2., my recipient's versions are all different. I have
attempted to send documents to several different people/computers all
probably different versions, but they are the same receipients I have always
sent documents to and never had problems before. The email software that I
use is my university email account (not sure what info you need for this).
When I try and open these documents on the PC that I have at my home it first
gives me a message that says "Microsoft Word needs a converter to display
this file correctly. This feature is not currently installed. Would you like
to install it now?" If I click yes it does not let me download anything; if
I cllick no it opens the document with Japanese text...I am not sure that the
other people I have sent documents to have gotten an error message, it just
opens with the Japanese text. Maybe this info is more helpful? Thanks!

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

Two small questions:

When this problem occurs, do the files have the .doc extension?

I assume you access your university email just on the web through a browser
such as Safari or Firefox, right?

 

[Chellybelly02]

Yep the files do have a .doc extension. And yes my email can be accessed via
any browser.

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Yep: That's diagnostic Your email is being tagged as having been
encoded in an Asian script. That's why your PC is asking for a "feature
than is not currently installed."

1) So you need to go back to your Mac email program and poke around until
you find the Encoding setting. In Entourage, it's on the Format>Character
Set menu...

I suggest that you set it to "Automatic" or "Unicode (UTF-8)". UTF-8 is the
most common form of Unicode, and it can handle anything Microsoft Word can
throw at it. Other scripts have limitations: you will get some weird
characters, particularly on a PC.

2) However, that's not the whole problem. We also need you to visit
Word>Preferences>Save and make sure that is set to "Word Document".
Anything else will give you problems somewhere.

3) Further: We need you to check in your email program that you are
encoding attachments in MIME format. Anything can read MIME. *Nearly*
anything can read UUEncode (Unix to Unix Encoding). PCs may have trouble
with AppleDouble, and almost no PCs can read BinHex.

4) Make certain that your email program is using either NO compression, or
Zip compression. Both Mac and Windows have Zip compression built in.
Stuffit is not available on most Windows computers (there is a free decoder
available, but most corporate PC users do not have the ability to install
any software, and it won't be there by default).

So your problem has four possible causes. Any or all of them could be
causing this. You notice that only one of those causes is a setting in
Word. We can't tell you how to solve problems in your email program unless
you tell us which one you're using.

Hope this helps

Well I just downloaded an updated version of Office 2004 yesterday, and that
didn't fix my problem. I am using Mac OS X version 10.4.7, my version of Word
2004 for Mac is 11.2., my recipient's versions are all different. I have
attempted to send documents to several different people/computers all
probably different versions, but they are the same receipients I have always
sent documents to and never had problems before. The email software that I
use is my university email account (not sure what info you need for this).
When I try and open these documents on the PC that I have at my home it first
gives me a message that says "Microsoft Word needs a converter to display
this file correctly. This feature is not currently installed. Would you like
to install it now?" If I click yes it does not let me download anything; if
I cllick no it opens the document with Japanese text...I am not sure that the
other people I have sent documents to have gotten an error message, it just
opens with the Japanese text. Maybe this info is more helpful? Thanks!

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410

 

[CyberTaz]

John has pretty well summed it up, but one other consideration - not
necessarily related directly to the current issue - if you intend to
distribute docs via email it will pay to be selective as to which fonts you
use. Otherwise the docs will be *readable* but may be severely crippled in
terms of text flow. Different printer drivers on the various systems of the
recipients will contribute to the problem.

Working from a Mac - unless the docs need to be edited by the recipients -
you might want to consider sending PDFs instead.

 

[Elliott Roper]

John has pretty well summed it up, but one other consideration - not
necessarily related directly to the current issue - if you intend to
distribute docs via email it will pay to be selective as to which fonts you
use. Otherwise the docs will be *readable* but may be severely crippled in
terms of text flow. Different printer drivers on the various systems of the
recipients will contribute to the problem.

Working from a Mac - unless the docs need to be edited by the recipients -
you might want to consider sending PDFs instead.

Damn fine advice. I send PDFs *as well*
Then I can say "This is how it looked before your malconfigured PC
stuffed it up". It is not fair, but it buys me time ;-)

 

[CyberTaz]

Instigator ;-))

BTW - Am looking forward to congrats being in order - well deserved & long
overdue!

