Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 have new XML based default file formats (Word -- .docx, Excel -- .xlsx, and PowerPoint -- .pptx). New formats?! You may be wondering: "How will these new formats affect previous releases of Office?" Or, put a bit more realistically: "If Travis does not have the 2007 Office system and Jen emails him a Word document saved in Word 2007's new default format (.docx), is Travis stuck?" No. One of three things will happen when Travis,
Office 2007 Pro Key, or anyone with Office 2003 or XP, tries to open a file saved in our new default file formats: Case 1: If Travis keeps his computer up-to-date with the updates offered on Microsoft Update or Office Update and has installed the Compatibility Pack, the .docx file will open in his version of Word. He can then edit the file, click save (giving him a .docx file saved where he specified), and can send the edited .docx back to Jen. Check out a quick demo of this here. Case 2: If Travis has kept his computer up-to-date but has not yet installed the Compatibility Pack, when he tries to open one of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint's new document formats, he'll be told that he needs to install the Compatibility Pack to open the file, and linked to the Compatibility Pack download site. With the Compatibility Pack he can open, save, and edit the new file formats just like the legacy formats (.doc,
Windows 7 Home Premium Key, .xls,
Cheap Office 2010, and .ppt) . Case 3: If Travis has not kept his computer up-to-date or installed the Compatibility Pack, when he tries to open the file, he will see the generic Windows unrecognized file type dialogue. If he selects to 'use the web service to find the appropriate program', he will be told that he needs the Compatibility Pack and directed to it. He will then be instructed to update his computer via Microsoft Update or Office Update and install the Compatibility Pack. Now he's set. In addition, the Compatibility Pack enables anyone with Microsoft Office 2000, the Word Viewer 2003, the Excel Viewer 2003, and the PowerPoint Viewer 2003 (the viewers are free web downloads), to open Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007's new XML based formats. Finally,
Office 2010 Download, the Compatibility Pack allows anyone with at least Microsoft Windows 2000 SP4 to save the new formats (.docx,
Office 2010 Professional, .xlsx, .pptx, etc.), as the legacy formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt, etc.), and vice versa, from Windows. Our goal here is to make compatibility with the new formats as close to a non-issue as possible. I think we've done a pretty good job. Let me know what you think… - Jonathan