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

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

I didn't know (whoops) that OO couldn't handle opening .docx files (it can save to .docx as far as I know, and can certainly save to .doc). Ironically both .docx and .odt - OO's native format - are fundamentally based on XML; they just put different stuff on top of it. Thanks for the link!

[papilio-luna.livejournal.com]

There's also a few little downloadable doo-dads that will do the conversion for you. You can also tell people to save their Office 07 docs in a non-docx format, which you can do when you "save as". There's a drop down menu to select what format you want to save it in.

At first I was prickly about the new format, but as it happens the new version of Office (Excel primarily) being able to handle XML makes my own job about one katrillion times easier, since the log files that our tutoring software spits out are in XML. Without Excel 07, I had to cut and paste the bits we needed out of the log files into a spreadsheet, by hand, one at a time. With Excel 07, I create one XML map, push a button, and it goes through all the log files and imports the relevant data and sticks it into the right places in the spreadsheet. It's awesome.

[magdalene1.livejournal.com]

The downloadable doodads never work for me, and the fact that I would have to download something to read a basic Wordprocessing document grills my cheese so bad that most Office 2007/.docx people are basically dead to me or get a politely worded request to resend the document in a format that people can read. SO IRRITATING.

[bentleywg.livejournal.com]

I hate .docx. I still do "Saves As .doc" for everything.

A patron came to the library needing to open a .docx file because she couldn't open it at home. She pronounced it "docs." A "docs file." I finally figured out what she was talking about.

[bentleywg.livejournal.com]

Oh, and then we have all these people who are very conversant with Word but now can't find the Print button or the File Open or File Save commands because Word 2007 HIDES THEM.

[semielliptical]

There is an add-on that allows OO to open .docx files, and I think the newest version of OO can do it without an add-on. Still, the vast majority of the time .docx just isn't needed, so I use .doc even when working in Office 2007.

[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.)

Um, no.

[principia-coh.livejournal.com]

OpenOffice can and does handle .docx files both in its Windows and Macintosh iterations.

[zulu]

Huh, I'm pretty sure my open office deals with .docx, or at least, I've never had a problem. Maybe it's a newer version? Or maybe I'm special and the universe caters to my whims! Ooh! *wishes for a pony*

[principia-coh.livejournal.com]

Can't speak to Lotus or NeoOffice, but OpenOffice most certainly does handle .docx files both in its Windows and Mac iterations. Also, Windows users who have failed to upgrade to 2007 have a free compatibility plug-in that they can get from Microsoft that will allow them to open .docx files.

Aside from the issue of general code architecture, there are many features in Office 2007 as a whole that do not exist in the earlier versions of Office which will often result in problems if you start hopping back and forth between versions.

I cannot in good conscience recommend that Mac users, if they have Office, upgrade from 2004 to 2008, because Office 2008 is an umitigated disaster, but for Windows users, well... Office 2010 is in beta. They really shouldn't expect the world to accommodate them being two versions behind.

Re: Um, no.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

That's odd - the official website from Microsoft says it can't. Maybe it's just changed since then?

[principia-coh.livejournal.com]

The interface in Office 2007 was ostensibly the result of extensive ergonomics testing by Microsoft. I'm what they'd consider a 'power user' and I think the 2007 interface is completely anti-intuitive for anyone familiar with previous versions of the product, although I think some of it represents an improvement over the old way of doing things.

Personally, I prefer the Adobe method, which when they quit making PageMaker was to offer people a transitional interface plug-in so they could get used to InDesign versus being chucked in at the deep end.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Compatibility pack is for Windows users only.

Re: Um, no.

[principia-coh.livejournal.com]

I would point out that of all people to ask, the company who wants you to buy their software instead of using a free competitor is probably not whose word you should take on compatibility issues.

Re: Um, no.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

LOL! Fixed the post. Thanks for the info.

Re: Um, no.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

D'oh. Well, since I don't work with people (betas in particular) who ask for .docx files, the issue's never arisen.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

:nod: Yeah, that's why I am still on Office 2004 for Mac. I should just get Open Office and call the the whole thing a wash.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

LOL - I've been schooled. OO does indeed open docx files.

[principia-coh.livejournal.com]

It's always good to have a backup like OO. We're actually required to use it here for some of our work due to occasional contractual requirements to use open source programs.

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Docx Converter sounds like justt he ticket!

However, if you do the recommended Windoze updates on your version of Office, it can actually read docx. I use Office 2000 and it's happy to open those.

[rivkat.livejournal.com]

My OS X opens docx files automatically in TextEdit, and I haven't had a problem going back and forth (Mac downstairs, PC upstairs). Not that it's not annoying, and I save down whenever I have a PowerPoint, but it's survivable.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

I've not used it on Macs, I must say, but I've used it on a WinXP box and a Linux netbook, and it'll do the job perfectly adequately for me.

[xebgoc.livejournal.com]

I've started responding to people in my office who send me docx files with deadlines that I can not work on them from home and will get to them when I get back to work, even if it's weeks away, because I can not open docx files. If they want me to be able to respond they'll have to change their settings and send regular doc files.

they usually respond with 'buzuh?' because they have no idea what I'm talking about.

