KB165909 - Form Fields Are Not Editable in Word Viewer 97-2000

Article ID: 165909

Article Last Modified on 1/19/2007

Microsoft Word 97 Viewer
Microsoft Office Word 2003
Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition
Microsoft Word 2000 Standard Edition
Microsoft Word 97 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q165909

SYMPTOMS

Form fields can not be edited in Microsoft Word Viewer 97-2000. When you try to change a text box form field, you receive the following error message:

Word Viewer cannot edit a document.

Note Check box and drop-down form fields function normally. Note also that this behavior is different from Microsoft Word Viewer for Windows 95 version 7.0.

CAUSE

This functionality is by design. Word Viewer is only for viewing and printing Word documents. To edit a document, you must use Microsoft Word.

RESOLUTION

If you have Microsoft Word installed on your computer, you can edit the document in Word. In Word Viewer 97-2000, on the File menu, click Open for Editing.

This starts Microsoft Word, loads the document, and allows you to make changes.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about Word Viewer 97-2000, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

165908 How to Obtain Microsoft Word Viewers

Note You can use the Microsoft Word 97-2000 Viewer to view documents that were created in Microsoft Word 97, in Microsoft Word 2000, in Microsoft Word 2002, and in Microsoft Office Word 2003.

Additional query words: WD97 WD2000 WD2002 WD2003 WV

Keywords: kberrmsg kbfield kbprb kbusage KB165909