Document Size Changes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 11, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When converting Word documents from an older version of Word to a newer version, you may notice changes in the sizes of the documents. Particularly, you may notice that some files shrink in size. The biggest potential reason for this is the settings you have selected in the newer version of Word.

For instance, let's say that you had been working with a document for quite some time in Word 97, and you had the "Allow Quick Saves" feature turned on. In this case, the file could have quite a bit of the "quick save" edit data saved with the base file (resulting in a very bloated disk file). If you have this feature turned off in Word 2002, then when you loaded the document, and saved it back out, the edit data was incorporated into the base document and the document was saved as a whole. The result is that less disk space is required to save the document.

Other settings which may potentially affect the size of your files are those settings dealing with how Word stores graphics with your documents. In addition, how you have inserted the graphics into your document will also affect the size. If you suspect there is a problem, it is typically best to select Options from the Tools menu and check out your settings.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (156) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changes in Font Size when Copying

Have you ever copied information from one worksheet to another, only to have the information you paste not look the way ...

Discover More

Finding the Analysis ToolPak Add-In

The Analysis ToolPak is used to add some very handy capabilities to Excel. If you don't have it installed, and you can't ...

Discover More

Creating a Custom TOC that Includes Portions of Paragraphs

Word provides a number of tools that can help you create custom tables of contents. This tip looks at a way you can ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Positioning the Cursor in a New Document

Creating special templates is a great way to establish "standards" for your documents. With a little ingenuity you can ...

Discover More

Inserting a File

Need to combine several files into a single document? You can do it by inserting one file into another, as outlined in ...

Discover More

Weird Characters in File Names

If you ever end up with file names that contain percent signs followed by numbers, it could be due to some sort of file ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is two less than 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.