How to work with people who don’t yet have Word 2013
Here are some of the things to keep in mind when sharing or exchanging files with people who are using an older version of Word.
In Word 2013…
What happens?
What should I do?
You open a document that | In Word 2013, you’ll see the words [Compatibility Mode] next to | You can work in Compatibility Mode or you can convert your |
was created in an earlier | the file name on the title bar. Compatibility Mode makes sure that | document to the new format. To convert the document, click |
version of Word. | no new features in Word 2013 are available in the document, so that | File > Info > Convert. Converting your document lets you use |
| people using earlier versions of Word can work with it. | the new features, but people using earlier versions of Word might |
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| have difficulty editing certain parts of the document. |
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You save your document | If someone opens the document in an earlier version of Word, | If you need to share a Word 2013 document with someone using |
as a Word 2013 file. | they may not be able to change some items that were created | an earlier version of Word, run the Compatibility Checker tool to |
| using Word 2013 features. | make sure the file will work for them. |
| Word 2003 users will need the free Compatibility Pack. A prompt | Click File > Info > Check for Issues > Check Compatibility. |
| to download the pack appears when Word 2003 user opens the | This tool tells you which new features in Word 2013 won’t work |
| document. | in older versions. |
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You save your document | If you’ve used new Word features or formatting in your document, | You don’t have to do anything, necessarily. When you save your file |
as a Word 2003 file. | Word 2003 users may see warnings about unsupported features, or | in the older Word 2003 file format, the Compatibility Checker will |
| the formatting or feature may not appear in the file. | run automatically and warn you about any unsupported features. |
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| Then you can choose to make any changes to your document. |
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