Over recent months, some users have been grumbling that they cannot open documents (Word, Excel etc) from other Office users. On closer inspection the sender of the document was using Office 2007, whilst the recipient was using MS Office 2003, XP…or even older.
The reason why the recipient was unable to open the document was because older versions of MS Office are not able to read documents which have been made using the new standard format. The new standard format is meant to bring more compatibility of layout and features to other Office program suites.
The file extension to look out for is ‘.docx’ which is the new standard format, has been agreed by many other Office suites as a universal format.
Fear not users in older versions of Office. Just 10 minutes of your time and everything will be back on track.
Step 1:
- Install high priory updates from Microsoft Update first (link opens in new window). If you skip this step things may well go wrong.
Step 2:
- Download this add-on from Microsoft: Office Compatibility Pack (link opens in new window).
Step 3:
- Do something good for yourself. Eat something yummy, or go have some fun.
Notes:
- This update is not needed for those running OpenOffice – but do make sure you are running the latest version.
- Those running Office 2007 need not apply for this update.
- Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able to open, edit, and save files using the file formats new to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007. The Compatibility Pack can also be used in conjunction with the Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003, Excel Viewer 2003, and PowerPoint Viewer 2003 to view files saved in these new formats.
As a final point, those customers who are using MS Office from 2000 to 2003 should maybe considering upgrading to 2007. There are some great new features and improvements which may well be of help. If you want to know more detail, why not have a chat with thetechangel and see what is right for you.
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