WD97: WordPerfect File Contains Garbled Text If Opened in Word

When you attempt to open a WordPerfect file that has an extension other than "doc" or "wpd" in Word, Word may open the file in text-only format.

NOTE: When the file is opened as text, the document will be displayed incorrectly and you will see strange or incorrect (garbage) characters.

When the WordPerfect file you are opening has an extension other than .doc or .wpd, Word may not recognize the file as a WordPerfect document and may use the wrong file converter to open the file.

When Word cannot determine which file converter to use, it will use the Text Only file converter.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

Setting Word to Open a WordPerfect File with a Different Extension

To set word to open a WordPerfect file with a different extension, follow these steps:

1. Quit Word and all other Windows programs.
2. On the Start menu, click Run.
3. In the Open box, type "RegEdit" (without the quotation marks) and click OK.
4. In the Registry Editor, open the following Import registry key:

          HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Text
          Converters\Import
   						

   -or-
   The Import key may be located in the following location in the registry:

          HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Word\Text
          Converters\Import
   					

5. In the WordPerfect6x key, click to select Extensions.
6. On the Edit menu, click Modify.
7. In the Value Data box, you may see some extensions similar to the following:
   doc wpd
8. Add your specific extension to this list.
   
   For example, if you have saved files in WordPerfect with a "wp7" extension, add the wp7 extension to the Value Data box. The Value Data box should now resemble the following:
   doc wpd wp7
   NOTE: You can add all the different extensions you use for saving your WordPerfect files to this list.
9. Repeat steps 7-8 for each extension you want to add, and then click OK.
10. On the Registry menu, click Exit.

After you restart Word, it will use the WordPerfect 6.x file converter to open your WordPerfect files with the different extensions.

To specify which file converter to use when Word opens a WordPerfect file, follow these steps:

1. Start Word and open a new, blank document.
   
   Do not try to open your WordPerfect file.
2. On the Tools menu, click Options.
3. On the General tab, click to select the "Confirm conversion at open" check box, and then click OK.
4. On the File menu, click Open.
5. Select the WordPerfect document you want to open, and then click Open.
6. In the Convert File dialog box, select WordPerfect 6.x, and then click OK.

Word will now open your WordPerfect document correctly using the WordPerfect 6.x converter.

Starting with WordPerfect version 6.x, the default file extension when saving files from WordPerfect is "wpd." Microsoft Word will automatically recognize and open files created in WordPerfect 6.x and later with the "wpd" extension.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: WordPerfect is manufactured by Corel Corporation, a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

For information about how to contact Corel Corporation, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: