Application Compatibility Issues

This webpage details issues that may arise while using Office 2007 documents with campus services and other applications.

General:

• File Compatibility (Windows):
  ** Scroll down for Apple Macintosh instructions **

  The default 2007 Microsoft Office file format is new, and incompatible with all previous versions of Microsoft Office.

  Users of pre-Office 2007 Windows versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint can use the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats, to make it possible to view and edit files that were created in the new Office 2007 file formats. This helps ensure that users of Office 2007 can continue to work with third-party solutions based on earlier versions, and users of earlier versions of Office can work with their colleagues, suppliers, customers, and others who have upgraded.

  IMPORTANT:
  The Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats is available here. Please download the converter pack on to your Windows-based computer and install it. You will be able to open up any new 2007 version Microsoft Office files on your computer after that.

  Side Note:
  Office 2007 users can change the default file format in Word 2007 to the .doc (previous) format by doing this:
          Office button > Word Options > Save > Save files in this format: Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc)

  The procedure for changing the default file format for Excel and PowerPoint is similar.
  
   

• File Compatibility (Mac OS X) for new Microsoft Office files:

  Microsoft has released a free public version of the file format converter for Mac users of older versions of Microsoft Office. This converter will enable users of Office 2004 (or Office X) for the Mac to use the "Open XML" document format (see below), that is now the default file format for Microsoft Office 2007 & 2008 (i.e. the latest Windows and Mac versions of Microsoft Office, respectively).
  
  Mac users should download the Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac.
  
  This converter will enable you to open/convert Open XML files to a format that is compatible with older versions of Microsoft Office for Mac.

  The converter can open and convert the following Open XML file formats: 
  
  * Word Document (*.docx)
  * Word Macro-Enabled Document (*.docm)
  * PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx)
  * PowerPoint Show (*.ppsx)
  * PowerPoint Template (*.potx)
  * Excel Spreadsheet (*.xlsx)

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac is the most recent version of the Microsoft Office productivity suite for Mac OS X. It supersedes Office 2004 for Mac and is the Macintosh equivalent of Office 2007, the latest version for Windows. Office 2008 was released in January of 2008. This latest version of the Office suite for the Mac will use the Office Open XML formats natively, making it compatible with Office 2007 for Windows.

System requirements for installing the converter:
Important:   You must use Office 2004 v.11.3.4 or later, or Office X v.10.1.9 or later to open converted documents. To verify that you have installed the Office 2004 11.3.4 (or later) update, select the Microsoft Component Plugin file in the Microsoft Office 2004 folder on your hard disk, and then on the File menu, click Get Info. To verify that you have installed the Office v. X 10.1.9 (or later) update, select the Microsoft Component Plugin file in the Microsoft Office X folder on your hard disk, and then on the File menu, click Get Info.

Additionally, your computer must meet the following minimum requirements:

Operating system : Mac OS X 10.4.9 (Tiger) or a later version of Mac OS X.

Note -  To verify that your computer meets these minimum requirements, on the Apple menu, click About This Mac.

Other Applications and Services:

• Adobe Acrobat Professional/Standard

  Only version 8.1 and above of Adobe Acrobat (Standard or Professional) is fully supported in all Microsoft Office 2007 programs for creating/converting Office 2007 documents to PDF format. Basically, users of Adobe Acrobat 7 or below do not have the Adobe Acrobat 7 mini toolbar/buttons inside any of Office 2007 programs to create/convert/export documents to PDF format. That functionality of Adobe Acrobat 7 or below is still available if you right-click the document itself BUT only if you haven't installed 'Microsoft Office 2007 Save As PDF plugin' (see below).

  However, if you have Office 2007 installed on your computer and need to export your Office document to PDF format without using Adobe Acrobat, you can download and install the following free Office 2007 plugin from Microsoft. Download it from here: "2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS" 

  NOTE: As mentioned above, if you have the full version of Adobe Acrobat 8.1 installed on your computer (instead of just Adobe Reader for only viewing PDF files), then you can use the PDF printer feature in Adobe Acrobat to export your Office documents to PDF format. However, the above Office 2007 plugin will insure absolute compatibility and also add the functionality for it inside all Office 2007 programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher) except Microsoft Outlook. The above plugin is available for Office 2007 users ONLY.

• 
  Outlook Express

  After installing Office 2007, the English dictionary in Microsoft Outlook Express (not to be confused with the full featured Microsoft Outlook) is replaced with the French dictionary. The reason for this is that Outlook Express uses the dictionary from Office and Microsoft has only released a French language pack that Outlook Express can read. A suggested fix: install just the proofing tools from your previous version of Office. For details, see http://www.outlook-tips.net/archives/2006/20061228.htm. Please note that this fix is not supported by USAO Information Services and is provided for informational purposes only.

 For further reading on Apple's website, about the converter, please click here


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Related Content:

• How to open .wps (i.e. Microsoft Works) files in Microsoft Word:
     -- Windows users - Works 2000 Converter for Word 97/2000/2002 users
     -- Macintosh users
   
• How to open .wpd (i.e. Corel WordPerfect) files in Microsoft Word:
     -- Windows users
     -- Macintosh users
   
• How to open various other obsolete file formats in Microsoft Office 97-2003:
     -- Download the Office File Converter Pack (Windows users)
   
• Office 2007: Why the New File Formats?
     -- http://askbobrankin.com/office_format_converters.html