Microsoft KB Archive/82130

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WD: Effect of Opening a Text File as Text With Layout

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Q82130

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.1
 * Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0b, 2.0c

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SUMMARY
The following article discusses what happens to formatting in a document saved in Text With Layout format.

MORE INFORMATION
The purpose of saving a Word for Windows or Word for the Macintosh document in Text With Layout format (as opposed to saving as Text Only or Text Only with Linebreaks format) is to retain as much vertical and horizontal placement of text as possible (that is, a mirror image of the original).

When saving from Word for Windows, Word generates an ANSI (American National Standards Institute) text file if you choose Text with Layout, and generates an ASCII file if you choose DOS Text with Layout. The only difference between the two options is how extended characters are converted in the output file.

When you read a Text with Layout document back into Word for Windows, the Text with Layout converter interprets the incoming data and transforms recognizable patterns of spaces into formatting commands. For example, if the converter identifies five spaces at the beginning of a line of text, it inserts a tab when opening the document in Word for Windows.

If you want to open a file that has been previously saved from either Word for the Macintosh or Word for Windows into Text with Layout format, or if you want to open any other plain text file without formatting manipulation, open the file as Text Only. When opening a document as Text Only, no data manipulation occurs, and what you see on screen is exactly the same as what you would see viewing the original text file: either by using TeachText on the Macintosh, by using the MS-DOS TYPE command at the command prompt, or by viewing it with a simple editor such as Notepad for Windows.

NOTE: If you open a document as Text Only and text appears to be horizontally misaligned, choose Select All from the Edit menu in Word, and choose a fixed font, like Courier 12 point.

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