Viewing Word 97 files?

Emilia

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Hi folks, I have a need for inspecting a huge batch of files created by Word 97. They mostly consist of a complex mixture of figures that (I've been told) on the original Word 97 were all ordered into columns (but no *tables* format was used). On my Windows 8.1, I have Kingsoft Writer installed and this shows me just a jumble of words and figures whose meaning I can't easily guess. It can't obviously read the exact format of Word 97.

I know I can find a Word 97 Viewer somewhere on the Microsoft site - but nowhere I'm seeing anything mentioned as compatible with Windows 8 and I'm reluctant to install something that might compromise my great new computer. Has any of you a suggestion: would it be o.k. to install on Windows 8 a Word Viewer created for previous operating systems?
 

My Computer

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Have tried Wordpad in Windows Accessories ?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
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    Gateway
    CPU
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Thanks David. Wordpad shows them as a mess of coding and scattered words, unfortunately.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung NP550P7C
    CPU
    Intel core i7 2.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    Samsung
    Memory
    8 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000/Nvidia GeForce GT650
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Norton Internet Security

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
Cheers, David. The fact is that I've already got Kingsoft Office installed plus Polyedit as a Word replacement (none of them doing a really good job (formatwise) with these Word 97 files. I'm rather reluctant to install another Office Suite just for examining these files, if I can help it. I'll see if anyone else here has a suggestion in the way of a light program like Word Viewer - otherwise yes, I'll have to try OpenOffice. Tks anyway.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung NP550P7C
    CPU
    Intel core i7 2.4 GHz
    Motherboard
    Samsung
    Memory
    8 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000/Nvidia GeForce GT650
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Norton Internet Security
In the time it took you to post your question on this forum and wait for answers you could have installed a viewer and found out for yourself whether it worked or not. My guess is that it should work fine but I confess I haven't tried it. Regardless, if it doesn't work, uninstall it and move on. What makes you think it will somehow compromise your new computer?

If you want a little more assurance, create a restore point prior to installing whatever software you wish to try.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    W10 Pro (desktop), W10 (laptop), W10 Pro (tablet)
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    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built i7-8700K, Hp Envy x360 EVO Laptop, MS Surface Pro 7
    CPU
    3.7Ghz Core i7-8700K, 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 4.7Ghz, 10th Gen Core™ i5-1035G4 1.1Ghz
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    ASUS TUF Z370-Pro Gaming, HP, MS
    Memory
    16G, 8G, 8G
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD Radeon RX580, Intel Iris X Graphics, Intel Iris Plus Graphics G4
    Sound Card
    ATI High Definition Audio (Built-in to mobo)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual Samsung U32J59 32 inch monitors, 13.3" display, 12.3" display
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 (Desktop), 1920x1080 (laptop), 2736x1824 Pro 7
    Hard Drives
    500GB ssd boot drive with 2 & 10TB Data (Desktop), 512GB ssd (laptop), 128GB SSD (tablet)
    PSU
    Corsair CX 750M
    Case
    Antec 100
    Cooling
    Coolermaster CM 212+
    Keyboard
    IBM Model M - used continuously since 1986
    Mouse
    Microsoft IntelliMouse
    Internet Speed
    665Mbps/15Mbps down/up
    Browser
    FireFox, MS Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender on all
    Other Info
    Retired in 2015 after working in the tech industry for 41 years. First 10 years as a Technician, the rest as a programmer/software engineer. After 1 year of retirement, I was bored so went back to work as a Robotic Process Automation Consultant. Retired for 3rd (and final) time in 2019.
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