WD2000: Error Message Opening Word 2000 Document in Earlier Version (210041)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 2000
This article was previously published under Q210041

SYMPTOMS

When you open a Microsoft Word 2000 document in an earlier version of Word, the intended document may not be shown. Instead, a document containing the following error message appears:
This page uses frames, but your browser doesn't support them.

CAUSE

In the Word 2000 document, a frame page was added and then deleted before the document was saved. Even though the frame page was deleted from the Word document before the file was saved, the frame page was not actually removed but was saved as the active document with the file name you intended to give to the original Word 2000 document.

When the Word 2000 document was saved, the original document was also saved, but under a different file name than what you had intended. Word assigned the file name from the first paragraph of text in the document.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, open the original Word 2000 file. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Determine the file name of your original Word 2000 document:
    1. In Word 2000, open the document.
    2. On the Format menu, point to Frames, and then click Frame Properties.
    3. Click the Frame tab. The original Word 2000 document is listed in the Initial page box (under General).
    4. Click Cancel.
  2. Open the document listed in Step 3.
You can open and resave (click Save As on the File menu) this document with a new file name before sharing the file with an earlier version of Word.

NOTE: Don't rename the file. If you just rename the file listed in Step 3, when you reopen your Word 2000 document, the following error message appears:
The document name or path is not valid. Try these suggestions.
* Check the file permissions for the document or drive.
* Use the File Open dialog box to locate the document.
(path to file listed in Step 3)
When you click OK, a document (may be blank or may not contain the correct text) is opened that is named the same as you intended as the original Word 2000 document.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:2/27/2001
Keywords:kbbug KB210041
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.