Compatibility Error on MS-Word 2003 and 2010

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Is there someone who can find the problem? I was making an essay of an article. I used MS WORD 2003 when I created the document. My document was really creative because I made some creative stuff in the there to make it presentable to the instructor when I pass the file.

When I used the computer of my classmate I noticed that she using MS WORD 2010 and when I open the file the error message prompted on the screen and says "cannot open file. doc". I tried it again but still nothing works? Is it possible that MS WORD 2003 to MS WORD 2010 are not compatible? It used WINDOWS XP in MS Word 2003 and WINDOWS 07 for MS WORD 2010. Looking forward to your answer guys.

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Answered By 0 points N/A #104000

Compatibility Error on MS-Word 2003 and 2010

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First to answer your question about compatibility with Word 2003 and 2010, yes they are compatible. Though Word 2010 is able to open any document that created from older versions of Word as long as its saved in the correct format which is in a .doc file format.

Now a question regarding your problem, you did not provide information if you saved your work in a USB thumb drive or you uploaded it on the web. Here’s where it gets tricky, if the original file is still in your computer at home that’s running Win XP with Word 2003, try opening it again. If it opens then the main file is not damaged.  The problem might be when you were transferring the file from your computer to either an external device to uploading it to the internet. Just try copying it again an opening it on your friend’s computer.

The problem becomes worse if you only have 1 copy of the file, and that’s the one that’s not opening up. If you are able to you might want to try and open the file again on your computer and see if it’s working. If you are not able to, chances are the file got corrupted, especially if you are using an external device like a Thumb Drive, you might have pulled it out of the computer without either closing the program first, or you might have not deactivated the device via “Safely Remove Hardware” option in the task bar. As such your work is already lost.

However, don’t lost hope. There is still one solution that you can try and see if this will resolve your problem. Just open Word 2010 normally. Now once you’re in the main page with a blank document, click on the File menu on the upper left side of the program. Click on Open, and highlight your file that’s giving you the error. Now, follow my instructions perfectly, there should be an arrow icon pointing downwards on the right side of the “Open” button that’s located at the bottom of the dialog box. Click on it and select “Open and Repair” option. This instructs Word 2010 to try to open the document, and if it has errors, it will try to repair it. Normally this works about 75% of the time, but in the event that this does not work then there are no other ways to open that document, and you would have to redo everything.

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Answered By 0 points N/A #104001

Compatibility Error on MS-Word 2003 and 2010

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Hi,

For this issue, try to see first the compatibility settings of the Word 2010 in your classmate's computer. Do this by clicking on "File" on the menu tabs of Word 2010 window, click on "Options", click on "Trust Center", and click on "Trust Center Settings". Then, click "File Block Settings". A list of items will be displayed, uncheck all the boxes on the list and click "OK". Hope this helps you.

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