Microsoft KB Archive/51499

DOSWord File Conversion Limitations in WinWord 1.0 PSS ID Number: Q51499 Article last modified on 08-08-1993 PSS database name: APpsConV

1.00

WINDOWS

Summary:

The following are limitations in file conversions between Word for Windows version 1.0 and Word for DOS versions 1.0 through 5.5 via the Word for DOS file converter CONV-WRD.DLL.

Conversion to and from DOS Word affects the following Word for Windows features:

Headers and Footers
Headers and footers must be located at the beginning of the division in the Word for DOS document to be converted.

If a header is formatted in Word for DOS to appear on odd or even pages and the first page, the conversion generates two headers with the same text in the Word for Windows file. The first header is formatted as odd/even and the second as first page only.

Word for Windows headers and footers are assumed to run through all sections of the document. In Word for DOS, headers and footers stop at the end of each division. A Word for DOS header or footer that appears only in a single division appears in Word for Windows in the section corresponding to that Word for DOS division, and in all subsequent sections, until it is superseded by a new header.

Margins
Top and bottom margins can be set only once in Word for Windows. The first top and bottom margin settings in the Word for DOS document are used as the margin settings for the entire Word for Windows document. Subsequent margin settings in the Word for DOS document are ignored.

Page length and width can be set only once in Word for Windows. The first page length and width set for the first division in the Word for DOS document are used as the page length and width throughout the Word for Windows document.

Paragraph Shading and Borders
Paragraph shading is ignored when converting from Word for DOS to Word for Windows.

Bold Word for DOS borders are converted into thick Word for Windows borders.

Thick Word for Windows borders are converted into bold Word for DOS borders.

Styles from Word for DOS to Word for Windows
The conversion program looks for the style sheet that was attached to the original document. If that style sheet is found, the style sheet information is converted in the Word for Windows document. (Styles are stored with the document in Word for Windows.) If the style sheet is not found, Word for Windows prompts you for the pathname and filename of the style sheet. If you do not attach a style sheet (or the style sheet does not match the style information in the Word for DOS document), styled text in the Word for DOS document becomes text that is directly formatted in the Word for Windows document.

Styles from Word for Windows to Word for DOS
The conversion program prompts you to attach a style sheet, if you want. If you do not attach a style sheet, or if the style sheet does not match the style information in the Word for Windows document, styled text in the Word for Windows document becomes direct-formatted text in the Word for DOS document.

Graphics from Word for DOS to Word for Windows
Word for DOS includes graphics by specifying a picture “tag,” or the pathname of the picture file to be included in the document. These tags are converted to Word for Windows picture fields. Sizing information is not preserved.

Graphics from Word for Windows to Word for DOS
Word for Windows picture fields are converted to Word for DOS picture tags. Bitmaps and Windows metafiles stored in a Word for Windows document are not converted. Scaling and cropping information is not preserved.

Supported File Formats
Word for Windows and Word for DOS both support TIFF, HPGL, and the Lotus PIC file formats. Future releases of these products will increase the number of file formats supported.

Tables and Side-By-Side Paragraphs
Tables in Word for Windows are converted to and from side-by-side paragraphs in Word for DOS.

Absolute-Positioned Objects (APOs)
Absolute-positioned objects are converted in both directions.

Macros
Macros are not compatible, and so will be converted to text.

Merge Documents
Simple merge documents (with DATA and NEXT fields) are supported in both directions. Other merge instructions (IF, SET, ASK, and so on) are not supported, these instructions are converted to text rather than ignored.

Word for DOS marks merge instructions with left and right chevron characters (< >). By default, all left and right chevron characters (ASCII 174 and 175) are assumed to be part of merge instructions when converting Word for DOS documents into Word for Windows documents. To convert chevrons as literal text, add the following two lines to your WIN.INI file:

[PCWordConv] ConvertMerge=No

If you set ConvertMerge to No as shown in the preceding lines, Word for Windows converts any chevron characters into normal ASCII characters. If you set this field to Yes, Word for Windows interprets the chevrons as print merge fields and converts them accordingly.

Tables of Contents and Indexes
Table of contents entries and index entries are converted. However, the generated table of contents or index is converted as text, and should generally be deleted before generating a new table of contents or index.

Page Numbering
Word for DOS page numbering created with the Format Division Line-Numbers command is converted to Word for Windows only when there is no existing header or footer.

Glossaries
Word for DOS glossary information can be converted to Word for Windows via a macro located in the Word for DOS glossary CONVERT.GLY. For more information, see the Word for Windows README.DOC file.

Outlines
Paragraphs that have heading level styles attached are converted to their corresponding heading style in Word for Windows; however, paragraphs manually formatted to be outline headings are not converted.

Reference(s):

Microsoft Word for Windows 1.0 README.DOC

Additional reference words: 1.00 w_winword D_WorD textconv

Copyright Microsoft Corporation 1993.