atw: Re: Word template - conversion from 97 to 2000 problem
- From: Michael Edward Granat <megranat@xxxxxxxx>
- To: austechwriter@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 04 Feb 2004 15:00:48 +1100
Well Stuart (Lecky), there are several issues that you might be facing here
that impact on Word templates and documents alike.
We need to take a quick peep back at history here to give us a sense of
what's going on.
Word 8 (aka 97) was the first version of Word to change from using the Word
BASIC macro language (last used by Word 7 for Office 95) to the Visual
BASIC macro language that integrated it with the rest of the Windows
operating environment.
Word 8, built to break into a new era of cross-application integration had
many new features, not all of them successful, which extensively changed
the menu structure from the previous version (and made something as
previously limited in its scope and relatively benign as document
modification macros into something to be feared that could be used attack
your entire computer).
As a consequence of the considerably changed menu structure, Word 8's so
called conversion tools made a horrible mess of things, trying to not only
convert across programming languages but also to match up unrelated menu
items, often set under new and abstruse names in different menu locations,
with different key letter underscores and more options.
Not really learning from the mess they made with Word 8, Microsoft (always
chasing the leadership of the latest trend) went all out to make Word 9
(aka 2000) Worldwide Web aware, with lots of integration to help entrench
its Web browser product.
As a consequence, the changes to the Word menu structure, feature naming
conventions, menu item letter underscores and number / variety / scope of
the associated options went much deeper than before.
The implications for us here of the above are that almost any macro built
around recorded menu movement and (in particular) keystroke menu item
activation that depends on its options being in a set location (as do most
macros) is going to fall over in a screaming heap.
In all but the simplest and most standardized operations, macros between
one version and the other will fail. Unless you set Word 9 and 10 (2002)
to only use those features supported by Word 8 (97) - Using the Tools >
Options > Compatibility tab > Recommended options for: drop down list and
select Word 97 before you start, when creating your template, you really do
not have a hope.
It should suffice to say that, due to the unending feature bloat and the
marketing driven, application wide changes that have happened to Word of
late, Word is not really Word compatible with any of its earlier versions,
excepting for its ability to (often incorrectly) display and print the files.
Solution: If you want to run Office 97 / Word 8 templates and macros,
install a full version (never use the "upgrade" disc or you are asking for
trouble in any case) of Word on an entirely separate, standalone PC and do
your work from there.
The macro conversions between any Visual BASIC version of Word and any
other such version (backwards or forwards through the upgrade chain) are
simply never going to work reliably, unless what you are doing with that
Visual BASIC is incredibly basic.
You will almost certainly do far more harm than good working with anything
bigger and more complex than a four page (US paper formatted) letter with a
handful of styles using only two Times New Roman and Arial.
In even trying to do so, your colleague has most likely corrupted the Word
8 files beyond redemption (the way Word 9 saves to Word 8 format is rarely
a match) and you will need to go back to masters that have never even been
loaded into Word 9 before you start. Plus the different default document
spelling language (and Mtric / US Imperial) settings between the template
and the document must match or odd things can and will happen.
That aside, you will have considerably more problems with handling legacy
templates than with handling legacy documents, with the templates causing
some very odd behaviour, if they load reliably at all.
Sorry for the bad news but that's the way the data crumbles.
Time to work on the Word 8 documents with their native application to do
what you want, then print them from there to Acrobat, if you want to freeze
a version.
IMNSHO, using a word 8 (97) template with Word 9 (2000) for making any
major modifications to a complex document is simply courting disaster.
Cheers,
Michael Granat
Write Ideas
At 12:57 4/2/2004, you wrote:
>One of our clients is having problems with a .dot Word template file that
>one of my colleagues (or one of our writers) created for her over two years
>ago. Her IT department suggested it might be because the template was for
>Office 97 whereas they've upgraded to Office 2000 since. Typically, they
>couldn't (or wouldn't) assist.
>There is apparently a conversion process within Office 2000, but when she
>tried it, it falls over when it gets to the macros that are in the template.
>
>The copy of the template that she has is exactly the same date as the one
>we have in our archive.
>
>I've not used 2000 a lot (personally I still use Word 97) and have never
>converted a template. Has anyone on the list run across a similar problem
>and do you know of a solution?
>_________________________________________________________
>Stuart Lecky, Project Manager
>__________________________
>HCi Better communications Better Management
>(61-2) 9232 6669 (ph) http://www.hci.com.au
>(61-2) 9232 1002 (fax) GPO Box 4846 Sydney 2001 Australia
>
>**************************************************
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