How to Open Office Word 97 With WordPad

The many features of Microsoft Word 97 make it a program of choice when producing documents. Unfortunately, these documents generally require the expensive Word program to open. One alternative is to use WordPad to open these files. WordPad is included for free with the Windows operating system but will only work at versions XP or earlier to open Word 97 files.

Instructions

Opening with WordPad XP or Earlier

1. Choose the "File" menu in WordPad XP or earlier. Click "Open" to display the Open dialog box.

2. Navigate to the Word 97 file that you want to open. To limit the display only to Word files, choose "Word for Windows" in the Files of Type drop-down.

3. Double-click the Word 97 file. It opens in WordPad.

Alternatives to WordPad Vista or Greater

1. Download, install and run Word Viewer, if your operating system is Vista or later.

2. Choose the "File" meanu and select "Open" to display the Open dialog box.

3. Navigate to the Word 97 file that you want to open. Double-click the file to load it into the Viewer.

References

• Microsoft: Advanced Features of WordPad
• Microsoft: How to obtain the latest Word Viewer