Word 2008 doesn't open word 2004 docs properly

[mauriciomail]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) Processor: Intel I'm using Word mac 2008 (12.2.4) on an macbook running OSX 10.6.3. I'd like to open some Word documents created in Word mac 2004. When I double click on the document it opens but all the words are blanck. It looks like the words are there but there is nothing written.

Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[CyberTaz]

I have some ideas but you totally baffle me when you write:

"It looks like the words are there but there is nothing written."

Is there any visible content or not? If so, describe what it looks like. If
not, what gives you the impression that content is there? We can't see your
display from here, we can only go on what you tell us. Take the time to
provide a reasonable amount of details & you'll most likely get the problem
solved far more quickly.

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

 

[mauriciomail]

Hello Bob,
Thank you for your prompt reply. What happens is when I open the word 2004 file I can see the bullets and numbering but I don't see the words. When I click the "show" button (show all nonprinting characters) I can see the dots that represents spaces and the paragraph symbol. I also can see the red underline that usually shows a misspelling but I can see the mispelled word. When I go to finder to try to open the file and I click once in the file it shows a small image of the document and there a I can see it perfectly, but when I double click on the icon it shows this damaged file. I am using this compatibility mode. It should be working.
Regards,
Mauricio

 

[John McGhie]

Check that someone has not set the Font property of your Style to "White" or
"Hidden". People in offices have been known to ...

Hello Bob,
Thank you for your prompt reply. What happens is when I open the word 2004
file I can see the bullets and numbering but I don't see the words. When I
click the "show" button (show all nonprinting characters) I can see the dots
that represents spaces and the paragraph symbol. I also can see the red
underline that usually shows a misspelling but I can see the mispelled word.
When I go to finder to try to open the file and I click once in the file it
shows a small image of the document and there a I can see it perfectly, but
when I double click on the icon it shows this damaged file. I am using this
compatibility mode. It should be working.
Regards,
Mauricio

--

The email below is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless I ask you to; or unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410 | mailto:[email protected]

 

[mauriciomail]

Thank you John. I just change its style in now it's working.

 

[Cant' open Word 2004 in Snow Leopard]

I have a problem, as well: I just upgraded to Snow Leopard and I can't even
OPEN Word 2004. I'm on a MacBook Pro.

S. Gulland

 

[John McGhie]

Grab your Office CD and run the Remove Office tool from the CD.

Then do a complete re-install from the CD.

Then apply ALL of the updates you will find on the Microsoft Office website.

It sounds to me as though you may have copied either PowerPC code or
preferences from your old machine. This results in a nasty "mixture" in
Office on OS 10.6 that will never run right.

The fastest solution is to run the Remove Office tool and start again

Hope this helps

On 30/04/10 3:50 AM, in article
(e-mail address removed), "Cant' open Word 2004 in
Snow Leopard" <Cant' open Word 2004 in Snow

I have a problem, as well: I just upgraded to Snow Leopard and I can't even
OPEN Word 2004. I'm on a MacBook Pro.

S. Gulland

--

The email below is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless I ask you to; or unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410 | mailto:[email protected]

 

[Phillip Jones, C.E.T.]

Open using the open Command from with Word 2008. The immediately save as
a .docx file then it will open as before.

You also might try to update Snow Leopard to 6.3.

 

[John McGhie]

How did she email the files? What extension did she have on the file when
she emailed it? Which email application is she using to send it? Which
email application is she using to receive it? Did she save the file to disk
before attempting to use it?

If she is attempting to open the file inside her email program, Word indeed
can't open it, because it is indeed in use ‹ by the email program!

You need to save files to disk before trying to open them.

That's also just basic Internet safety: if you open a file inside the email
program, your antivirus has not had a chance to look inside the file and you
are a sitting duck if there are any nasties in there...

Hope this helps

We tried that already. These files can not be opened using the open command
from within Word 2008. When attempting to do so a dialog box pops up that
says the file may not be a valid word document or may be in use. I know the
file is not in use.

--

The email below is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless I ask you to; or unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410 | mailto:[email protected]

 

[CyberTaz]

Whatever your version of OS X make sure it is fully updated... It's probably
Snow Leopard on a new Mac but just because the Mac is new doesn't mean the
OS has been fully updated.

Run the Apple Disk Utility - Repair Disk Permissions routine.

Do the files in question have extensions (such as '.doc')? If not, resave
them with the proper extns on the old Mac then send the new versions. Also,
always save attachments to the HD -- do not attempt to open directly from
the emails -- then work with the saved copies.

Does anything like this happen with files created by 2008 on the new Mac?

Have you tried copying the files to a USB stick then copying from it to the
new Mac... Is the result any different?

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

 

[wreckingpaul]

Thanks for the responses. The issue is now resolved and it turned out that the problem was with gmail's imap not completely downloading the files correctly into entourage.

Ahhh... the intersection of Google, Apple, and Microsoft, I don't think it gets any better than that!

Thanks again for your help!

 

[CyberTaz]

Sure it does... Have Adobe come at the intersection from the 4th direction
then sit back & watch them play Demolition Derby ;-)

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