Microsoft KB Archive/209677

= The shading changes when you open a Word 2000 document in Word 97 =

Article ID: 209677

Article Last Modified on 1/23/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Word 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Word 97 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q209677



SYMPTOMS
In Microsoft Word 97, when you open a Microsoft Word 2000 document [or a Word 2000 document saved in "Rich Text Format (*.rtf)"] that contains shading, the shading does not appear as it does in Word 2000.

For example, if you have paragraphs shaded with 5 percent, 10 percent, or 12.5 percent gray shading in Word 2000, they appear unshaded (white) when the file is opened in Word 97.



CAUSE
This behavior occurs because of the different ways that the two versions of Word handle color palettes. For example, Word 2000 supports 24-bit RGB color, but Word 97 supports 16-bit color and has a limit of 50 RGB colors.

This means that colors that are similar to each other in Word 2000 are translated (converted) to a single color in Word 97.



WORKAROUND
If you are sharing your documents with others who use Microsoft Word 97 for Windows, try eliminating gradient fills and use solid background or fill colors.



MORE INFORMATION
The following table shows the pre-defined shading that is available in Microsoft Word 2000.

The following table shows how the pre-defined shading in a Word 2000 document that was saved as either Word Document (*.doc) or Rich Text Format (*.rtf) converts when you open the document in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows.

