[NPMUG] opening ".docx" file?? From Ruppert

[Donald Miller]

Lots of helpful work-arounds to this issue, but there are two more  
obvious solutions.

Option 1: Upgrade to MS Office 2008.  The 2008 Mac product, (and 2007  
Office for PC), introduced new file formats in Office programs based  
on XML. The older 2004 and Office X versions cannot read the XML-based  
files.  Since this problem will only expand over time, as more and  
more users around the world migrate to Office PC 2007 and Office Mac  
2008, you will eventually need the upgraded products to be compatible.  
Plus, the current software versions add a few new features, especially  
in Entourage, that are worth the price.

Until you can justify the upgrade price, (Office Student and Home is  
only $149 for three licenses), go here:

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

And look around for the "Microsoft Open XML Converter for Macintosh  
v1.0.2."

This is a free program created by Microsoft that allows you to drag  
and drop .docx, .xlsx or .pptx files, (Word, Excel and Powerpoint )
and it instantly converts them to good old 2004-compatible files.   
Again, it's free.  No need to use Pages, TextEdit re-saves or anything  
more exotic.

And another thought, if and when you upgrade to Office 2008 for Mac,  
you might want to consider opening each program, Word, Excel and  
Powerpoint, and changing the default SAVE file format preference to  
the older, non-XML formats. In Word and Powerpoint, the option is  
found in the SAVE preferences. In Excel, it's found in the  
COMPATIBILITY preferences. That will make life easier for others who  
haven't yet upgraded.


On Jun 3, 2009, at 6:31 PM, Mark Ruppert wrote:

> I just got a document from a Windows user:
>
> Anybody have a trick for opening a Word, 2007 document with  a  
> "docx" suffix, with my Appleworks 6 or 2004 Word for Mac?
>
> Mark Ruppert
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