square characters in Word doc Philip Wright 28.09.2006 16:50:02 I am trying to open a Word document but it only shows square characters. The file type is Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows). I am using Word 2003. How can I convert this document to a readable format? Thanks.

Re: square characters in Word doc "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill[ at ]mvps.org> 28.09.2006 17:01:04 See “WD2002: Symbol Characters Are Changed to Box Characters” at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290978 for one possibility. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:2F8BDD7A-6CF2-40E1-A740-29B86EB79952[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > I am trying to open a Word document but it only shows square characters. The > file type is Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows). I am using > Word 2003. How can I convert this document to a readable format? > > Thanks.

Re: square characters in Word doc Philip Wright 28.09.2006 21:01:02 Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, it only works if the original font used was wingdings. I tried the macro for the file but it didn't work. Any other suggestions? "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: [Quoted Text] > See “WD2002: Symbol Characters Are Changed to Box Characters” at > http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290978 for one possibility. > > -- > Suzanne S. Barnhill > Microsoft MVP (Word) > Words into Type > Fairhope, Alabama USA > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so > all may benefit. > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > news:2F8BDD7A-6CF2-40E1-A740-29B86EB79952[ at ]microsoft.com... > > I am trying to open a Word document but it only shows square characters. > The > > file type is Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows). I am using > > Word 2003. How can I convert this document to a readable format? > > > > Thanks. > >

Re: square characters in Word doc "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill[ at ]mvps.org> 28.09.2006 21:28:52 Not entirely true. It would work if the problem were the one described (if you had converted the text to *any* symbol font). In such situations, pasting the text into WordPad also fixes it. Clearly, your problem is something different. From your statement, it sounds as if you are getting the file conversion dialog when you open the file. That suggests that the document is not a Word document. What is the file extension? -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:6572CF79-9682-49F9-8C8B-2A61DE18F201[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, it only works if the original font > used was wingdings. I tried the macro for the file but it didn't work. Any > other suggestions? > > "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: > > > See “WD2002: Symbol Characters Are Changed to Box Characters” at > > http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290978 for one possibility. > > > > -- > > Suzanne S. Barnhill > > Microsoft MVP (Word) > > Words into Type > > Fairhope, Alabama USA > > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so > > all may benefit. > > > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > > news:2F8BDD7A-6CF2-40E1-A740-29B86EB79952[ at ]microsoft.com... > > > I am trying to open a Word document but it only shows square characters. > > The > > > file type is Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows). I am using > > > Word 2003. How can I convert this document to a readable format? > > > > > > Thanks. > > > >

Re: square characters in Word doc Philip Wright 29.09.2006 15:58:01 I did try opening in Wordpad (square characters) and Notepad (no characters). When I double click the file, it opens without any prompts and just shows the square characters. The file is a .doc file. When I look at the properties when opened in Word 2003, it says "Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows)". I think this is related to the problem, but I don't know how to change it. Philip "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: [Quoted Text] > Not entirely true. It would work if the problem were the one described (if > you had converted the text to *any* symbol font). In such situations, > pasting the text into WordPad also fixes it. Clearly, your problem is > something different. > > From your statement, it sounds as if you are getting the file conversion > dialog when you open the file. That suggests that the document is not a Word > document. What is the file extension? > > -- > Suzanne S. Barnhill > Microsoft MVP (Word) > Words into Type > Fairhope, Alabama USA > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so > all may benefit. > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > news:6572CF79-9682-49F9-8C8B-2A61DE18F201[ at ]microsoft.com... > > Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, it only works if the original > font > > used was wingdings. I tried the macro for the file but it didn't work. > Any > > other suggestions? > > > > "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: > > > > > See “WD2002: Symbol Characters Are Changed to Box Characters” at > > > http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290978 for one possibility. > > > > > > -- > > > Suzanne S. Barnhill > > > Microsoft MVP (Word) > > > Words into Type > > > Fairhope, Alabama USA > > > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the > newsgroup so > > > all may benefit. > > > > > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in > message > > > news:2F8BDD7A-6CF2-40E1-A740-29B86EB79952[ at ]microsoft.com... > > > > I am trying to open a Word document but it only shows square > characters. > > > The > > > > file type is Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows). I am > using > > > > Word 2003. How can I convert this document to a readable format? > > > > > > > > Thanks. > > > > > > > >