 

[Chellybelly02]

Thank you for your advice. I will try these things when I get home from work
today. As for my email program, I am not really sure what information you
need. I don't use a mac email program. It is just through my university
student account at Eastern Michigan University. I get on firefox and type in
my university web address then log into my account. I don't know how to
determine what type of email program it is. All I know is that I log into my
university personal account and I can send and receive emails. It says
Messenger Express my.emich mail at the top of the window when I open my email
box.

I am not sure that it is an email problem though. The problem comes when the
recepient tries to open the .doc attachment. When I save the files as .rtf
the recepients have no trouble opening the files. Wouldn't this mean its a
problem with Word? Grrr so frusterating because until last week I never had a
problem sending .doc files. It just all of the sudden went kaput.

But anyways, I really have no idea. I'm not very computer savvy. And I'm a
new Mac user. I just got it in March, so I'm learning. All of your help is
appreciated.

Yep: That's diagnostic Your email is being tagged as having been
encoded in an Asian script. That's why your PC is asking for a "feature
than is not currently installed."

1) So you need to go back to your Mac email program and poke around until
you find the Encoding setting. In Entourage, it's on the Format>Character
Set menu...

I suggest that you set it to "Automatic" or "Unicode (UTF-8)". UTF-8 is the
most common form of Unicode, and it can handle anything Microsoft Word can
throw at it. Other scripts have limitations: you will get some weird
characters, particularly on a PC.

2) However, that's not the whole problem. We also need you to visit
Word>Preferences>Save and make sure that is set to "Word Document".
Anything else will give you problems somewhere.

3) Further: We need you to check in your email program that you are
encoding attachments in MIME format. Anything can read MIME. *Nearly*
anything can read UUEncode (Unix to Unix Encoding). PCs may have trouble
with AppleDouble, and almost no PCs can read BinHex.

4) Make certain that your email program is using either NO compression, or
Zip compression. Both Mac and Windows have Zip compression built in.
Stuffit is not available on most Windows computers (there is a free decoder
available, but most corporate PC users do not have the ability to install
any software, and it won't be there by default).

So your problem has four possible causes. Any or all of them could be
causing this. You notice that only one of those causes is a setting in
Word. We can't tell you how to solve problems in your email program unless
you tell us which one you're using.

Hope this helps

Well I just downloaded an updated version of Office 2004 yesterday, and that
didn't fix my problem. I am using Mac OS X version 10.4.7, my version of Word
2004 for Mac is 11.2., my recipient's versions are all different. I have
attempted to send documents to several different people/computers all
probably different versions, but they are the same receipients I have always
sent documents to and never had problems before. The email software that I
use is my university email account (not sure what info you need for this).
When I try and open these documents on the PC that I have at my home it first
gives me a message that says "Microsoft Word needs a converter to display
this file correctly. This feature is not currently installed. Would you like
to install it now?" If I click yes it does not let me download anything; if
I cllick no it opens the document with Japanese text...I am not sure that the
other people I have sent documents to have gotten an error message, it just
opens with the Japanese text. Maybe this info is more helpful? Thanks!

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410

 

[Chellybelly02]

Hello again,

I attempted these things and nothing has worked yet. I found no settings in
my email which matched what you were talking about, as I stated in a previous
post my email program is just through the emich.edu website. In Word I made
sure the setting was set on "Word Document." Is there anything else that
could be causing this problem??? Thank you.

Yep: That's diagnostic Your email is being tagged as having been
encoded in an Asian script. That's why your PC is asking for a "feature
than is not currently installed."

1) So you need to go back to your Mac email program and poke around until
you find the Encoding setting. In Entourage, it's on the Format>Character
Set menu...

I suggest that you set it to "Automatic" or "Unicode (UTF-8)". UTF-8 is the
most common form of Unicode, and it can handle anything Microsoft Word can
throw at it. Other scripts have limitations: you will get some weird
characters, particularly on a PC.

2) However, that's not the whole problem. We also need you to visit
Word>Preferences>Save and make sure that is set to "Word Document".
Anything else will give you problems somewhere.

3) Further: We need you to check in your email program that you are
encoding attachments in MIME format. Anything can read MIME. *Nearly*
anything can read UUEncode (Unix to Unix Encoding). PCs may have trouble
with AppleDouble, and almost no PCs can read BinHex.

