Symptoms

You opened a document that was saved in a previous Microsoft Office Word file format. When you saved the document in Office Word 2007 format, Compatibility Mode was turned off.

Cause

When you save a Word 97–2003 document in the Office Word 2007 file format, Compatibility Mode is automatically turned off unless you select the Maintain compatibility with Word 97–2003 check box in the Save As dialog box.

Resolution

To save a Word 97–2003 document and work in Compatibility Mode, do one of the following:

Save the document in Word 97–2003 file format

If you have already saved the document in Office Word 2007 file format, you can save the document in the Word 97-2003 file format to turn Compatibility Mode on.

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then point to Save As.
2. Click Word 97-2003 Document.
3. Type a name for the document, and then click Save.

Save the document in Office Word 2007 file format

If you want to save the document in Office Word 2007 file format, you can continue to work in Compatibility Mode by selecting the Maintain compatibility with Word 97–2003 check box in the Save As dialog box.

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then point to Save As.
2. Click Word Document.
3. Select the Maintain compatibility with Word 97–2003 check box.
4. Type a name for the document, and then click Save.

 Note    For information on how to convert a document to Office Word 2007 and leave Compatibility Mode, see Use Word 2007 to open documents created in previous versions of Word.