Re: square characters in Word doc "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill[ at ]mvps.org> 29.09.2006 16:13:25 I think the bottom line is that the document is damaged. Have you tried Open and Repair? If that doesn't help, then I guess it's a lost cause. Was the document ever opened directly from a floppy? -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:B3DA3C52-D111-41F7-A36B-E7F93C6821F7[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > I did try opening in Wordpad (square characters) and Notepad (no characters). > > When I double click the file, it opens without any prompts and just shows > the square characters. > > The file is a .doc file. When I look at the properties when opened in Word > 2003, it says "Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows)". I think > this is related to the problem, but I don't know how to change it. > > Philip > > "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: > > > Not entirely true. It would work if the problem were the one described (if > > you had converted the text to *any* symbol font). In such situations, > > pasting the text into WordPad also fixes it. Clearly, your problem is > > something different. > > > > From your statement, it sounds as if you are getting the file conversion > > dialog when you open the file. That suggests that the document is not a Word > > document. What is the file extension? > > > > -- > > Suzanne S. Barnhill > > Microsoft MVP (Word) > > Words into Type > > Fairhope, Alabama USA > > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so > > all may benefit. > > > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > > news:6572CF79-9682-49F9-8C8B-2A61DE18F201[ at ]microsoft.com... > > > Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, it only works if the original > > font > > > used was wingdings. I tried the macro for the file but it didn't work. > > Any > > > other suggestions? > > > > > > "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: > > > > > > > See “WD2002: Symbol Characters Are Changed to Box Characters” at > > > > http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290978 for one possibility. > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Suzanne S. Barnhill > > > > Microsoft MVP (Word) > > > > Words into Type > > > > Fairhope, Alabama USA > > > > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > > > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the > > newsgroup so > > > > all may benefit. > > > > > > > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in > > message > > > > news:2F8BDD7A-6CF2-40E1-A740-29B86EB79952[ at ]microsoft.com... > > > > > I am trying to open a Word document but it only shows square > > characters. > > > > The > > > > > file type is Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows). I am > > using > > > > > Word 2003. How can I convert this document to a readable format? > > > > > > > > > > Thanks. > > > > > > > > > > > >

Re: square characters in Word doc Philip Wright 29.09.2006 17:10:02 The file is from someone else who likely created the file in the UK. I personally have not opened the file successfully so will try and get another copy. Thanks for your assistance. "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: [Quoted Text] > I think the bottom line is that the document is damaged. Have you tried Open > and Repair? If that doesn't help, then I guess it's a lost cause. Was the > document ever opened directly from a floppy? > > -- > Suzanne S. Barnhill > Microsoft MVP (Word) > Words into Type > Fairhope, Alabama USA > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so > all may benefit. > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > news:B3DA3C52-D111-41F7-A36B-E7F93C6821F7[ at ]microsoft.com... > > I did try opening in Wordpad (square characters) and Notepad (no > characters). > > > > When I double click the file, it opens without any prompts and just shows > > the square characters. > > > > The file is a .doc file. When I look at the properties when opened in > Word > > 2003, it says "Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows)". I think > > this is related to the problem, but I don't know how to change it. > > > > Philip > > > > "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: > > > > > Not entirely true. It would work if the problem were the one described > (if > > > you had converted the text to *any* symbol font). In such situations, > > > pasting the text into WordPad also fixes it. Clearly, your problem is > > > something different. > > > > > > From your statement, it sounds as if you are getting the file conversion > > > dialog when you open the file. That suggests that the document is not a > Word > > > document. What is the file extension? > > > > > > -- > > > Suzanne S. Barnhill > > > Microsoft MVP (Word) > > > Words into Type > > > Fairhope, Alabama USA > > > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the > newsgroup so > > > all may benefit. > > > > > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in > message > > > news:6572CF79-9682-49F9-8C8B-2A61DE18F201[ at ]microsoft.com... > > > > Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, it only works if the > original > > > font > > > > used was wingdings. I tried the macro for the file but it didn't > work. > > > Any > > > > other suggestions? > > > > > > > > "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: > > > > > > > > > See “WD2002: Symbol Characters Are Changed to Box Characters” at > > > > > http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290978 for one possibility. > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > Suzanne S. Barnhill > > > > > Microsoft MVP (Word) > > > > > Words into Type > > > > > Fairhope, Alabama USA > > > > > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > > > > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the > > > newsgroup so > > > > > all may benefit. > > > > > > > > > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in > > > message > > > > > news:2F8BDD7A-6CF2-40E1-A740-29B86EB79952[ at ]microsoft.com... > > > > > > I am trying to open a Word document but it only shows square > > > characters. > > > > > The > > > > > > file type is Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows). I > am > > > using > > > > > > Word 2003. How can I convert this document to a readable format? > > > > > > > > > > > > Thanks. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

