Word 97 won't save as HTML

[Ray Clare]

Error message says using an earlier version of text converter that
won't work with Word, please reinstall. Reinstalling Office - all of
it - and running SR2 update leaves me in same place.

Is there a missing file? Any ideas?

Thanks,

Ray

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Ray,

There can be a couple of causes for this. Word 97 used an add-in for its HTML Save features and there is an update (Web Authoring
Tools) from the Word 97 downloads at http://office.microsoft.com/word
that should be installed, but you can also get this if you're using Frontpage 98, or if you have Office 97 to run from a server, or
if the filter isn't being seen by Word, but also from a registry pointer getting 'stuck'.

If you turn on the 'Confirm Conversions at Open' in Tools=>Options=>General and try to open a .HTM file do you get a dialog that
recognizes it as HTML?

Is this the first time you've used the HTML features or did this start happening recently?
==========
Error message says using an earlier version of text converter that
won't work with Word, please reinstall. Reinstalling Office - all of
it - and running SR2 update leaves me in same place.

Is there a missing file? Any ideas?

Thanks,

Ray >>

 

[Ray Clare]

Hello Bob!

Thanks for the helpful, if unsuccessful response.

I'll try to step through this. First to answer your question, it was
the first time I attempted to use Word to save an HTML file. I also
got similar results from Excel, and I assume the rest of Office is
using the same method.

I did change the "Confirm Conversions at Open" box as you suggested,
and
in trying to open an HTML file, I got a list of formats to choose from
including html, which I selected, and then got the same error message
as when I tried to save, and that prompted my posting.

So, I went to the download site and got wd97au.exe, and after shutting
down everything I could, I ran it and got an error message telling me
it "could not update web authoring tools...[STYLES]."

I tried word anyway, with no change, and couldn't open html either -
well it did open it as a text file if I didn't tell it that it was an
html file.

I tried a reboot, and checked again. No luck Just in case it was a
passing gremlin, I tried the whole shebang one more time. Same result.

The only other thing I can think of that may impact this, though I
don't pretend to understand how it could, is that a week or so ago I
installed a print to pdf program that created a new printer, and it
went in without complaint, and it works perfectly. It is the freeware:
PrimoPDF.

Up to that time, I had never tried to use Word's HTML feature. This
PDF install was all part of a project that would then require an
ability to save to HTML and PDF. That's when I found the problem in
word.

You mentioned Front Page Express. I have it installed along with the
others I've mentioned, and that install preceded the new "printer to
pdf" install. So, if the PDF install affected word, it would probably
done the same to Front Page? Front Page Express works perfectly both
opening and saving HTML files without grief, and has all along. It is
my temporary workaround, (I hope - I haven't tried it yet) to paste
documents from word into front page, and then save it.

I am not sure what to do next. Thanks again for the help.

Ray


"Bob Buckland ?" <75214.226(At Beautiful Downtown)compuserve.com>
wrote in message Hi Ray,

There can be a couple of causes for this. Word 97 used an add-in for
its HTML Save features and there is an update (Web Authoring
Tools) from the Word 97 downloads at http://office.microsoft.com/word
that should be installed, but you can also get this if you're using
Frontpage 98, or if you have Office 97 to run from a server, or
if the filter isn't being seen by Word, but also from a registry
pointer getting 'stuck'.

If you turn on the 'Confirm Conversions at Open' in
Tools=>Options=>General and try to open a .HTM file do you get a
dialog that
recognizes it as HTML?

Is this the first time you've used the HTML features or did this start
happening recently?
==========
Error message says using an earlier version of text converter that
won't work with Word, please reinstall. Reinstalling Office - all of
it - and running SR2 update leaves me in same place.

Is there a missing file? Any ideas?

Thanks,

Ray >>

 

[Ray Clare]

First of all, it is repaired. You actually gave me the idea, though in
a roundabout way.

A number of other, less pressing problems were fixed too. There is a
lesson here for anyone who is contemplating installing an earlier
version of Office on a machine with a later version already
installed - even only partially installed or of either version. For
those who are interested, here is what happened.

This machine is an older machine given to me by a friend when he
upgraded. It is more than enough to do the kind of thing I do, so I
was delighted. It did present me with a bit of a moral quandary - I
won't run stuff that isn't mine. It came with Word and Excel from
Office 2000 already installed on Win98SE. I already had a legal copy
of SE, and I already had a legal - MINE - copy of Office 97, so I got
it out of storage, and installed it.

I made the serious mistake of trying to stay operative by installing
Office 97 - all of it - in a different directory than 2000, so I could
run both of them long enough to make sure I was in business. or
determine if I needed a later version of Office. Then, as soon as I
did the main check - I missed HTML, and another item, - I uninstalled
Office 2000.

Now here is what I think happened. Office 97 would not overwrite the
shared files that were newer from 2000, and 2000 wouldn't remove them
because they were shared. And OFFICE 97 WOULDN'T RUN WITH THEM. The
error message said they were too old, but they were probably too new.

So what I did was this. I uninstalled 97, after squirreling away all
my templates and data files. Then I went through the machine with my
delete finger, and blew away anything that looked like it might belong
to Office of either version. I knew I'd break something, but oddly
enough I only broke Project 2000 - my own copy.

Then I used registry cleaner to scrub up the 480 (yep,
four-hundred-eighty) problems in the registry. Then I took my nice
legal copy of Win 98SE, and replaced my friends copy. Now the machine
knows who it belongs to. Then I ran the previously downloaded
update patch, and was finally ready to reinstall Office. Since Outlook
97 is virtually useless, and Windows Messaging is a pain and useless
on a standalone machine, I did a custom install leaving all of Outlook
out. Even so, I still had a conflict with Works 4.5, which I do not
use, so I backtracked and uninstalled 97 and Works, with no intent to
reinstall Works. I cleaned the registry again, reinstalled 97, and did
a limited and basic install of Project 2000. Hooray! It all works!
Yeah, it took a couple of reboots, and a few goodies loaded from the
extras on the 97 disk, and then I have just got it!

HTML loads and saves just fine in Word and Excel, and I haven't had
time to try the rest. But why not? The other small problems are gone,
I have more disk space, the machine boots up clean and friendly, and
when I put all my templates back they worked!

So, downgrading a software install can be a bit of a pain. For me
Office 97 is quick, clean, incredibly capable, and stable as heck. I
am one happy camper.

I am grateful for your help, and for the hints here and there in all
the other posts. Bless you all!

Ray




Error message says using an earlier version of text converter that
won't work with Word, please reinstall. Reinstalling Office - all of
it - and running SR2 update leaves me in same place.

Is there a missing file? Any ideas?

Thanks,

Ray