4) Make certain that your email program is using either NO compression, or
Zip compression. Both Mac and Windows have Zip compression built in.
Stuffit is not available on most Windows computers (there is a free decoder
available, but most corporate PC users do not have the ability to install
any software, and it won't be there by default).

So your problem has four possible causes. Any or all of them could be
causing this. You notice that only one of those causes is a setting in
Word. We can't tell you how to solve problems in your email program unless
you tell us which one you're using.

Hope this helps

Well I just downloaded an updated version of Office 2004 yesterday, and that
didn't fix my problem. I am using Mac OS X version 10.4.7, my version of Word
2004 for Mac is 11.2., my recipient's versions are all different. I have
attempted to send documents to several different people/computers all
probably different versions, but they are the same receipients I have always
sent documents to and never had problems before. The email software that I
use is my university email account (not sure what info you need for this).
When I try and open these documents on the PC that I have at my home it first
gives me a message that says "Microsoft Word needs a converter to display
this file correctly. This feature is not currently installed. Would you like
to install it now?" If I click yes it does not let me download anything; if
I cllick no it opens the document with Japanese text...I am not sure that the
other people I have sent documents to have gotten an error message, it just
opens with the Japanese text. Maybe this info is more helpful? Thanks!

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410

 

[CyberTaz]

There's only so much you can do on your end:

Save as a Word Document (as you are).
Include the .doc extension on the file name.
Make certain you aren't using any fonts that might not be available on the
recipient's system.

About the only other option is to save as RTF (Rich Text) & attach that
rather than the Word .doc

If you continue to have problems check with the support for your .edu email
system.

--
Good Luck |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

Hello again,

I attempted these things and nothing has worked yet. I found no settings
in
my email which matched what you were talking about, as I stated in a
previous
post my email program is just through the emich.edu website. In Word I
made
sure the setting was set on "Word Document." Is there anything else that
could be causing this problem??? Thank you.

Yep: That's diagnostic Your email is being tagged as having been
encoded in an Asian script. That's why your PC is asking for a "feature
than is not currently installed."

1) So you need to go back to your Mac email program and poke around
until
you find the Encoding setting. In Entourage, it's on the
Format>Character
Set menu...

I suggest that you set it to "Automatic" or "Unicode (UTF-8)". UTF-8 is
the
most common form of Unicode, and it can handle anything Microsoft Word
can
throw at it. Other scripts have limitations: you will get some weird
characters, particularly on a PC.

2) However, that's not the whole problem. We also need you to visit
Word>Preferences>Save and make sure that is set to "Word Document".
Anything else will give you problems somewhere.

3) Further: We need you to check in your email program that you are
encoding attachments in MIME format. Anything can read MIME. *Nearly*
anything can read UUEncode (Unix to Unix Encoding). PCs may have trouble
with AppleDouble, and almost no PCs can read BinHex.

4) Make certain that your email program is using either NO compression,
or
Zip compression. Both Mac and Windows have Zip compression built in.
Stuffit is not available on most Windows computers (there is a free
decoder
available, but most corporate PC users do not have the ability to install
any software, and it won't be there by default).

So your problem has four possible causes. Any or all of them could be
causing this. You notice that only one of those causes is a setting in
Word. We can't tell you how to solve problems in your email program
unless
you tell us which one you're using.

Hope this helps

Well I just downloaded an updated version of Office 2004 yesterday, and
that
didn't fix my problem. I am using Mac OS X version 10.4.7, my version
of Word
2004 for Mac is 11.2., my recipient's versions are all different. I
have
attempted to send documents to several different people/computers all
probably different versions, but they are the same receipients I have
always
sent documents to and never had problems before. The email software
that I
use is my university email account (not sure what info you need for
this).
When I try and open these documents on the PC that I have at my home it
first
gives me a message that says "Microsoft Word needs a converter to
display
this file correctly. This feature is not currently installed. Would you
like
to install it now?" If I click yes it does not let me download
anything; if
I cllick no it opens the document with Japanese text...I am not sure
that the
other people I have sent documents to have gotten an error message, it
just
opens with the Japanese text. Maybe this info is more helpful? Thanks!

