WD: How to Install MSWORD6.CNV for Use with WinWord 2.0

ID: q108913

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

SUMMARY

When you set up Word 6.0 for Windows, a converter that allows other Microsoft programs to read Word 6.0 documents is installed in the Msapps\Textconv subdirectory in your Windows directory. Microsoft Works, Publisher, and PowerPoint for Windows will all use this converter automatically, but Word 2.0 for Windows will not.

To install this converter for use with Word 2.0:

Copy the Msword6.cnv converter file from the <Windows>\Msapps\Textconv directory to your Word 2.0 for Windows program directory (usually C:\Winword).

Start Word 2.0 for Windows and open a Word 6.0 for Windows document that has a .DOC file name extension. Word 2.0 detects Msword6.cnv and automatically installs the converter. If the Confirm Conversions option is selected in the Tools, Options, General dialog box in Word 2.0, you will see the following two additional file format options:
Word for Windows 6.0 (*.doc)
Word for Macintosh 6.0 (*.doc)
Choosing either option results in proper conversion of this and all subsequent Word 6.0 for Windows documents.

MORE INFORMATION

If Word 2.0 is installed on a different computer than Word 6.0, do not copy the Word 6.0 converter to that computer. If you do so, the converter will not function correctly. This limitation exists because Word 6.0 for Windows uses object linking and embedding (OLE) 2.0 for file storage, so several OLE 2.0 files are required for the converter to read Word 6.0 for Windows files. These files are installed with Word 6.0 for Windows but will not be available on a computer on which only Word 2.0 for Windows has been installed.

If you need to open Word 6.0 for Windows documents into Word 2.0 on a separate computer, you will need to obtain the Word 6.0 for Windows Converter Disks. For information on how to obtain this converter, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q105318 How to Obtain a Word 6.x/7.0 Converter for Use with Word 2.x

Word 2.0 for Windows is dependent upon the file name extension to identify a Word 6.0 for Windows document. When you install the converter using the steps referenced earlier, the expected file name extension for a Word 6.0 document is .doc.

If the Confirm Conversion option is active in Word 2.0 and you open a Word 6.0 document with a different file name extension than .doc, Word 2.0 proposes to open the document as Text Only. If this occurs, you can manually select the Word for Windows 6.0 format option and click OK to successfully convert the document.

If the Confirm Conversions option is not active, Word 2.0 immediately opens the Word 6.0 binary file as text, and garbled characters are displayed on-screen.

If you commonly use a particular file name extension for your Word 6.0 documents other than .doc, you can change or add to the expected file extensions registered for this converter in the [MSWord Text Converters] section of your Win.ini file. Modify Win.ini by adding one or more expected file name extensions, each separated by a space, to the Msword6.cnv converter entry. For example, a modified entry would be similar to the following:


   MSWord6=Word for Windows 6.0, C:\<path>\MSWORD6.CNV, doc abc xxx

Additional query words: textconv conversion converted converts transfer transfers translation translate mac garbage

Keywords : kbinterop winword word6 word7 word95
Version : WINDOWS:2.0,2.0a,2.0a-CD,2.0b,2.0c,6.0,6.0a,6.0c
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto kbinfo