Open+XML

As with any considerable upgrades to software, the migration from previous versions to the new Office 2007 has created concerns about compatibility. Microsoft Office 2007 has adopted an XML-based file format for Excel, Word, and PowerPoint. This new file format, called Open XML, addressed many workplace issues while creating a few compatability problems. Fortunatly the good people at Microsoft realized that not everybody is going to switch to Office 2007 and have provided the enduser with numerous options to overcome the file type compatabilty issues.

Since Office 2007 has been available for quite some time, it is safe to assume that when I send my friend a file with type .docx, it is safe to assume that she will be able to open it. Right? Wrong! Not everybody has the newest version of office or they might still be using Office 2000. In addition most people don’t realise that even though their old version doesn’t open the file “out of the box”, Microsoft has made available via a free download, an update that enables users to open and edit files in the new XML format from within their earlier versions of Office. If someone with whom you exchange files is still running an older version of Office and you need to send them files in the new XML format so they can see the formatting features that are unique to Office 2007, you must insist that they install the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack. After all, it is the only option

However, if you just need to send a file without the features provided by the new XML format, there are a couple different ways users of Office 2007 can protect themselves from having to send a file twice because of compatability issues. Before you save the document run the Compatibility Checker which is built into Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007. It will identify any features or formatting you’ve used that won’t be recognized by older versions of Office. If nothing is found then it is safe to save the file in the old format. Just select Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc) from the Save As Type drop-down list.

Incase you happen to be the only person with office 2007 in your office, and you need to collaborate without compatability mistakes, it is possible to run Office 2007 in compatability mode. When Office 2007 applications are in compatibility mode, incompatible features, such as the SmartArt diagramming tool, are not available. Instead, the diagramming tool from Office 2003 is provided so that the diagrams you create can be edited in the previous versions. Compatibility mode is automatically enabled when a file that was saved in the old file formats is opened, or when the program is configured to save to the old format by default. In Word, compatibility mode also kicks in if a new document is created from an old-format (.dot) template.

Thank you everybody for reading my article.