Vista to XP -- word documents.
 

Since my new laptop has Vista and my desktop (with the printer) has XP, I need to be able to transfer what I write on here to the desktop. I have a flash drive but when I try to open the Vista Word file on the XP word, it doesn't work. It even comes up with a different icon that doesn't even look like a word document icon. I really would rather not to have to email it as an attachment, or even worse, email it in the body of an email then format it once it gets to the desktop.

Any ideas on what I can do?

we have same issue here other than seeing if there is an upgrade for your desktop word, been saving mine as plain text .txt files then fix it from there, I have same problem hope someone has a better answer than what i am doing

Office 2007 saves Word files with file extension .docx instead of .doc could that be what's happening? You have to save them as Word 97-2003 format for them to open in older versions of Word. I ran into that a lot when taking my online college courses.

2007 to 2003 ( XP )

To save a 2007 document to a document that 2003 Office or XP Office

you just need to change the file type from .docx to .doc.

i.e,

At the bottom of the window, when you click save, you will see that is says File name: Doc1.docx, and Save as type: Word Document (*.docx) Click on the drop down arrow for the Save as type and select Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc)

This will work on all office 2007 products such excel, etc. - example: Excel 97-2003 Document (*.xls) etc.

they have made it backwards compatible, they just didn't tell anybody how to do it...stupid Micro S*** people....(no offense to anyone that works at MS)

if you want an even quicker way. Right click over the file that you've saved in 2007, see the end with the extension:

.docx

just backspace that sucker and save it again. It should work, 99% of the time.

What I usually do is make a copy of it, then I have it in both formats that I name them, moi_is_an_idiot_2003.doc, moi_is_an_idiot_2007.docx cause some of my clients can't read some of the other ones....:thud:

my file extensions are like .wps not .docx, but i saved over it to .doc and it worked, this is gonna be a pain having to do it ever time:(

the reason why is because you are using "WORKS"

and WPS means: WORKS WORD PROCESSOR DOCUMENT

it just means that MS wants to make it hard for you so you'll buy their WORD or Office products...

it all comes down to $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$....we get poorer, they get richer...

:)

what version or program is the Vista using ?
was it Works 8-9 ?? instead of MS Word?

might be saving it as a .wps, instead of .doc?
check properties of the saved file to see which it is.


I found this-
[Best Answer - Chosen by Voters
WPS files are text documents similar to Microsoft Word .DOC files, though the WPS format isn’t as sophisticated and lacks advanced formatting options. Documents with the .wps file type are created by Microsoft Works Word Processor (versions 6.0 - 8.0). Microsoft has recently discontinued the WPS file format in favor of the DOC format that Microsoft Word uses.

I’ve heard some versions of MS Word can open a .wps file right away, but in most cases you’ll need to install an extra file converter to do that. I looked around for free converters and found that most of the links didn’t work anymore because Microsoft had moved the converter to a different page. Never fear, I got the right link(s) in the end, displayed below for your enjoyment.

What’s more, I also found a free online WPS converter that could be very useful for Mac or Linux users who can’t install the MS-provided converter, or people who don’t have MS Word.

How To Convert WPS to DOC
If you don’t have access to MS Works, you will need to convert the .wps file to some other format before you can open it. Microsoft provides several free converters and tools for this purpose (MS Windows required) -

Microsoft Works 6-9 File Converter - Lets you open and edit .wps files in Word. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/detai...
Word Viewer 2003 - a standalone application that can open WPS files (not all versions though). http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/detai...
All MS Works-related downloads - some other utilities. http://www.microsoft.com/products/works/...

Fortunately there is a FREE online converter that can convert a .wps file to a .doc file (or even a PDF file) - Zamzar.com. It works like this - you choose a WPS file from your computer, choose the file format to convert to, enter your email address and receive the converted file within minutes. It’s a very useful free tool that can convert many different file formats. http://www.zamzar.com/

* 4 months ago]
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question...8185325AANM3di



If you keep having problems - download and try the free Open Office
http://www.openoffice.org/

you might even find some answers on the open office site - here's some info about Works & files-
[MSWorks files have a proprietary format which is being kept secret by Microsoft. However a reasonable workaround is to save your WKS files as RTF files. OpenOffice can read and write RTF files. ]
[ How can I open Microsoft Works wordprocessor files (.wps)?

The libwps library was designed to allow OpenOffice.org, KWord, Abiword, and similar programs to import Microsoft Word wordprocessor documents. Though available since early 2007, the mainstream OpenOffice.org has not incorporated the code (issue #8938). Here are some options:

* Use any of these OpenOffice.org variants which include libwps: OxygenOffice Professional, NeoOffice, Ubuntu, Your OpenOffice.org (go-oo.org), or any other variant based on ooo-build
* Use the command-line wps2html or wps2sxw converters from libwps. (OpenOffice.org can open either .html or .sxw.)
* If you have Microsoft Works, open the .wps in Microsoft Works and resave as .rtf.
* If you have Microsoft Word, use Microsoft's Works to Word converter. Then, save as .doc.
* Use an online converter service. ]
http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/..._.28.wks.29.3F

hope someof this helps.:)

thanks wiz jo and moi

curious isnt wps a wordperfect file

As Jo mentioned, downloading a converter program from Microsoft will not only take care of the .wps files but the .docx vs .doc files as well.

This trick was discovered when one of the client's I type for brought a file home, did some editing in Office 2007, and couldn't open it back up when she got to work. She asked if I could do it and after doing some research, I downloaded the converter from Microsoft and was able to open the file up and saved it as a .doc file. We have not had the problem since. I gave her the link to download the converter and it has been working out well for them.

yes Frank, you are correct. I was giving it the official name. LOLOL

confusing, isn't it???? :thud: