WD2000: The "File Conversion Encoding" Dialog Box Appears When You Open Text File

When you open a text file in Microsoft Word, the File Conversion Encoding dialog box may appear.

Word may automatically detect the encoding standard that is used in a text file. If the file's encoding standard matches the default encoding standard that is used to save files as plain text in the version of Microsoft Windows that you are running, Word opens the file directly. However, if Word cannot determine the encoding standard of the text file that you are opening, Word displays the File Conversion Encoding dialog box so that you can select the encoding standard that you want to use to open the file.

Part 1: Download and Install the Fix

A supported hotfix is available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem.

If the hotfix is available for download, there is a "Hotfix download available" section at the top of this Knowledge Base article. If this section does not appear, submit a request to Microsoft Customer Service and Support to obtain the hotfix.

Note If additional issues occur or if any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. For a complete list of Microsoft Customer Service and Support telephone numbers or to create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Note The "Hotfix download available" form displays the languages for which the hotfix is available. If you do not see your language, it is because a hotfix is not available for that language.
The global version of this fix has the file attributes (or later) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in coordinated universal time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time tool in Control Panel. After the hotfix is installed, the following files will have the listed attributes or later: Important Information Before You Install the Hotfix

• The Client version of this fix is a post-Office 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP-3) fix. To install the fix, you must have Microsoft Office 2000 SP-3 installed. For additional information about Office 2000 Service Pack 3 (SP-3), click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  326585  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326585/EN-US/ ) OFFXP: Overview of the Office 2000 Service Pack 3
• The Client version of this fix requires Windows Installer 2.0 or later. For additional information about the Windows Installer requirement, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
  811002  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/811002/EN-US/ ) OFF2000: Office 2000 Updates and Patches Released After November 2002 May Require Windows Installer 2.0

Part 2: Activate the Update

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.
To activate this fix, follow these steps:

1. Quit all Microsoft Office programs.
2. Click Start , and then click Run .
3. In the Open box, type regedit , and then click OK .
4. Locate the following registry key, and then click to select it:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Options
5. With the Options key selected, point to New on the Edit menu , and then click DWORD .
6. Type DefaultCPG and then press Enter.
7. Right-click DefaultCPG , and then click Modify .
8. In the Value data box, type 1252 and then click OK .
9. On the File menu, click Exit to quit Registry Editor.

Note The value of the registry key is the code page that you want to use as default. In the example, the number for the Windows Latin-1 code page is used (1252).

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability and/or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language being demonstrated and the tools used to create and debug procedures. Microsoft support professionals can help explain the functionality of a particular procedure, but they will not modify these examples to provide added functionality or construct procedures to meet your specific needs.
If you have limited programming experience, you may want to contact a Microsoft Certified Partner or Microsoft Advisory Services. For more information, visit these Microsoft Web sites:

Microsoft Certified Partners - https://partner.microsoft.com/global/30000104 (https://partner.microsoft.com/global/30000104)

Microsoft Advisory Services - http://support.microsoft.com/gp/advisoryservice (http://support.microsoft.com/gp/advisoryservice)

For more information about the support options that are available and about how to contact Microsoft, visit the following Microsoft Web site:http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;EN-US;CNTACTMS (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=fh;en-us;cntactms)
For additional information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: To prevent Word from displaying the File Conversion Encoding dialog box, create a macro similar to the following. This macro opens the text file with the encoding scheme that you specify: For more information about the Encoding property, in the Visual Basic Editor, click Microsoft Visual Basic Help on the Help menu, type encoding in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topic.

When a text file is encoded, it is saved according to an encoding standard. The encoding standard is a set of rules that assigns a numeric value to each text character in the file.

Many different encoding standards exist to represent the character sets that are used in different languages. Some encoding standards support the characters that are used only in a particular language. For example, a text file written in Simplified Chinese may use the GB2312-80 encoding standard, and a text file written in Traditional Chinese may use Big5.

Because Word is based on the Unicode encoding standard, you can use Word to open and save files in encoding standards for many different languages. For example, you can use Word to open a text file that is encoded in a Greek or Japanese encoding standard on an English-language system.

For more information about encoded text files, click Microsoft Word Help on the Help menu, type about encoded text files in the Office Assistant or the Answer Wizard, and then click Search to view the topics returned.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a bug in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.