Turn Off Compatibility Mode in Microsoft Word in 4 Easy Steps

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A quick and easy guide to exiting Compatibility Mode in Office 365

Written by Nicole Levine, MFA

Last Updated: October 19, 2024 Fact Checked

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• For One Document
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• For All Documents (Windows)
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• For All Documents (Mac)
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When you open old Word documents (those ending in .DOC) in a modern version of Microsoft Word, you'll be opening them in Compatibility Mode. Certain features may be disabled in your newer version of Word to either preserve the layout or functions of the older document you opened. This wikiHow article will show you how to exit Compatibility Mode by converting or saving your older document to the new DOCX format, plus how to disable Compatibility Mode for all documents.

Quick Steps

1. Click the File menu and select Info.
2. Click Convert to exit Compatibility Mode.
3. If there is no "Convert," go to File > Save As, and save as a DOCX file.

Steps

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Turn Off Compatibility Mode for One Document

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1. 
   1
   Open your document in Word. If a single document opened in Compatibility Mode, you can exit this mode by saving the document in a newer file format. You can either open your document within Word from the “File” tab, or you can find your file in your file browser, right-click on it, then select “Open With…” and “Word.”

   • This method will work on the version of Word that comes with Microsoft 365, Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016.
2. 
   2
   Click the File tab. You'll find this either above your document space on the left side of the window (Windows) or along the top of your screen (Macs).
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3. 
   3
   Click Info. More options will open to the right.
4. 
   4
   Click Convert. The document will convert to the newer version of Word. You might lose your layout, font, or features by converting.

   • If you don't see this option, go to File > Save As.
     • If you're using Microsoft 365 for Windows, click Browse next.
     • Select Word Document (*.docx) from the "Save as type" or "File Format" menu.
     • If you see an option to "Maintain compatibility with previous versions of Word," remove the checkmark from the box.
     • Click Save to convert your document to the DOCX format.
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Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Turn Off Compatibility Mode for All Documents (Windows)

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1. 
   1
   Click the File tab. You'll find this at the top-left corner of the window.
2. 
   2
   Click Options. More options will open.
3. 
   3
   Click the Save tab. It's on the left panel.
4. 
   4
   Select "Word Document (*.docx)" as the default saving format. This option is in the "Save files in this format" menu.
5. 
   5
   Click OK. Going forward, you will be able to create and save files without going into Compatibility Mode.

   • Try creating a new document and saving it in Word. If it still goes into Compatibility Mode, continue to the next step.
6. 
   6
   Disable the compatibility checker. If the previous steps didn't work, try this:

   • Click the File tab and select Info.
   • Click Check for issues.
   • Click Check Compatibility.
   • Uncheck "Check compatibility when saving documents" and click OK.
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Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Turn Off Compatibility Mode for All Documents (Mac)

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1. 
   1
   Click the Word menu. It's in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
2. 
   2
   Click Preferences. This opens your Word preferences.
3. 
   3
   Click Save. You'll see this under "Output and Sharing."
4. 
   4
   Select "Microsoft Word Document (*.docx)" from the "Save Word files as" menu. If this menu was set to a different file type, changing it to DOCX will ensure you can create and save files without activating Compatibility Mode.

   • Try creating a new document and saving it in Word. If it still goes into Compatibility Mode, continue to the next step.
5. 
   5
   Disable the compatibility checker. If the previous steps didn't work for you, give this a try:

   • Click the Word menu and select Preferences.
   • Under "Output and sharing," click Compatibility report.
   • Deselect "Check documents for compatibility."
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