Microsoft KB Archive/926054

= Message when you try to use an earlier version of an Office program to open a file that was saved in a 2007 Office program: &quot;This file was created in a previous beta version&quot; =

Article ID: 926054

Article Last Modified on 10/15/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Excel 2007
 * Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
 * Microsoft Office Word 2007

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Important This article contains information about how to modify the registry. Make sure that you back up the registry before you modify it. Make sure that you know how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up, restore, and modify the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows registry



SYMPTOMS
You have installed the Compatibility Pack for the 2007 Office system. You then try to use one of the following Microsoft Office programs to open a file that was saved in a 2007 Microsoft Office program:
 * Microsoft Office 2003
 * Microsoft Office Excel 2003
 * Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
 * Microsoft Office Word 2003
 * Microsoft Office XP
 * Microsoft Excel 2002
 * Microsoft PowerPoint 2002
 * Microsoft Word 2002
 * Microsoft Office 2000
 * Microsoft Excel 2000
 * Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
 * Microsoft Word 2000

If the file was saved in a prerelease version of one of the programs that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section, you may receive one of the following messages.

Message 1

This file was created in a previous beta version of  2007 and cannot be opened in this version.

Message 2

This file was created in a previous beta version of  2007. will convert it to the most recent version of the  2007 file format when you save the file. Before opening this file, verify that it is from a trusted source.

Message 3

This workbook was created in an earlier beta version of Excel 2007, and it cannot be opened in the current version of Excel. To open the workbook, you must first open and save it in Excel 2007 Beta 2, and then you can open it in the current version of Excel.

Message 4

This workbook was created in an earlier beta version of Excel 2007. Excel will convert the workbook to the most recent version of the Excel 2007 file format when you save it. Before opening this workbook, verify that it is from a trusted source.

Message 5

This is a pre-release version of the Compatibility Pack and can open pre-release Office 2007 files only. Do you want to check for a newer version of the Compatibility Pack?



CAUSE
By default, some Open XML files that were saved in the prerelease versions of the 2007 Office programs cannot be opened by the Compatibility Pack for the 2007 Office system.



WORKAROUND
To work around this issue, an administrator can disable a policy by using one of the following methods, as appropriate for the situation.

Notes
 * These methods will enable you to open an Open XML file that was saved in the Beta 2 version of PowerPoint 2007. In these situations, you will receive message 2 in the &quot;Symptoms&quot; section. Additionally, the file will open.
 * These methods will enable you to open an Open XML file that was saved in the Beta 2 version of Excel 2007 or in the Beta 2 Technical Refresh version of Excel 2007. In these situations, you will receive message 4 in the &quot;Symptoms&quot; section. Additionally, the file will open.
 * These methods will not enable you to open an Open XML file that was saved in the Beta 2 version of Word 2007. The only workaround is to open the file in the original release version of Word 2007 and then resave the file. When you do this, the file will be saved in the newest file format. The recipient of the document can then use an earlier version of Word with the Compatibility Pack to open the file.

Note Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.

Method 1: Use the Administrative Templates for the Compatibility Pack
Note This method is specific to Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

To use a template, follow these steps:
 * 1) Exit the Office programs.
 * 2) Click Start, click Run, type gpedit.msc in the Open box, and then click OK.
 * 3) In the Local Computer Policy window in the left-side pane, right-click Administrative Templates under the User Configuration node, and then click Add/Remove Templates.
 * 4) Click Add.
 * 5) Select the Office2007Converters.adm file, and then click Open.
 * 6) Click Close.
 * 7) Expand Administrative Templates under User Configuration in the Local Computer Policy window in the left-side pane.
 * 8) Click Office 2007 Converters.
 * 9) Double-click the Blocks opening of prerelease versions of file formats new to Excel 2007 policy.
 * 10) Click Disabled, and then click OK.
 * 11) Repeat steps 7 to 10 for the PowerPoint 2007 policy.
 * 12) Restart the Office programs.

Method 2: Manually edit the registry
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.

Note This method is specific to Excel, PowerPoint, and Word.

To manually edit the registry, follow these steps:  Exit the Office programs. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK. Select the appropriate registry key:  Excel 2007

 

 PowerPoint 2007

 

 Word 2007

 

</li></ul> </li> After you select the appropriate key that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.</li> Type one of the following DWORD values for the appropriate program, and then press ENTER: <ul>  Excel12BetaFilesFromConverters </li>  PowerPoint12BetaFilesFromConverters </li></ul> </li> Right-click the DWORD value that you typed in step 5, and then click Modify.</li> In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.</li> On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.</li> Start the Office program, and then open the file.</li> Save the file again in the Office program. After the file has been saved, the file should now open in the earlier Office programs that are listed in the &quot;Symptoms&quot; section.</li></ol>

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MORE INFORMATION
By default, the versions of Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, and Microsoft Word that are listed in the &quot;Symptoms&quot; section do not open the Open XML files that are saved in the prerelease versions of 2007 Office programs.

The following tables summarize the symptoms that you may experience when you open a file that was saved in one of the 2007 Office programs.

Word

PowerPoint

Excel

For more information about why you may be unable to open or to save an Excel workbook, a PowerPoint presentation, or a Word document in the 2007 Office programs, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

922850 You receive an error message when you try to open or to save a file in one of the 2007 Office programs or in one of the Office 2003 programs

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