Final answer:
Merle is dealing with a compatibility issue. The documents created by one program cannot be opened on a machine that does not have the program installed.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is dealing with a compatibility issue. Merle cannot open documents created by one program on a machine that does not have the program installed. This is because the program that created the documents may use a specific file format that is not recognized by other programs or machines. In order to open the documents, Merle needs to have the program installed on the machine or use a compatible program that can read the file format.