Word file formats

933 Views 3 Replies 4 Participants Last post by jbcalg, Dec 20, 2001

nwinchel

Discussion Starter · Dec 20, 2001

It's not often I'll ask a Word question but I don't know the answer to this one. We will be creating grant proposals that are required by our state governement for funding most of our programs. We recently were told that all future grants have to be applied for utilizing "Word '97 format". That's all I can find out. We currently use Word 2000 on all of our PCs.

Now, can I save these documents in "Word '97 RTF"? These grant proposals will have significant formatting: columns, tables, etc. I'm not that familiar with the different formats vs. different versions of Word. By default Word will save in .doc format but I have noticed significant formatting changes when I open, say, one of our old Word '97-created documents.

Any help would be appreciated.

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evilmrhenry

· #2 · Dec 20, 2001

I do not think .rtf is what you need, as it is rather poor on formatting.

Try saving it in Word 97 .doc format, available when choosing 'save as'. The differences should be minimal, but if actual money is riding on the document, I would highly suggest getting a used copy of Word 97 (from E-Bay or somewhere) and running everything in Word 97 .doc format past that program.

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Anne Troy

· #3 · Dec 20, 2001

Nancy, you'll be fine if you just go to Tools-Option, Save tab. Checkmark the "Disable features not supported by Word 97".

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jbcalg

· #4 · Dec 20, 2001

that's a tough one

one of the save as options is word 97-2000 & 6.0/95 - RTF (.doc)
which you would think pretty much covers all the bases
- and 9 times out of 10 it'll probably work fine
- but it's that 10th one that you have to worry about

i've also noticed that some docs can lose some formatting when going between word versions and 'saved as' versions.

printing the 'save as' version can give you a visual clue as to how it'll look - but really it'll depend on how it looks when viewed/printed on/from their machines

and i'll bet that your funding sources don't know the answer to the question either - and won't until they see some of the grant apps coming in.
(note to MS - time for a sales call to get that state govt upgraded to off2000)

when dealing with client software requirements, i'll usually save the doc in my version and also in theirs, a little messy organizationally but then you always have your original info available.

i'll also sometimes keep a copy of the same software, on a separate machine if need be so it doesn't conflict with mine, to avoid the 'save as' problems.

got office97 around still?

likely a wait and see situation - or try a few test runs with them to see - at least it's still MS software and you don't have to go between MS and wordperfect/corel

i've worked with govt'l and NGO's that even tell you the margins, font, and line spacing to use
- gotta love em

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