WD: Problems Running Multiple Versions of Word on Same Computer

ID: Q163154

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
  • Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
  • Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

MORE INFORMATION

The problems described in this article occur with all object types--not just Word document objects--that are updated by Office 97 or Word 97. Some of the object types that are updated by Office 97 or Word 97 include the following:

  • Equation Editor


  • Microsoft Word Document


  • Microsoft Word Picture


For additional information on these issues, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
Q157808 WD: Can Use Only Latest Version of Word to Insert OLE Objects

Q157088 WD97: Limitations of Converting from Word 97 to Word 6.x, 7.x

Q162214 WD: How to Obtain the Word 97 Converter

Q158428 IA: GP Fault Opening HTML File with Graphics After Installing Word


SYMPTOMS

This article describes the problems you may encounter when you:

  • Use Word 97 and Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 (sometimes referred to as Word 95) on the same computer

    -and-


  • Share files between Word 6.0, Word 7.0, and Word 97 (on the same computer or on different computers)


Case 1: Edit Word 6.0/7.0 Document Created on System with Word 97 Installed

When you work on a system that has Word 97 installed, and you insert a Word document as an embedded object in a document in Word 6.0 or Word 7.0, save the document in Word format or in Rich Text Format, and then open the document in Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 on another computer, you will receive the following error message when you double-click the object to edit it:
Word cannot edit the object

Case 2: Word 6.0/7.0 Document Opened in Word 97 Then Opened in Word 6.0/7.0

On a computer running Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 only, if you insert a Word document as an embedded object in a Word document, open the document in Word 97, and then save the document in Word 6.0/95 format or Rich Text Format, you can view the object when you reopen the document on a computer running only Word 6.0 or Word 7.0, but you will be unable to edit the object and you will receive the following error message:
Word cannot edit the object

Case 3: Using Word 7.0 with Internet Assistant version 2.03z

When you use Word 7.0 with Internet Assistant version 2.03z, on a computer with Word 97 installed, you may receive the following error messages when you open an HTML document that contains a GIF or JPEG image in Word 7.0:
This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.

If the problem persists, contact the program vendor.
When you click Details, you receive the following error message:
Winword caused an invalid page fault in module WINWORD.EXE at <address>.

Case 4: Word Cannot Open the Existing "Normal.dot"

When you start Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 on a computer that has Word 97 installed, you may receive the following error message:
Word cannot open the existing "Normal.dot"

Case 5: Word 97 Document Opened in Word 97 and Then Opened in Word 6.0/7.0

With Confirm Conversions turned on, when you open in Word 6.0/7.0 a saved and opened document in Word 97 you will initially receive the following error:
Path: <File name> is being used by another user. Do you want to make a copy?
Clicking OK will display the Confirm Conversions dialog box with Text Only selected. The file will not open as a Word Document.

CAUSE/WORKAROUND/STATUS

Case 1: Edit Word 6.0/7.0 Document Created on System with Word 97 Installed

Cause

When you insert a Microsoft Word Document object in Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 on a system that has Word 97 installed, a Word 97 document session is started. The resulting object field shows the following information:
{EMBED Word.Document.8 \s}
This field is created because when you have multiple versions of Word installed on the same computer, Word will only use the latest version of Word as an OLE server. When you save the document containing a Word document object in Word format (*.doc) or in Rich Text Format (*.rtf), the embedded object is not saved as a Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 document object, but rather as a Word 97 document object. This object cannot be edited in Word 6.0 or Word 7.0.

Workaround

To edit the object, you must have Word 97 installed on your computer.

Case 2: Word 6.0/7.0 Document Opened in Word 97 Then Opened in Word 6.0/7.0

Cause

This problem occurs because when you open a Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 document containing an embedded object in Word 97, the embedded object is updated to the newer version of the server program on the computer. Then, when you save the Word document and reopen the document in Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 on a computer that does not have Office 97 or Word 97 installed, the updated version of the server program is not available and you can no longer edit the embedded object.

Workaround

To edit the object, you must have Word 97 installed on your computer.

Case 3: Using Word 7.0 with Internet Assistant version 2.03z

Cause

This problem occurs after you install Microsoft Word 97, Microsoft Publisher 97, or Microsoft Office 97. These programs install shared graphics filters that conflict with the Inloader.dll file installed by Internet Assistant. The Inloader.dll file handles image import processes.

Workaround

If you want to use Internet Assistant for Word for Windows 95 or Word for Windows NT, upgrade to Internet Assistant version 2.04z.

To upgrade to Internet Assistant 2.04z, do either of the following:

  • If you installed Word 97 or Office 97 from a compact disc, you can install the upgrade for Internet Assistant version 2.04z. Open the Valupack folder on the compact disc and double-click Wrdia204z.exe, a self-extracting, self-executing file.


  • Download the latest version from the following Web site:


    • http://www.microsoft.com/word/internet/ia/sysreq.htm
    NOTE: If you run Wrdia204z.exe on a computer with Word 97 installed but not Word for Windows 95, versions 7.x, or Word for Windows NT, Setup will fail and will display a dialog box titled "Unable to install Internet Assistant for Microsoft Word." Click Exit to finish Internet Assistant Setup.

Case 4: Word Cannot Open the Existing "Normal.dot"

Cause

This problem occurs because Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 is trying to use the same Normal.dot that Word 97 uses. Because the Word 97 Normal.dot is in Word 97 format, the Normal.dot is unreadable by Word 6.0 and Word 7.0.

NOTE: Installing the Word 6.0/95 converter will not correct this problem.

Resolution

To prevent this error message from occurring, change the location of the Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 User/Workgroup templates path.

To change the templates path:

  1. Start Word 6.0 or Word 7.0.


  2. On the Tools menu, click Options.


  3. Click the File Locations tab. Under File Types, select User Templates and click Modify. The User templates path should normally point to where the Normal.dot template can be found. In some cases, you may want to check the Workgroups template path for this file.


  4. Point to and click the appropriate folder that contains the Word 6.0 or Word 7.0 Normal.dot template. Make sure this is not the folder that Word 97 is using for its Normal.dot template. Click OK. Then click Close to exit the Options dialog box.


Case 5: Word 97 Document Opened in Word 97 and Then Opened in Word 6.0/7.0

Cause

You are using the Word 97 Import Converter, Wrd97cnv.exe to open the File in Word 6.0/7.0

Workaround

Close the file in Word 97 and the file will open correctly in Word 6.0/7.0.

Additional query words: 6.0 7.0 97 8.0 word6 word7 word8 word95 word97 machine unit computer

Keywords : kbother kbusage
Version : WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type :


Last Reviewed: November 3, 1999
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