Consider the following scenario. You create a document in a right-to-left language or in a complex script language by using Microsoft Office Word 2007. When you then open the document in Word 2002 or in Word 2000, any right-to-left text appears flipped. For example, the text "this is a test - in BiDi" appears as "test a is this - BiDi in." For example, this problem may occur when you create a document in a language such as Arabic, Hebrew, Thai, Farsi, Hindi, Tamil, or Malayalam.

Back to the top

This behavior is caused by a change that was made to Rich Text Format (RTF). Word 2000 and Word 2002 use Rich Text Format when they open files by using the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.

Back to the top

To resolve this behavior, enable a right-to-left language or a complex script language. To do this, follow the steps that are appropriate for your version of Word.

Microsoft Word 2000

1.	Exit all Microsoft Office programs.
2.	Click Start, point to Microsoft Office, point to Microsoft Office Tools, and then click Microsoft Office Language Setting.
3.	Select a right-to-left language or a complex script language, and then click OK to accept the changes.
4.	Start Word 2000.
5.	Open the document that contains the right-to-left text.

Microsoft Word 2002

1.	Exit all Microsoft Office programs.
2.	Click Start, point to Microsoft Office, point to Microsoft Office Tools, and then click Microsoft Office XP Language Setting.
3.	Select a right-to-left language or a complex script language, and then add that language to the enabled language list.
4.	Start Word 2002.
5.	Open the document that contains the right-to-left text.

Back to the top

For more information about how to obtain and use the Compatibility Pack for the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Back to the top