Dear Microsoft Office for Windows users:

[tzikeh]

In Office 2007 Microsoft introduced a new file format called the Microsoft Open Office XML Format (.docx). This format is not compatible with older versions of Microsoft Word or with alternative operating systems like Linux or Mac OS X. Nor is it compatible with other word processing applications like OpenOffice (apparently OO can handle them now), Lotus 123, or NeoOffice.

In other words, and no one except Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows users can open those files, and that includes Windows users who are using an earlier edition of Office. Please take this into consideration when saving your files--it's easy to save them as plain old .doc files.

For the rest of us, since clearly we can't either a) tell everyone in the world about this, or b) make anyone do anything, a few people have suggested this website: Docx Converter. You upload the docx file, type in your email, and it sends you a link to the converted file.

I have no experience with them, but a lot of people I trust do, and they say it's the place to go.

Comments

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

There's a compatibility pack that will allow users of other versions of Office to open docx files, which is a total life-saver if you, like me, regularly have to open documents from people who only vaguely understand the concept of file formats, but I agree that the whole docx thing was badly handled. When you roll something like this out, you should have the compatibility pack already in place via the updater. (And this totally doesn't help users of other systems, but then, Microsoft has never cared about them.)

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Compatibility pack is for Windows users only.

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

I tried that one ages ago and it never would install. Says it couldn't find MS Word or something. Argh.