How to open and save Word 2007, Excel 2007, and PowerPoint 2007 files in earlier versions of Office programs

This article discusses the following topics:

• Updates and an Office Compatibility Pack that you must install so that Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2000 can use 2007 Microsoft Office (Open XML Formats) documents.
• Changes that are made to the earlier versions of Office programs after you install the Office Compatibility Pack.
• Issues that you may encounter if the computer has not been fully updated to be compatible with the 2007 Microsoft Office (Open XML Formats).

This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.

Update Office programs

If you use Office XP, Office 2003, or Office 2000 programs, and you want to open and save documents in the 2007 Microsoft Office formats, you must install the Office Compatibility Pack. You may also be required to install additional updates to your Office programs if they have not already been installed.

Note See the "More Information" section for examples of the kinds of issues and errors that you may receive if you try to use 2007 Microsoft Office documents by using earlier versions of Office programs without installing the compatibility pack and updates.

Download and install Compatibility Pack

You must install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack in order to use 2007 Microsoft Office documents in Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2000. Visit the following Microsoft Web site to view more information and to download the Office Compatibility Pack: After you install the compatibility pack successfully, you are finished. See the next section, "Use 2007 Microsoft Office documents in earlier Office programs," for some tips about opening and saving 2007 Microsoft Office files in your version of Office programs.

If you received an error or the update did not finish, see the "Contact Support" section.

Download and install updates to earlier versions of Office programs

If you use Office XP, Office 2003, or Office 2000 programs, you might have to install updates in order to use 2007 Microsoft Office programs. Install appropriate updates if they are not already installed.

To check whether you have already installed these updates, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type control appwiz.cpl into the Open box, and then click OK.
3. Click Change or Remove Programs in the Add or Remove Programs window.
4. Click Show Updates near the top of the window to make sure that Windows updates appear in the list of installed program.

If you use Office 2003 programs, you must have the following updates installed:

• 923097  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923097/ ) Description of the update for Office 2003: October 10, 2006
• 923272  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923272/ ) Description of the security update for Office 2003: October 10, 2006
• 923088  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923088/ ) Description of the security update for Excel 2003: October 10, 2006
• 923091  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923091/ ) Description of the security update for PowerPoint 2003: October 10, 2006
• 923094  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/923094/ ) Description of the security update for Word 2003: October 10, 2006

If you use Office XP programs, you must have the following updates installed:

• 918420  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/918420/ ) Description of the security update for Microsoft Excel 2002: July 11, 2006
• 917153  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917153/ ) Description of the update for PowerPoint 2002: July 11, 2006
• 917347  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917347/ ) Description of the update for Word 2002: July 11, 2006

If you use Office 2000, no updates are required.

After you install any required updates successfully, you are finished. See the next section, "Use 2007 Microsoft Office documents in earlier Office programs," for some tips about opening and saving 2007 Microsoft Office files in your version of Office programs.

If you received an error or the update did not finish, see the "Contact Support" section.

Use 2007 Microsoft Office documents in earlier Office programs

After you install the required updates and the compatibility pack, you can use 2007 Microsoft Office documents in earlier versions of Office programs.

Excel 2003 and Excel 2002

In Excel 2003 and Excel 2002, you can now create, open, edit, and save the following Excel 2007 file formats:

• Excel Workbook (*.xlsx)
• Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)
• Excel Binary Workbook (*.xlsb)
• Excel Template (*.xltx)
• Excel Macro-Enabled Template (*.xltm)
• Excel Add-In (*.xlam)

Additionally, you can use Windows Explorer to open files and save files in the Excel 2007 formats.

Excel 2000

In Excel 2000, you must use Windows Explorer to open and save Excel 2007 documents. To open an Excel 2007 file in Excel 2000, follow these steps:

1. Locate the file in Windows Explorer.
2. Double-click the file.

Note 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:
   • Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Workbook (*.xlsx)
   • Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)
   • Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Binary Workbook (*.xlsb)
4. When the save is complete, click OK.

PowerPoint 2003 and PowerPoint 2002

In PowerPoint 2003 and PowerPoint 2002, you can now create, open, edit, and save the following PowerPoint 2007 file formats:

• PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx)
• PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Presentation (*.pptm)
• PowerPoint Template (*.potx)
• PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template (*.potm)
• PowerPoint Show (*.ppsx)
• PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Show (*.ppsm)

Additionally, you can use Windows Explorer to open files and save files in the PowerPoint 2007 formats.

PowerPoint 2000

In PowerPoint 2000, you must use Windows Explorer to open and save PowerPoint 2007 documents. To open a PowerPoint 2007 file in 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:
   • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Presentation (*.pptx)
   • Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Macro-Enabled Presentation (*.pptm)
4. When the save is complete, click OK.

Word 2003, Word 2002, and Word 2000

In Word 2003, 2002, and 2000, you can now create, open, edit, and save the following Word 2007 file formats:

• Word Document (*.docx)
• Word Macro-Enabled Document (*.docm)

Additionally, you can use Windows Explorer to open files and save files in the Word 2007 formats.

Issues if the computer has not been updated to be compatible with the 2007 Microsoft Office documents

When you try to open a file that was saved in one of the 2007 Microsoft Office 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 Office 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 these issues, install the Office Compatibility Pack and each update for your version of the Office program.
• If the computer has not been updated but the Office Compatibility Pack is installed, you might receive an error message 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 these issues, install each update for your version of the Office program.
  
  
• If the computer is updated but the Office 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"

If you were unable to download or install the compatibility pack or the updates, you might want to ask someone you know for help. You can also use the Microsoft Customer Support Services Web site to find other solutions. Some services that the Microsoft Customer Support Services Web site provides include the following:

• Searchable Knowledge Base (http://support.microsoft.com/search/?adv=1) : Search technical support information and self-help tools for Microsoft products.
• Solution Centers (http://support.microsoft.com/select/?target=hub) : View product-specific frequently asked questions and support highlights.
• Microsoft Customer Support Newsgroups (http://www.microsoft.com/communities/newsgroups/default.mspx) : Contact counterparts, peers, and Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs).
• Other Support Options (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?pr=csshome) : Use the Web to ask a question, contact Microsoft Customer Support Services, or provide feedback.

If you continue to have questions after you use these Microsoft Web sites or if you cannot find a solution on the Microsoft Support Services Web site, click the following link to contact Support: