WD2000: Error Message: Word Cannot Save Files. The Converter for This Format Can Only Open Files

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This article was previously published under Q224066

ERROR MESSAGE

When you try to save a document in a different file format by using a recorded Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro, you may receive the following error message:

Word cannot save \016\000 files. The converter for this format can only open files.

where \016\000 is the value that corresponds to the file format value assigned to the converter on the computer where the macro was recorded.

NOTE: Microsoft Office 2000 has built-in functionality that allows you to get more information about difficult-to-troubleshoot alerts or error messages. If you want to enable this functionality for this and other error messages in Microsoft Office 2000, please download the Microsoft Office 2000 Customizable Alerts file from the Microsoft Office Update Web site at the following address:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8FBEE1D3-C5BB-4A36-A2F7-DC63DE2A818C (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8FBEE1D3-C5BB-4A36-A2F7-DC63DE2A818C)

NOTE: If you reached this article by clicking the Web Info button in an error message, you already have Customizable Alerts enabled.

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THINGS TO TRY

If you record a macro that changes the file type, the FileFormat property will contain a number. The following sample macro was recorded using HTML as the "Save as type":

   Sub Macro1()

      ActiveDocument.SaveAs FileName:="myHTMLdoc", FileFormat:=103

   End Sub

NOTE: The number 103 was recorded for the HTML FileFormat argument. This number may not be the same on another computer.

Use any of the following methods to resolve this problem.

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Method 1: Use the FileFormat Built-in Conversion Constant

FileFormat accepts the following built-in conversion constants:

wdFormatDocument
wdFormatDOSText
wdFormatDOSTextLineBreaks
wdFormatEncodedText
wdFormatHTML
wdFormatRTF
wdFormatTemplate
wdFormatText
wdFormatTextLineBreaks
wdFormatUnicodeText

For example, to use a constant for the HTML save example earlier in this article, use the following:

ActiveDocument.SaveAs FileName:= "myHTMLdoc", FileFormat:= WdFormatHTML

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Method 2: Use the FileConverters Collection to Retrieve the Correct FileFormat Number for a Conversion Type for Any Computer

Microsoft provides programming examples for illustration only, without warranty either expressed or implied. This includes, but is not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This article assumes that you are familiar with the programming language that is being demonstrated and with the tools that are used to create and to debug procedures. Microsoft support engineers 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 requirements. The following sample Visual Basic for Applications macro saves a document in HTML format on any computer:

NOTE: In the following example, replace "HTML" with the class name you want to use for Save As. For a list of class names, see the "Use the Class Name of the Converter" section later in this article.

Sub SaveAsHTML()

   Dim fcCnv As FileConverter
   Dim strClass As String
   Dim strFileName As String

   ' If there are no documents open to
   ' save, exit this routine.
   If Documents.Count = 0 Then Exit Sub

   ' Set the ClassName to use for saving.
   strClass = "HTML"

   ' Set the FileName to use for saving.
   strFileName = "MyHTMLdoc"

   ' Loop through all installed converters.
   For Each fcCnv In FileConverters
      With fcCnv

         ' Test for conversion ClassName.
         If .ClassName = strClass Then

            ' Save using the FileConverters.ClassName.
            ActiveDocument.SaveAs FileName:=strFileName, _
               FileFormat:=.SaveFormat

         End If

      End With

   Next fcCnv

End Sub

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Method 3: Use the Class Name of the Converter

The following list contains converters and class names that are installed by Word and that you can use for saving a document.

Collapse this tableExpand this table

Converter	ClassName
HTML Document	HTML
MS-DOS Text with Layout	MS-DOS Text with Layout
Text with Layout	Text with Layout
Word 2.x for Windows	MSWordWin2
Word 4.0 for Macintosh	MSWordMac4
Word 5.0 for Macintosh	MSWordMac5
Word 5.1 for Macintosh	MSWordMac51
WordPerfect 5.0	WrdPrfctDOS50
WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS	WrdPrfctDOS51
WordPerfect 5.x for Windows	WrdPrfctWin
WordPerfect 5.1 or 5.2 Secondary File	WrdPrfctDat
WordPerfect 5.0 Secondary File	WrdPrfctDat50
Works 3.0 for Windows	MSWorksWin3
Works 4.0 for Windows	MSWorksWin4
Word 6.0/95	MSWord6Exp
Word 97 & 6.0/95 - RTF	MSWord6RTFExp

To retrieve other class names for an installed converter to use for a Save As operation, you can loop through the FileConverters collection.

The following sample macro loops through all installed converters that you can use for saving and then inserts the converter name and associated class name into a blank document:

Sub GetConvClassName()

   Dim fcCnv As FileConverter

   ' Create blank document.
   Documents.Add

   ' Loop through all installed converters.
   For Each fcCnv In FileConverters
      With fcCnv

         ' If the converter can be used to save...
         If .CanSave = True Then

            ' Insert the converter name and class name in the document.
            Selection.TypeText "Converter: " & .FormatName & vbTab _
               & "ClassName: " & .ClassName & vbCr
         End If

      End With

   Next fcCnv

End Sub

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