WD97: Word Stops Responding Opening MacWord 5.x File (167370)

SYMPTOMS

Microsoft Word 97 stops responding (hangs) when you open a Word for the Macintosh, version 5.x, file that contains an If, Ask, or Set field.

The following message appears in the status bar at the bottom of the Word Window:

Reading Word for the Macintosh file

This is followed by a progress meter, which indicates that the conversion is 90-percent complete.

RESOLUTION

To correct this problem, install Microsoft Word 97 Service Release 1 (SR- 1).

To work around this problem, open the file in Word for the Macintosh, remove the If, Ask, or Set field, save, and close the document. Reopen the file in Word 97 and re-create the If, Ask, or Set field.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Word 97 SR-1. This problem has been corrected for Word 98 for Macintosh.

For additional information about SR-1, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

172475 OFF97: How to Obtain and Install MS Office 97 SR-1

MORE INFORMATION

The problem occurs when you have a field nested inside an IF field. An example of a nested field would be:

<<IF quantity => 50>> you will have more than <<quantity>> <<endif>>

This problem also occurs if you have a nested ASK or SET field.

REFERENCES

For more information about converting from other formats, click the Office Assistant, type converting from other formats, click Search, and then click "Customize Word to work with converted documents."

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar. If Word Help is not installed on your computer, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

120802 Office: How to Add/Remove a Single Office Program or Component

"User's Guide," version 5.1, Chapter 33, "Print Merge Basics," pages 601- 607.

For more information about conditional mail merges, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

29193 WD: Print Merge Only Certain Records from a Data Document

165635 WD: Conditional MERGEFIELD Lost When Converted to MacWord