File created from Word 2013 not opening properly in Word 2003

Asked By 20 points N/A Posted on -
qa-featured

I have created my resume using Word 2013, and now when I try to open it in Word 2003 to modify it, it doesn't open properly. It gives me a bunch of unrecognizable characters. What do I need to install so I can view my resume in Word 2003 and hopefully be able to edit it. Thanks.

SHARE
Answered By 0 points N/A #199860

File created from Word 2013 not opening properly in Word 2003

qa-featured
Hi!
 
I presume you are using  the Microsoft Office XP; hence, I also presume that you have updated your Microsoft Office on or before April 8, 2014, the last day to update. This is necessary before doing the download of the compatibility pack. 
 
Assuming that you have made the update, download the Compatibility Pack here and save it to your hard disk the file named "FileFormatConverters.exe".  Once it is saved, open this file to start the setup program. Do the step by step guide shown on the screen to finish the installation. This will enable you to work on your documents in Word 2003 that were initially started with the Word 2013.
 
If you have not updated, then it will by luck that the rest of the step will work out in your favor.

 

Answered By 590495 points N/A #307990

File created from Word 2013 not opening properly in Word 2003

qa-featured

Microsoft Office applications such as Microsoft Office Word are backward compatible. This means newer versions of the applications like Microsoft Office Word 2013 can open documents created in older or previous versions of the same application. Like for example, Microsoft Office Word 2013 can open Microsoft Office Word documents created with Microsoft Office Word 2007 and Microsoft Office Word 2003.

This is how backward compatibility works. Though you can open old documents in newer applications, you cannot open newer documents in older applications. Like for instance, you cannot open documents created with Microsoft Office Word 2013 using Microsoft Office Word 2003. One reason for this is that Microsoft Office Word 2013, like Microsoft Office Word 2007, saves the document in DOCX format by default (.docx).

Microsoft Office Word 2003 doesn’t support the DOCX format. If you need to open your Microsoft Office Word 2013 document in Microsoft Office Word 2003, open the file again in Microsoft Office Word 2013 and save the document in DOC format (.doc) using the “Save As” option. This will create another copy of your document in DOC format which you can now open in Microsoft Office Word 2003.

Related Questions