:

You may be able to resolve this easily if you think about what may
have
"recently" *changed* - software updates, different email client,
different
recipients, different documents. In order for any reasonable
suggestions
other than guesswork it would be helpful to know more about what
version of
OS X, what verson of Word (yours & recipient's), what email software,
etc.
What happens when the recipients try to open the attachments - error
message
(what does it say), system crash, 7th Fleet sunk, what?

Essentially you've called the doctor on the phone and said "Doc, I
don't
feel good how do I fix it?"

--
Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

message
I have been using this (Mac) computer for almost 6 months now, and
have
never
had a problem until recently. For some reason, when I type a document
in
Word
and then email it to someone who is using a PC it will not open on
their
computer. This problem just started happening and I can't figure out
why.
Any
help is appreciated!

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not
email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410

 

[John McGhie [MVP - Word and Word Macintosh]]

Hi (do you have a name??)

Email it to me and I will tell you what's wrong with it!

Cheers

Hello again,

I attempted these things and nothing has worked yet. I found no settings in
my email which matched what you were talking about, as I stated in a previous
post my email program is just through the emich.edu website. In Word I made
sure the setting was set on "Word Document." Is there anything else that
could be causing this problem??? Thank you.

Yep: That's diagnostic Your email is being tagged as having been
encoded in an Asian script. That's why your PC is asking for a "feature
than is not currently installed."

1) So you need to go back to your Mac email program and poke around until
you find the Encoding setting. In Entourage, it's on the Format>Character
Set menu...

I suggest that you set it to "Automatic" or "Unicode (UTF-8)". UTF-8 is the
most common form of Unicode, and it can handle anything Microsoft Word can
throw at it. Other scripts have limitations: you will get some weird
characters, particularly on a PC.

2) However, that's not the whole problem. We also need you to visit
Word>Preferences>Save and make sure that is set to "Word Document".
Anything else will give you problems somewhere.

3) Further: We need you to check in your email program that you are
encoding attachments in MIME format. Anything can read MIME. *Nearly*
anything can read UUEncode (Unix to Unix Encoding). PCs may have trouble
with AppleDouble, and almost no PCs can read BinHex.

4) Make certain that your email program is using either NO compression, or
Zip compression. Both Mac and Windows have Zip compression built in.
Stuffit is not available on most Windows computers (there is a free decoder
available, but most corporate PC users do not have the ability to install
any software, and it won't be there by default).

So your problem has four possible causes. Any or all of them could be
causing this. You notice that only one of those causes is a setting in
Word. We can't tell you how to solve problems in your email program unless
you tell us which one you're using.

Hope this helps

Well I just downloaded an updated version of Office 2004 yesterday, and that
didn't fix my problem. I am using Mac OS X version 10.4.7, my version of
Word
2004 for Mac is 11.2., my recipient's versions are all different. I have
attempted to send documents to several different people/computers all
probably different versions, but they are the same receipients I have always
sent documents to and never had problems before. The email software that I
use is my university email account (not sure what info you need for this).
When I try and open these documents on the PC that I have at my home it
first
gives me a message that says "Microsoft Word needs a converter to display
this file correctly. This feature is not currently installed. Would you like
to install it now?" If I click yes it does not let me download anything; if
I cllick no it opens the document with Japanese text...I am not sure that
the
other people I have sent documents to have gotten an error message, it just
opens with the Japanese text. Maybe this info is more helpful? Thanks!

:

You may be able to resolve this easily if you think about what may have
"recently" *changed* - software updates, different email client, different
recipients, different documents. In order for any reasonable suggestions
other than guesswork it would be helpful to know more about what version of
OS X, what verson of Word (yours & recipient's), what email software, etc.
What happens when the recipients try to open the attachments - error
message
(what does it say), system crash, 7th Fleet sunk, what?

Essentially you've called the doctor on the phone and said "Doc, I don't
feel good how do I fix it?"

--
Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

I have been using this (Mac) computer for almost 6 months now, and have
never
had a problem until recently. For some reason, when I type a document in
Word
and then email it to someone who is using a PC it will not open on their
computer. This problem just started happening and I can't figure out why.
Any
help is appreciated!

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410

--

Please reply to the newsgroup to maintain the thread. Please do not email
me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie <[email protected]>
Microsoft MVP, Word and Word for Macintosh. Consultant Technical Writer
Sydney, Australia +61 (0) 4 1209 1410