Re: Word 97

[Chuck Martin <cmartin -at- SEEKERSOFT -dot- COM>]

First of all, Word 97 out of the box *doesn't* save Word 6.0/95 files as
real binaries. Instead, it saves tham as RTF, making hugely bloated files.
This has caused uproar to no end among Word users, and MS finally released
an export filter (available on their web site) that allows you to save as
true Word 6.0/95 binary files.

Second, the default install of Word 97 includes those nauseating Office
Assistants. One of the anooying things they do if you have them turned on
is, when you choose to save a document for the first time, one pops up and
tells you that not all users have Word 97 and suggests that you save the
file in Word 6.0/95 format.

Finally, DOS-style file names aren't necessarily required. Windows
95-compatible word processors recognize long filenames. As I remember, if
you keep the filenames under 32 characters, I could even open them without
problem in MacWord 6.0.


At 07:10 AM 8/22/97 -0400, you wrote:
>>This may be a silly question, but do you SAVE them in Word 6 format
>before sending them to him?  Microsoft's backward compatibility in file
>formats is bad enough to begin with, but you can't generally expect
>something saved native to a newer version of ANY product to open properly=
>
>in an older version of that product.<
>
>Matt,
>
>One of the "joys" (there are so many) of taking the Win95/Word97 plunge i=
>s
>that all your pals who are still in Word 6/3.1 land are now left in the
>dust.  Yes, despite the fact that you opened a Word 6 (or whatever)
>document, Word 97 assumes you want to save it as Word 97 and defaults to
>that.  If you plan on sending it back to where it came from, just be sure=
>
>and change the "SaveAs" to "Word 6"  -- same as you would if saving a new=
>
>document that you create with Word 97 in a different format to share with=
> a
>non-Microsoftoid.  Just don't forget:  The old DOS 8+3 rules apply if you=
>
>want your filename to make any sense at the other end.
>
>Walter Bazzini
>bazzini -at- compuserve -dot- com

--
"You don't look American"
"Everyone looks American, because Americans are from everywhere"
                                            - Doonesbury
Chuck Martin
Technical Writer, Seeker Software, Inc      | Personal
cmartin -at- seekersoft -dot- com                      | writer -at- grin -dot- net
www.seekersoft.com                          | www.grin.net/~writer

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