Working with Microsoft Office 2007 Files

In last months newsletter I wrote an article about Office 2007 that addressed some of my concerns regarding file conversions from older versions of Microsoft Office.

Microsoft has since released an update that will be needed by anyone running Microsoft Office 2003, XP or 2000 version in order to be able to open the files saved in MS Office 2007 Format, you can download it free here.

- Scott Kendall, The Technology Coach

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 file formats Learn to exchange files between previous releases of Microsoft Office and the 2007 Microsoft Office release

Exchanging files between previous releases of Microsoft Office and the 2007 Microsoft Office release

Microsoft has added new file formats to Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 to reduce file size, improve security and reliability, and enhance integration with external sources. To help ensure that you can exchange documents between Microsoft Office releases, Microsoft has developed a Compatibility Pack for the Office Word, Office Excel, and Office PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.

The Open XML Formats usher in a new era of openness and transparency for Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Solution developers can take advantage of a host of new integration opportunities to connect documents to important sources of information. Learn more about the Open XML Formats.

Installing the Compatibility Pack

By installing the Compatibility Pack along side of Microsoft Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able open, edit, save, and create files using the Open XML Formats new to the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Office 2000 users, as well as users of Windows 2000 SP4 and later, can convert Open XML Formats to binary file formats from within Windows Explorer.

• Windows users, Office 2000, Office XP, and Office 2003 users: Download the Compatibility Pack.