MS 2003

Lyra Jean · Jun 22, 2010

I have MS 2003 on my PC. I do have MS 2007 but it's on my laptop which needs a new battery. Do editors accept docs in MS 2003 if I have to email it? Or better yet does MS 2007 read MS 2003? I have thumb drives so I can save the doc on it and head to the library.

Go figure I can hand write fiction but non-fiction I have to type. It must be all the years of school.

I looked at the first page on the FAQ and didn't see a similar question. If this question has been asked you can link or direct me too it. I really suck at finding something on the forums.

Thanks.

Topaz044 · Jun 22, 2010

Take it from someone who knows-if those editors don't have a convertor, any " mark is going to look like a weird squiggle line. I had to fix every line of dialogue in a ten-thousand word manuscript. It doesn't help that MS 2010 just came out a week or so ago.

Terie · Jun 23, 2010

Microsoft products are typically backward compatible any number of versions. If someone has installed 2007 or 2010, they can read Word files much further back than 2003. I know this to be absolute fact since I have 2007 at work and 2003 at home.

I wouldn't be surprised if the latest versions of Word can read Word files back to its very first versions, certainly 3.1.

It's forward compatibility that's an issue. Someone with 2003 can't read .docx files unless they've futzed around with the converter tools and such.

Lyra Jean · Jun 23, 2010

Well if they send me something and it was written with 2007 then I can just go to the library and open it there.

I'm just glad I don't have to write it all by hand and then retype it later. Less work and all that.

kjarva · Jun 23, 2010

Backward compatibility is not an issue. When you go to save your file in word 2003, make sure you select Word 2007 Document (*.docx) in the box that says save as type, below your document name.

Same applies going the other way, just check that dropdown and pick the most appropriate option, depending what version of word you are going to open the file in.

maestrowork · Jun 23, 2010

Convert/Save it to RTF file before sending it to anyone, including agents, etc.

RTFs are pretty much universally accepted and may not carry viruses, etc. that most agents would try to avoid at all cost... In fact, many people won't accept Word files in email for that reason.

Margarita Skies · Jun 23, 2010

That's strange. I don't know about Word 3.1 but I did use Word 97 for three years and I've always thought that .doc documents were compatible with everything. I always save my manuscripts as .doc. If my agent or publisher asks that I save it in a different format because he or she can't open it I'll just save it in the format that their computer is compatible with. I am using Word 2007 and five years ago I used Word 2003 for 60 days. I've been using Word 2007 since the year 2007, when I got my first laptop. No one has complained about my .doc files so far.

Jamesaritchie · Jun 23, 2010

.doc is .doc, no matter the word processor. If you save as . doc, no editor or agent will even know which word processor you use. Every MS word processor, and pretty nearly every other word processor in the world, can open a .doc file, no filter needed.

Don't save to .docx. MS 2003 can open it only if the user has installed a filter, and there's simply no need for anyone to receive a docx file, or for you to save in this format.

.rtf is good, too, and nearly universal, though not all coversions are as cut and dry as some think.

Margarita Skies · Jun 24, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
.doc is .doc, no matter the word processor. If you save as . doc, no editor or agent will even know which word processor you use. Every MS word processor, and pretty nearly every other word processor in the world, can open a .doc file, no filter needed.

Don't save to .docx. MS 2003 can open it only if the user has installed a filter, and there's simply no need for anyone to receive a docx file, or for you to save in this format.

.rtf is good, too, and nearly universal, though not all coversions are as cut and dry as some think.

Hey, does that mean that .doc is indeed the best format to save word-processing documents in, as I've always thought, because nearly every word processor is compatible with it? Or did I misunderstand this post?

Synovia · Jun 24, 2010

Magali said:
Hey, does that mean that .doc is indeed the best format to save word-processing documents in, as I've always thought, because nearly every word processor is compatible with it? Or did I misunderstand this post?

Every MICROSOFT word processor is compatible with it.

A lot of 3rd party utilities still have trouble, because microsoft doesn't follow their own published specs.

Jamesaritchie · Jun 24, 2010

Synovia said:
Every MICROSOFT word processor is compatible with it.

A lot of 3rd party utilities still have trouble, because microsoft doesn't follow their own published specs.

I haven't found a real word processor of any make that isn't fully .DOC compatible, and I've used most of the third party word processors out there. Not being compatible with .DOC makes any word processor second class, at best.

It doesn't matter what specs MS follows, .DOC is easy to implement, and I can't think of an actual word processor that isn't .DOC compatible, though surely there is one or two.

Margarita Skies · Jun 24, 2010

Jamesaritchie said:
I haven't found a real word processor of any make that isn't fully .DOC compatible, and I've used most of the third party word processors out there. Not being compatible with .DOC makes any word processor second class, at best.

It doesn't matter what specs MS follows, .DOC is easy to implement, and I can't think of an actual word processor that isn't .DOC compatible, though surely there is one or two.

Thank you. :Thumbs:

Lyra Jean · Jun 28, 2010

cool. I would send it in the format that the editor would want it. I just don't have a printer so if I had to snail mail it I would have to take to the library.

Thanks for all the useful information.

MS 2003

Lyra Jean

Two years old now.

Topaz044

Resident Zombie

Terie

Writer is as Writer does

Lyra Jean

Two years old now.

kjarva

figuring it all out

maestrowork

Fear the Death Ray

Margarita Skies

Jamesaritchie

Margarita Skies

Synovia

practical experience, FTW

Jamesaritchie

Margarita Skies

Lyra Jean

Two years old now.