Microsoft has added the new Office Open XML Formats to the following 2007 Microsoft Office programs:
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Microsoft Office Excel 2007
•
Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
•
Microsoft Office Word 2007
A compatibility pack is available to make sure that you can open and save Office Open XML Formats in earlier versions of Microsoft Office. You can install the compatibility pack on a computer that is running Microsoft Office 2003 programs, Microsoft Office XP programs, or Microsoft Office 2000 programs. When you install the compatibility pack, you can open, edit, save, and create files in the robust Office Open XML Formats.
This article discusses the following topics:
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The updates that you must install so that earlier versions of Office programs can use the Office Open XML Formats.
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The issues that you may encounter if the computer has not been fully updated so that it is compatible with the Office Open XML Formats.
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The changes that are made to the Office programs after you install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack.
Issues that you may encounter if the computer has not been updated to be compatible with the Office Open XML Formats
When you try to open a file that was saved in one of the Office Open XML formats in an earlier version of the Office program, you may experience one of the following issues:
•
If the computer has not been updated and you have not installed the Compatibility Pack, you will receive one of the following error messages when you try to open the file, depending on the program that you are using.
Word
When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of Word that you are using, you receive the following message:
Select the encoding that makes your document readable.
When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer or you double-click the file as an attachment in e-mail, you receive the following error message:
Windows cannot open this file.
Excel
When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of Excel that you are using, you receive the following error message:
The file is not in a recognizable format.
When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer or you double-click the file as an attachment in e-mail, you receive the following error message:
Windows cannot open this file.
PowerPoint
When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of PowerPoint that you are using, you receive the following error message:
PowerPoint can't open the type of file represented by filename
When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer or you double-click the file as an attachment in e-mail, you receive the following error message:
Windows cannot open this file.
To resolve this issue, install each update for your version of the Office program. And, install the Office Compatibility Pack.
•
If the computer has not been updated but the Compatibility Pack has been installed, you will receive one of the following error messages when you try to open the file, depending on the program that you are using.
Word
When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of Word that you are using, the file will open correctly. When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer, the file will open correctly.
Excel
When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of Excel that you are using, you receive the following error message:
The file is not in a recognizable format.
When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer, the file will open correctly.
PowerPoint
When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of PowerPoint that you are using, you receive the following error message:
PowerPoint can't read the outline from filename. No text converter is installed for this file type.
When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer, the file opens correctly.
To resolve this issue, install each update for your version of the Office program.
•
If the computer has been updated but the Compatibility Pack has not been installed, you will receive the following error message when you try to open a file.
Word, Excel, or PowerPoint
This file was created by a newer version of Microsoft program. Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file?
To resolve this issue, install the Office Compatibility Pack.
For more information about the compatibility pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
919026 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/919026/)
Error message when you try to open or to save a 2007 Office document: "Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file"
Changes that are made to the Office programs after you install the Office Compatibility Pack
After you install the required updates to open and to save files that have been saved in the Office Open XML Formats, the following changes to the Office programs are made:
Excel 2003 and Excel 2002
The following file formats are added to the Save dialog box, the Save As dialog box, and the Open dialog box:
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Excel Workbook (*.xlsx)
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Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)
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Excel Binary Workbook (*.xlsb)
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Excel Template (*.xltx)
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Excel Macro-Enabled Template (*.xltm)
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Excel Add-In (*.xlam)
Additionally, you can use Windows Explorer to open files and save files in the Office Open XML Formats.
Excel 2000
No file formats are added to the Save dialog box, the Save As dialog box, and the Open dialog box.
To open an Excel 2007 file in Microsoft Excel 2000, follow these steps:
1.
Locate the file in Windows Explorer.
2.
Double-click the file.
Note Microsoft Excel 2000 must be installed on the computer. If other versions of Microsoft Excel are also installed, the file may open in a different version of Excel than expected.
To save an Excel 2000 file as an Excel 2007 file, follow these steps:
1.
Locate the file in Windows Explorer.
2.
Right-click the file, and then click Save As.
3.
In the Save As dialog box, click one of the following Excel 2007 file formats in the Save as type box, and then click Save:
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Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Workbook (*.xlsx)
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Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)
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Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Binary Workbook (*.xlsb)
4.
When the save is complete, click OK.
PowerPoint 2002 and PowerPoint 2003
The following file formats are added to the Save dialog box, the Save As dialog box, and the Open dialog box:
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PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx)
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PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Presentation (*.pptm)
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PowerPoint Template (*.potx)
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PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template (*.potm)
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PowerPoint Show (*.ppsx)
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PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Show (*.ppsm)
Additionally, you can use Windows Explorer to open files and save files in the Office Open XML Formats.
PowerPoint 2000
No file formats are added to the Save dialog box, the Save As dialog box, and the Open dialog box.
To open a PowerPoint 2007 file in Microsoft PowerPoint 2000, follow these steps:
1.
Locate the file in Windows Explorer.
2.
Double-click the file.
Note PowerPoint 2000 must be installed on the computer. If other versions of Microsoft PowerPoint are also installed, the file may open in a different version of PowerPoint than expected.
To save a PowerPoint 2000 file as a PowerPoint 2007 file, follow these steps:
1.
Locate the file in Windows Explorer.
2.
Right-click the file, and then click Save As.
3.
In the Save As dialog box, click one of the following PowerPoint 2007 file formats in the Save as type box, and then click Save:
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Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Presentation (*.pptx)
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Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Macro-Enabled Presentation (*.pptm)
4.
When the save is complete, click OK.
Word 2003, Word 2002, and Word 2000
The following file formats are added to the Save dialog box, the Save As dialog box, and the Open dialog box:
•
Word Document (*.docx)
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Word Macro-Enabled Document (*.docm)
Additionally, you can use Windows Explorer to open files and save files in the Office Open XML Formats.
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