OFF95: Microsoft Office Binder 7.0 Cannot Open Binder 97 Files (156041)

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Office Binder, version 7.0, if you attempt to open a binder file (OBD) created by Microsoft Office Binder 97, you may receive the following error message

The Binder file could not be loaded.
This file cannot be read because it was created by an older version.

and you cannot open the binder file in Microsoft Office Binder 7.0.

NOTE: The error message should actually read as follows:

The Binder file could not be loaded.
This file cannot be read because it was created by a newer version.

MORE INFORMATION

Compatibility Between Microsoft Office Binder 7.0 and 97

Although Microsoft Office Binder 97 can open binder files stored in both the Binder 7.0 and Binder 97 formats, it can only save binders in the Binder 97 format, not in the Binder 7.0 format.

Because of this, it is not possible to open a binder saved by Microsoft Office Binder 97 in Microsoft Office Binder 7.0.

If you have saved a binder in the Microsoft Office Binder 97 format and need to reopen it in Microsoft Office Binder 7.0, open the binder file in Microsoft Office Binder 97 and export each section of the binder in its native file format. To do so, follow these steps:

Activate the section you want to export.
On the Section menu, click View Outside.
Once the section is open in its source application, click Save As on the File menu. Save the section as a new file.

Repeat steps 1-3 for each section in your binder. Once all sections have been exported, close all of your applications, including Microsoft Office Binder 97. Then, start Microsoft Office Binder 7.0 and follow these steps:

On the Section menu, click Add From File.
In the Add From File dialog box, select one of the files you exported. Click Add to add the file into your binder.

Repeat these steps for each file you need to add into the binder file. Once all sections have been added, click Save Binder on the File menu to save the binder in the Binder 7.0 format.