Compatibility between W2007 and W2003 - bullets and other formatti

[Vicky]

Hello,
I am using 2007 to create documents, resumes and the like. THese will be
emailed to people who may or may not have 2007. I need to find some ways to
make the two compatible. I already have the users saving in 2003 file types.
THe one issue is when we open the doc which was created in 2007 but saved in
2003 format in a 2003 machine, the format is all messed up - especially for
bullets, but there have been other issues also. For bullets, I have them add
a tab stop at the left indent marker and this seems to help. I found
something under Word Options, Advanced, Compatibility Options that allows
you to "Lay out this doc as if created in ... and then indicate the version.
There are also some Layout options to select from. Will this fix the issues
we have been having? THank you so much!

 

[Kimberly]

Hi Vicky,

I too am using 2007 and there is a compatibility mode. Go to microsoft.com
to get the download and it will show when you save your documents (save as)
97-2003 I believe. Try it. I've had no problems thus far when saving in
compatibility.

Good luck

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You are confusing two issues.

1. Users of Word 2007 can save documents in Word 97-2003 format without any
download or add-in; this backwards compatibility is built in and should be
used by Word 2007 users when they know they are sending to people who don't
have Word 2007. This is just common courtesy.

2. Users of earlier versions (2000 and above) who, for whatever reason, need
to be able to open Word 2007 .docx format documents can download an add-in
to allow them to do so. This may be required when it is not possible to ask
the sender to resend in a different format (for example, if a document is
posted at a Web site, or if it is sent by a superior several ranks up the
line in your company. <g>

 

[Vicky]

Suzanne,
Thank you for clarifying that. I am familiar with those issues and that is
not the problem we are facing. When my users save they are using 97-2003
file type yet the bullets are messed up when opened in 2003. Since these are
women looking to re-enter the workforce and they rely on their resumes
looking sharp regardless of the version the potential employer may have, what
can we do to keep formatting looking as good in all versions. Thanks.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If you apply bullets using the Bullets button in either Word 2003 or Word
2007, you get whatever the default bullet currently is. When the document is
opened on another machine, this will be rendered as whatever its default
bullet currently is. A better way to work is to apply a bulleted style. You
can apply the List Bullet style with Ctrl+Shift+L. The bullet used is
defined as part of the style (you can modify the style to change it if you
like), so the selection will travel with the document.

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Vicky,

To add a little to Suzanne's reply, when selecting the bullets, choose from something the common font used in the resume. If the
font that contains the bullet doesn't exist on the other person's machine, even with a list style there is the potential for some
unpleasant surprise

I'd suggest just using plain bullets, to focus the reader on the content not the bullet graphic <g>.

Where the target of the resume has not specified that the file needs to be submitted as a .DOC one then using Word 2007 to Save As
PDF, will usually give consistent appearance and formatting for folks reading the document and can't as easily be accidentally
edited/changed while reading.

===================
Suzanne,
Thank you for clarifying that. I am familiar with those issues and that is
not the problem we are facing. When my users save they are using 97-2003
file type yet the bullets are messed up when opened in 2003. Since these are
women looking to re-enter the workforce and they rely on their resumes
looking sharp regardless of the version the potential employer may have, what
can we do to keep formatting looking as good in all versions. Thanks. >>
--

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*