Makes me OUT OF MY FUCKING MIND! These people are 'information professionals' and they do not know how to change the settings in Word.

Re: Um, no.

[moonpupy.livejournal.com]

On. Some. Things.

I've got a password table that I built in Word...03? Brought it into Word 07 and Can. Not. Open it in OpenOffice. All I get is the "doc" with a gray screen in place of the table. I've tried saving it out as every format I can and still cannot open it in OO.

I truly look forward to totally inputing the whole table. Really.

[sol-se.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was having this problem the other week. Also beware of the new default xml excel spreadsheet format (.xlsx)! Now I'm careful to save it in the compatible .doc & .xls formats always.

[par-avion.livejournal.com]

I'm using NeoOffice (a mac-only variant of OO). It mostly gets the job done, but there are times where I just want it to be EXACTLY like Word (pre-2007) and not just mostly like it.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Is Office 2000 for a Mac as well?

Re: Um, no.

[hubbit.livejournal.com]

Ubuntu uses OpenOffice 3.1, which can save to .docx - which it helpfully labels as "Microsoft Word 2007 XML".

I have no .docx files saved from a Windows computer that I can use to check to see how well OO opens them, but it can presumably save a file that can be opened in Office 2007.

Stupid damned proprietary formats.

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

:nod: Yeah, I really wish businesses had training sessions for software that *everyone* uses. I can see not having it for specialized software for single departments, but business-wide stuff...

[the-shoshanna.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was going to say that TextEdit opens docx files just fine.

I'm about to upgrade (er,"upgrade") to Word 2008, but my job does everything in RTF anyway.

[castalianspring.livejournal.com]

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

[jacquez.livejournal.com]

iWork/Pages will open .docx files, on the Mac. Word 2008 for the Mac can also; it uses the .docx format itself by default.

Microsoft provides a converter for earlier versions of Word on the Mac, as well as the Windows one linked above.

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downloads.mspx

[soobunny.livejournal.com]

Google Docs opens them as well. Just in Google Docs persnickety way...

[shezan.livejournal.com]

Ah, I don't know...

*has been pondering switching to Mac since Vista...*

[tzikeh.livejournal.com]

Mac RULES.

If you have any questions, I'm your gal. I've owned Macs since 1987, and most office jobs I've had have been Windows. There is SIMPLY NO COMPARISON.

[loreleif.livejournal.com]

I would suggest, if at all possible, DON'T.

Do you use any macros at all? You can't in Word 2008.

Do you have limited screen real estate? There's a huge bar at the top of each document window in 2008, and you can't turn it off.

Also, I personally happen to think it's ugly, and slower than 2004.

The macros, at least, are supposedly going to be fixed in the next release of Office for Mac. If you can, I would highly suggest waiting.

[loreleif.livejournal.com]

I have successfully opened .docx and .xlsx in Office 2008. But as I mentioned in a comment to the_shoshanna, 2008 has its own set of problems.

[the-shoshanna.livejournal.com]

I've been using Word X (because I despise Word 2004 with the passion of a thousand fiery despising suns), and it crashes frequently; also, my job is switching to a way of managing edits that may require me to be able to vie edits by one "reviewer" at a time.

I have kludged all the macros I use with clever combinations of Applescript, Typinator, and Butler. And I've had no trouble opening a window with no toolbar or ribbon; in fact, that's how a default document opens on my test installation on my laptop. I do dislike the way toolbars are tied to document windows, though; I normally work with a customized Reviewing toolbar open at all times, and it's a lot longer than I want my windows to be wide. Sigh.

[loreleif.livejournal.com]

Is there that big a difference between 04 and X? I've never really used X.

You're lucky on the macros! I meant VBA macros, the ones internal to Office; they took the VBA backbone out of 08, which is one of the banes of my existence at work. :P Yeah, AppleScript is good. :)

What about the "gallery" thing at the top of each window? I tried an early release, and found it incredibly annoying, because it took up so much space, especially on a laptop (that, combined with it FUBARing my macros, made me uninstall it almost immediately). Have they gotten rid of it now? That would be wonderful!

[the-shoshanna.livejournal.com]

Oh, I know VBA is gone. What's really annoying is that often the only way you could figure out what the hell Word called a command (if, say, you wanted to bind a keystroke to it) was to record yourself doing it, and then look at the resulting macro; I'm going to try to keep 2004 around just for that, if nothing else! Applescript is a tangled appalling mess, but there are enough code snippets around the Web that I was able to patch together most of what I need.

I haven't seen the gallery, so I presume it's gone! Or at least opt-in. There is a Project Gallery thingie, but it's a separate thing.

And there's a huge difference between 04 and X if you're using Track Changes, which I am immersed in.

[starwatcher]

.
Do I understand that, if a person is stuck with 2007, and she goes to save a Word file, she can click the arrow in "Save as type" and select "Doc" without an extension?

I ask because one of the people I beta just got a new computer with 2007. I still use 2000, and will until it no longer works for me. *whimpers at the likelihood of that in a few years* I was able to convert, but other friends may not know how. If I can tell her how to save for more general use, it would be a great help. (But, since I have 2000 on my computer, I can't check it for myself.)
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