Hello!
I ‘m hoping that someone can help me out before my computer gets thrown out the window in frustration…
I have an RTF document that has gone between two parties – the other party is on Office 2010, and we are on Office 2003 SP3. The document is littered with tracked changes from both sides, and also comments. The problem is that the comments are displaying completely the wrong dates. Even though this document has been worked on in the past couple of weeks, the comments state that they were created a various times ranging from 1988 until 2025. This has happened with both sets of comments made by both sides.
What have I done to resolve?
I firstly though that if the document were saved to a docx, that I would be able convert the document to a zip, and then pull out the comments xml file, change the dates that the comments were made, put the comments xml file back in and then change the file back to a docx.
This worked for a few of the entries, but not all, and though I went through the rest of the XML files I could find no reference to the dates that were noted for the comments within the documents. Strike 1 failed.
Next approach was to change the date and time on my computer and change the username on Word to reflect the username that should appear for the comment. For each comment, I inserted a new one, and deleted out the old one with the ‘corrected’ date and time. Checked the date and time of the comments throughout the documents, and all was well. Saved the file and then reopened, and the dates had gone back again to ranging between 1988 and 2025. I have tried this on the RTF file, and on a DOC file, and the same thing happens.
I have tried to repair the file, and though it finds one error with a style, when this is saved the error is not removed. I have also copied the entire document into a new file (while retaining the TRacked changes – using Ctrl F3, Ctrl Shift F3) – this brings the comments over with the current date and time, and allows me to amend again – however on Save the dates go back to the apparently random range from 1988 – 2025.
Please someone help me before a computer goes flying out the top window of a very high building – lives are at risk here!! 
Thanks
Alba
