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Bug of the moment 2007-04-26

What is the difference between a Word 6.0 document and a Word 6.0 document?

Sounds like a bad joke, but the punchline is not quite what you expect. Here are two similar looking files:

Two WordPad files, one with a DOS-style name and one with a long filename

If I try to open the first file, I receive the following error message:

Can not load Word for Windows 6.0 files

However, the second file opens just fine. The following image illustrates how I saved the file:

I am saving a Word 6 document in WordPad

Spot the irony yet? WordPad in Windows 2000 can create Word 6 documents. It can open Word 6 documents, if it created them itself. It can not open Word 6 documents physically created by Word 6. So the question stands: What is the difference between a Word 6.0 document and a Word 6.0 document?

Posted 26th April 2007 – Comments and questions?