Turn Off Compatibility Mode in Word 2010

Anonymous

Original Title: Word 2010 - Compatibility Mode

Hi,

I've been reading the threads here trying to find exactly how to turn off this annoying compatibility mode in Word. I'm NOT using Outlook which seems to have been the culprit for some. These word docs are also automatically saving as Read-Only I guess, as I'm not choosing that option in the Backstage view

The file was originally a 2007 word file but I transferred it to my new/current laptop with Office 2010. I had been working with the file regularly on this system without any problems but in the last two weeks, this problem started. I didn't re-set anything or upload any new software, etc. Is it some sort of glitch from an upgrade?

I've even copied the manuscript to a new word doc and eventually it reverts to an unplanned file name (wd000006) and Read Only Compatibility mode.

I have to re-save the file each time with a new name.

Thanks in advance for you help.

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Anonymous

[Compatibility Mode] is Word's way of telling you that the document file was originally created in an earlier version. As a result, the file structure will not support some features normally available in this version of Word (so you shouldn't panic when you can't access it). Compatibility mode display has always been there when working with "old" files, you simply may not have noticed it.

One option you have is to let word "convert" to 2010 file structure. Do it this way:

Open one of these compatibility mode docs, note the displayed [compatibility mode] message
Note: in the Home tab / Font group / look at the Text Effects "A" icon, it is light grey and unavailable
Click on File tab
it should open in the Info option, if it doesn't, click on Info
Click on the Convert button
(optionally) Word displays an informational dialog box. There is a check box option to not display it, personally I prefer to let it continue display, make your own choice.
click on OK if the dialog displayed
Note that the [compatibility mode] message is gone, but the extension is still DOC
Note that the Text Effects "A" icon is light blue and available
now do a File tab / Save
Note that now after doing a SAVE, not SAVE AS!, the file extension is now DOCX

Does this solve your problem?

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Jay Freedman 208.2K Volunteer Moderator

When Word 2010 creates all new blank documents in Compatibility Mode, that means your Normal.dotm template (the one used as the base for new blank documents) is in Compatibility Mode. This is usually the result of upgrading from an earlier version as opposed to a clean install.

To fix it, you must open the Normal.dotm file itself to convert it to Word 2010 format. That means using the File > Open dialog instead of the File > New dialog. There are two things you must do in that dialog:

Make sure the file type dropdown (next to the file name box) is set to either "All Files (*.*)" or "All Word Documents (*.docx;*.docm;*.dotx;*.dotm;....)" or "All Word Templates (*.dotx;*.dotm)". Any other setting will hide the file you're looking for.
You have to locate the folder that contains Normal.dotm. In Windows 7 that's usually C:\Users<your name>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates, but it's different in Windows XP, and could be different if you've used the Options >Advanced > File Locations dialog to change the User Templates location. Also, the AppData folder and everything under it is marked as Hidden by default, so you might not be able to see it if you try to navigate the folders. The quickest way to get there is to go to the address bar at the top of the Open dialog and type in %AppData%\Microsoft\Templates and press Enter.

Once you locate Normal.dotm in the Open dialog, click it and click the Open button. If the Word title bar now says "Normal.dotm [Compatibility Mode]", click File and click the Convert button. Then save and close the file. All future new blank documents should no longer be in Compatibility Mode.

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78 additional answers

Anonymous

2012-05-28T17:53:57+00:00

It IS broken when you have to take steps to make a brand new document something it should be without any further work. THAT is a "fix"

If the default file format for Word 2010 is "docx" and saving files becomes an exercise in learning how to convert them into a format that doesn't nag them with excess information, then it the answer is not about "laziness", it's about a poor decision on Microsoft's part.

They should give the user a dialog during the installation process which asks them if they want to save Word files in either the .doc or .docx format by default, then let them deal with going forwards or backwards with their mode choices...

The object of the previous post was that people make assumptions that turn out to be grossly underestimated. "They can just convert them after they start writing..." is probably what some Word team manager said in a meeting, and no one bothered to say otherwise...

Would you want to convert 30 documents a week? Be my guest...

On the flip side, the same Word Options section allows the user to set up all their new documents as if they were WordPerfect 5.x files.... Back to 1990... Who cares!? This is a FEATURE! Not!

That sort of thinking is a waste of time on Microsoft's side, and utterly superfluous on the user's side. There very well could be 4 people left who need that ability. But someone was tasked with including it and defining how it would work. Time and money spent for what.... There is no Word for Macintosh support later than 5.x.... another waste of time...
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Jay Freedman 208.2K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2012-05-24T16:44:39+00:00

Anthony, I'm not quite sure of the point of your post, but I do object to one phrase: "Compatibility Mode Fix". The Convert button (which is in plain sight on the File page and not "buried in Word's options section") is not a "fix", because nothing is broken. At worst, it's something that users don't understand because they're too busy or too lazy to read the documentation (press F1 and search for "compatibility mode").
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Anonymous

2012-05-24T01:07:23+00:00
- After hundreds of years, Occam's Razor is still a foreign concept to many. But it is really a matter of "If-Then-Else" in action.
- Deleting the Normal.dot file as a means of having Word write a clean version goes back 20 years. There's nothing new about it except that no one thinks of it anymore.
- The "Compatibility Mode Fix" option buried in Word's options section is a typical, "Why bother telling them when they won't know the difference anyway?" mentality.
The same "see no evil, speak no evil" way of thinking goes back to other little overlooked

glitches like when INTEL got nabbed for a Pentium CPU bug that trashed the accuracy of certain floating point calculations.

INTEL's repsonse was "You wouldn't see that happen in 1/9,000,000,000+ calculations." Why worry?"

How many tens of millions of calculations are needed to process images and video....

Photoshop mixes integer and floating point operations, depending on what aspect of the image is being processed. In the Pentium days, "fast" meant just not quite slow enough to make water freeze... now... one big slip means one big mistake...

That "Billions and Billions" turned out to be more like 1/1000 in practical terms.

Around 8~10 years ago, JPL sent a $500M satellite to Mars to aid in mapping its surface. Everything went like clockwork, except that the satellite crashed head-on into Mars, instead of orbitting it. How? Why?

Some coder forgot to change Metric units to English. That's all it takes.
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