On 11 Sep 2003 11:55:18 -0700, (e-mail address removed) (Miss V)
Hi, I'm creeping slowly into the modern world. I have an older
computer with Windows 95 and I'm using it to write a novel.
That means you likely do not have the hardware muscle to run the only
versions of Word or Office that MS sells today.
I don't have a printer so a friend of mine in another state is going
to do that for me. Problem is that our systems are not compatible.
I just have WordPad and she has Word 6.
Is she running Windows 95 or later, or an older version of Windows
such as the old DOS + Windows 3.xx combinations?
I'm wanting a free download of Word 6
Just because MS refuses to sell or support any version of Word older
than Office XP or Office 2000 (i.e. no Office 97, Office 95, or the
Office 4.3 for Windows 3.x that contains WOrd 6) doesn't mean you can
use it for free. What that means is, any "Word 6" you find for
download will be in contravention of MS's license terms, and you'd do
well to approach carefully in case it's a malware honey-pot.
that would be compatible with Windows 95 but haven't been able to find
it. I keep searching but all I have found are updates if you already
have it, or converters and patches and other thingys to add to it.
Step back a bit. You are going to get advice to "just buy Word, it
shouldn't be too expensive" that doesn't raise any of the things that
are likely to be wrong with this idea...
- too big and slow for old PC
- it's own .doc format is likely to be just as incompatible
The happy ending at the end of this road could be...
1) You get Office XP; it doesn'r run on your PC
2) You replace your PC with one that runs Office XP
3) That sells hardware, as well as a Windows XP for MS
4) Your correspondent can't read Word XP's files
5) She re-traces your steps (1-3) to "be compatible"
That's great for the US computer industry, but it may be seen as a
tragedy for the two of you - and all because your original objectives
were forgotten and re-formulated as "how to be compatible with Word".
What you want is a safe and compatible way to exchange text, perhaps
with some "rich" formatting features such as bold, italics, fonts etc.
Standards to do so already exist - and .DOC files are NOT one of
these! The .doc extension is used by a number of proprietary word
processing file formats that are often mutually incompatible:
- Word 6 .doc (supposed to be common to WordPad and Word 6)
- Word 95 .doc (generally similar to and compatible with Word 6)
- Word 97 .doc (cannot be read by WordPad or Word 6 / 95)
- Word 2000 .doc (generally similar to and compatible with Word 97)
- Word XP .doc (generally similar to and compatible with Word 97)
- other .doc formats from other word processors
The standard way to exchange raw text is the .TXT file, but that's
quite restrictive; no bold, italics, fonts etc. The standard way to
exchange "rich" text is .RTF (Rich Text Format); any word processor
can read that, so you aren't forcing people to use your choice of
software (or being forced to buy someone else's choice of software).
Each version of Word will add new features, and if these new features
are used within the .DOC they save, older versions of Word may not be
able to use the document file properly. In particular, there was a
compatibility schism between Word 6/95 on the one side, and
Word 97/2000/XP on the other.
WordPad and Word 6 are supposed to read each other's files, while
no-one expects WordPad or Word 6 to natively read .DOC saved natively
from Word 97 or later. If you blindly followed the advice to "just
buy Word", you would place yourself on the wrong side of this
compatibility chasm with respect to your Word 6 correspondent!
There are several things you can do:
1) Use Rich Text Format (RTF) instead (cost = $ 0.00)
2) Patch for Word 6/95 that allows it to read Word 97 .doc (free)
3) Word 2000 or Word XP can save as Word 6 or 95 (or RTF)
4) Word 97 needs patch to save as genuine Word 6 / 95
5) Word 97 can save as RTF
6) Free viewers for Word 97 .doc (view/print, cannot edit)
7) Alternative free word processors that can save as Word .doc
Of these, your current hardware (or that of a Word 6 era system) may
not be fast enough to support (3) or (7).
The pair of you would do well to master the SaveAs dialog box, so that
you can save files from Word etc. in formats other than the
self-serving defaults. The SaveAs dialog lets you specify:
- what disk drive (letter) to save to; A: vs. C:, etc.
- what directory to save to
- what to call the file, including the file name extension
- what internal file type to save the file as
The "file name extension" is the (usually three) letters in the file
name that follow the last . in the file name. If you run Win9x or
later with MS default settings, this extension may be hidden from you
(another really stupid MS default). Windows takes its first cue as to
what it should do with the file from this; if it's .doc, it may "open"
it with Word, whereas if it's .txt, it may try Notepad instead.
But changing a particular file name extension (e.g. calling your file
"Chapter 11.RTF" when you save it) doesn't necessary make it a file of
that type. You need to choose the file type you want from the drop
down list that is found in most Save As dialog boxes; choose "Rich
Text Format" instead of "Word Document", etc.
My guess is that if you both make a point of saving your files as Rich
Text Format every time, you should be fine.
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