USEABLE FILE FORMATS

---

Even if the data is in a format that appears to be one you already use, conversion still may be necessary. The format may be too new. For example, you will not be able to open an old Word 97 file if you are using WordPerfect 5.1 or even Word 7.0. The problem is a basic one. When those programs were written, Word 97 did not yet exist. As a result, they do not have in them the pieces of code needed to read old Word 97 files. You will need to find a machine with a word processing package capable of reading old Word 97 files. Alternatively, you will need to get a program, such as Word for Word, that can recognize and work with many different file types. In a similar vein, you may have to get the data converted if it comes to you in a format that is too old or runs on a different operating system.

Finally, you may encounter problems of the WordPerfect-versus-Word kind. Although simpler files created with one company’s software generally can be opened without a problem using a competitor’s comparable product, this often does not hold true for more complex files. Thus, Word documents formatted using “styles” or containing complex tables may not be fully readable by WordPerfect (the same holds true when going from WordPerfect to Word.)

---