WD98: How to Open a Document in an Earlier Version of Word

This article describes how to open a Word 98 document in an earlier version of Word for the Macintosh or in an earlier version of Word for Windows.

NOTE: Word 98 for the Macintosh documents open directly in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows.

Macintosh

The best way to open a Word 98 Macintosh Edition document in an earlier version of Word for the Macintosh is to use the Word 97-98 Import Converter.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Windows

The best way to open a Word 98 Macintosh Edition document in an earlier version of Word for Windows is to use the Word 97-2000 Import Converter.

NOTE: The Word 97-2000 Import Converter does not convert a Word 98 Macintosh Edition document for use in Word 2.0 for Windows and earlier.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Methods for Conversion

Method 1: Save the Document as Word 6.0/95

NOTE: If you want to open your Word 98 Macintosh Edition document in Word 2.x for Windows, use method 2.

In Word 98 Macintosh Edition, follow these steps to save the document using the Microsoft Word 6.0/95 converter:

1. Open the document in Word 98 Macintosh Edition.
2. On the File menu, click Save As.
3. In the Save File As Type list, click Word 6.0/95.

Method 2: Save the Document as Rich Text Format (*.rtf)

In Word 98 Macintosh Edition, follow these steps to save the document using the Rich Text Format converter:

1. Open the document in Word 98 Macintosh Edition.
2. On the File menu, click Save As.
3. In the Save File As Type list, click Rich Text Format.

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: