Q209679: WD97: Font Colors Change Opening a Word 2000 Document

Article: Q209679
Product(s): Word 97 for Windows
Version(s): WINDOWS:97
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): word8 word97
Last Modified: 14-NOV-2000

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Word 97 for Windows 
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SYMPTOMS
========

When you use Word 97 to open a Microsoft Word 2000 document [or a version of the
document that has been saved in Rich Text Format (*.rtf)] that contains
different font colors, the font colors do not appear as expected.


CAUSE
=====

This behavior occurs because of the different way that each program handles
color palettes. Word 2000 supports 24-bit RGB color, but Word 97 supports 16-bit
color and has a limit of 50 RGB colors. Thus, colors that are similar to each
other in Word 2000 are translated to a single color in Word 97.

For example, the font color Dark Green is translated to Green when a Word 2000
document is opened in Word 97. However, when a Rich Text Format version of the
same Word 2000 document is opened in Word 97, the Dark Green font color is
translated to Black.

WORKAROUND
==========

If you are sharing your documents with Word 97 users, try using primary colors.

MORE INFORMATION
================

When you open a Word 2000 document containing text formatted with different
font colors in Microsoft Word 97 for Windows, the font colors may change
unexpectedly, as shown in the following table.

  Font color in Word 2000          Converts to this font color in Word 97
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

  Black                            Retained as Black
  Brown                            Converts to Dark Red
  Olive Green                      Converts to Dark Yellow
  Dark Green                       Converts to Green
  Dark Teal                        Converts to Teal
  Dark Blue                        Retained as Dark Blue
  Indigo                           Converts to Gray - 50%
  Gray - 80%                       Converts to Black
  Dark Red                         Retained as Dark Red
  Orange                           Converts to Red
  Dark Yellow                      Retained as Dark Yellow
  Green                            Retained as Green
  Teal                             Retained as Teal
  Blue                             Retained as Blue
  Blue - Gray                      Converts to Gray - 50%
  Gray - 50%                       Retained as Gray - 50%
  Red                              Retained as Red
  Light Orange                     Converts to Yellow
  Lime                             Converts to Yellow
  Sea Green                        Converts to Bright Green
  Aqua                             Converts to Turquoise
  Light Blue                       Converts to Blue
  Violet                           Retained as Violet
  Gray - 40%                       Converts to Gray - 50%
  Pink                             Retained as Pink
  Gold                             Converts to Yellow
  Yellow                           Retained as Yellow
  Bright Green                     Retained as Bright Green
  Turquoise                        Retained as Turquoise
  Sky Blue                         Converts to Turquoise
  Plum                             Converts to Pink
  Gray - 25%                       Retained as Gray - 25%
  Rose                             Converts to Pink
  Tan                              Converts to Yellow
  Light Yellow                     Converts to Yellow
  Light Green                      Converts to Bright Green
  Light Turquoise                  Converts to Turquoise
  Pale Blue                        Converts to Turquoise
  Lavender                         Converts to Pink
  White                            Retained as White

When you use Microsoft Word 97 for Windows to open a Word 2000 document saved as Rich Text Format (*.rtf) and containing text formatted with different font colors, the font colors may change unexpectedly, as shown in the
following table.

  Font color in Word 2000          Converts to this font color in Word 97
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

  Black                            Retained as Black
  Brown                            Converts to Dark Red
  Olive Green                      Converts to Black
  Dark Green                       Converts to Black
  Dark Teal                        Converts to Dark Blue
  Dark Blue                        Retained as Dark Blue
  Indigo                           Converts to Dark Blue
  Gray - 80%                       Converts to Black
  Dark Red                         Retained as Dark Red
  Orange                           Converts to Red
  Dark Yellow                      Retained as Dark Yellow
  Green                            Retained as Green
  Teal                             Retained as Teal
  Blue                             Retained as Blue
  Blue - Gray                      Converts to Gray - 50%
  Gray - 50%                       Retained as Gray - 50%
  Red                              Retained as Red
  Light Orange                     Converts to Yellow
  Lime                             Converts to Dark Yellow
  Sea Green                        Converts to Teal
  Aqua                             Converts to Turquoise
  Light Blue                       Converts to Blue
  Violet                           Retained as Violet
  Gray - 40%                       Converts to Gray - 50%
  Pink                             Retained as Pink
  Gold                             Converts to Yellow
  Yellow                           Retained as Yellow
  Bright Green                     Retained as Bright Green
  Turquoise                        Retained as Turquoise
  Sky Blue                         Converts to Turquoise
  Plum                             Converts to Violet
  Gray - 25%                       Retained as Gray - 25%
  Rose                             Converts to Gray - 25%
  Tan                              Converts to Gray - 25%
  Light Yellow                     Converts to Gray - 25%
  Light Green                      Converts to Gray - 25%
  Light Turquoise                  Converts to White
  Pale Blue                        Converts to Gray - 25%
  Lavender                         Converts to Gray - 25%
  White                            Retained as White

REFERENCES
==========

For additional information about how Word 2000 shading properties appear in Word
97, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:

  Q209677 WD97: Shading Changes Opening a Word 2000 Document

For additional information about font colors in Word 2000, click the article
number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

  Q224776 WD2000: How to Find and Replace Font Color Formatting

Additional query words: white gray grey black shades grayscale greyscale 16-bit 16 bit 24 24-bit fill pattern shading

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Keywords          : word8 word97 
Technology        : kbWordSearch kbWord97 kbWord97Search kbZNotKeyword2
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Issue type        : kbprb

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