Editing Address Book in MS Word 7.0 Renders File Unusable

• Microsoft Windows 95
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0

SYMPTOMS

After you use Word 7.0 to modify your Personal Address Book (PAB), you may receive the following error message when you start Microsoft Exchange:

   Your Personal Address Book could not be opened. The file is not a
   Personal Address Book. Would you like to use a different Personal
   Address Book?

CAUSE

Word 7.0 can open and modify a PAB, but cannot save the file in the correct format. When you save a PAB in Word, the file is saved in Word document (.doc) format, and cannot be used by Microsoft Exchange.

RESOLUTION

If you save a PAB in Word, there is no method for converting the file back to PAB format. You can open and view the PAB in Word, but you must start a new PAB to run Microsoft Exchange.

MORE INFORMATION

If you open a PAB in Word but do not save it, the format is not changed and the PAB can still be used by Microsoft Exchange.

Note that the problem described in this article also applies to Schedule+ (.scd) files.