Re: square characters in Word doc "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnhill[ at ]mvps.org> 29.09.2006 19:08:31 If the file was emailed, it may have been garbled in transmission. If the sender has the ability to compress the file using WinZip or the like, that would help preserve it from damage along the way. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:0EE8115E-EE5E-4017-9EA7-DF52721B2975[ at ]microsoft.com... [Quoted Text] > The file is from someone else who likely created the file in the UK. I > personally have not opened the file successfully so will try and get another > copy. Thanks for your assistance. > > "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: > > > I think the bottom line is that the document is damaged. Have you tried Open > > and Repair? If that doesn't help, then I guess it's a lost cause. Was the > > document ever opened directly from a floppy? > > > > -- > > Suzanne S. Barnhill > > Microsoft MVP (Word) > > Words into Type > > Fairhope, Alabama USA > > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so > > all may benefit. > > > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message > > news:B3DA3C52-D111-41F7-A36B-E7F93C6821F7[ at ]microsoft.com... > > > I did try opening in Wordpad (square characters) and Notepad (no > > characters). > > > > > > When I double click the file, it opens without any prompts and just shows > > > the square characters. > > > > > > The file is a .doc file. When I look at the properties when opened in > > Word > > > 2003, it says "Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows)". I think > > > this is related to the problem, but I don't know how to change it. > > > > > > Philip > > > > > > "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: > > > > > > > Not entirely true. It would work if the problem were the one described > > (if > > > > you had converted the text to *any* symbol font). In such situations, > > > > pasting the text into WordPad also fixes it. Clearly, your problem is > > > > something different. > > > > > > > > From your statement, it sounds as if you are getting the file conversion > > > > dialog when you open the file. That suggests that the document is not a > > Word > > > > document. What is the file extension? > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Suzanne S. Barnhill > > > > Microsoft MVP (Word) > > > > Words into Type > > > > Fairhope, Alabama USA > > > > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > > > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the > > newsgroup so > > > > all may benefit. > > > > > > > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in > > message > > > > news:6572CF79-9682-49F9-8C8B-2A61DE18F201[ at ]microsoft.com... > > > > > Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, it only works if the > > original > > > > font > > > > > used was wingdings. I tried the macro for the file but it didn't > > work. > > > > Any > > > > > other suggestions? > > > > > > > > > > "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > See “WD2002: Symbol Characters Are Changed to Box Characters” at > > > > > > http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=290978 for one possibility. > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > > > > > > Suzanne S. Barnhill > > > > > > Microsoft MVP (Word) > > > > > > Words into Type > > > > > > Fairhope, Alabama USA > > > > > > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org > > > > > > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the > > > > newsgroup so > > > > > > all may benefit. > > > > > > > > > > > > "Philip Wright" <PhilipWright[ at ]discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in > > > > message > > > > > > news:2F8BDD7A-6CF2-40E1-A740-29B86EB79952[ at ]microsoft.com... > > > > > > > I am trying to open a Word document but it only shows square > > > > characters. > > > > > > The > > > > > > > file type is Plain Text Document - Western European (Windows). I > > am > > > > using > > > > > > > Word 2003. How can I convert this document to a readable format? > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Thanks. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > >