The layout of a document that contains a page break may be different in an earlier version of Word than it is in Word 2007 or Word 2010

Symptoms

You save a document that contains a page break in Microsoft Office Word 2007 or Word 2010. However, when you open the document in an earlier version of Microsoft Word, the layout of the document may be different in the earlier version of Word than it is in Word 2007 or Word 2010.

Cause

This issue may occur if one of the following conditions is true:

• The document was saved in Word 2007 or Word 2010 as a .doc file so that the file could be opened in an earlier version of Word. For example, the file was saved in Word 2007 or Word 2010 as a Word 97 - 2003 Document file.

• The document was opened in an earlier version of Word as a Word 2007 or Word 2010 document file (.docx) file.

In Word 2007 or Word 2010, a page break and a paragraph mark can be on the same line. However, in earlier versions of Word, a page break and a paragraph mark must be on separate lines. Therefore, the layout of a document may be different in an earlier version of Word than it is in Word 2007 or Word 2010.

Workaround

To work around this issue when you open documents in an earlier version of Word, disable the Split apart page break and paragraph mark option in Word 2007 or Word 2010. To do this, follow these steps: 

Microsoft Word 2007:

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options.

2. In the left pane, click Advanced.

3. In the right pane, click one of the following in the Compatibility options for list:

   • Current_document_name . Use this option if you want the changes to affect only the current document.

   • All New Documents. Use this option if you want the changes to affect all new documents.

4. Expand Layout Options.

5. Click to select the Split apart page break and paragraph mark check box.

Microsoft Word 2010:

1. Click the File Tab, and then click Options.

2. In the left pane, click Advanced

3. In the right pane, click one of the following in the Compatibility Options for list:
   

   • Current_document_name. Use this option if you want the changes to affect only the current document.

   • All New Documents. Use this option if you want the changes to affect all new documents.

4. Expland Layout Options

5. Click to select the Split apart page break and paragraph mark check box.

More Information

For more information about a converter that you can install to open a Word 2007 document in an earlier version of Word, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

919026 Error message when you try to open or to save a Microsoft Office 2007 file: "Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file"