What Are DOCX Files And How To Open Them In Previous Versions Of Microsoft Office

With the release of Microsoft Office 2007, Microsoft introduced a new file format that is based on XML (Extensible Markup Language), called Open XML Formats and applies to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007.

With Word 2007, DOCX is the new default file format when saving Microsoft Office documents, instead of the usual DOC file.

The Open XML Formats introduces a number of benefits such as:

• improve security and reliability (sensitive information such as author names, comments, tracked changes, and file paths can be easily identified and removed)

• better damaged-file recovery

• compact file size (Open XML Format uses zip compression and has the capability to compressed a file up to 75 percent smaller in some cases).

• enhance integration with external sources (documents, worksheets, presentations, and forms can be saved in an XML file format that is freely available for anyone to use and to license)

NOTE: Microsoft XML format is not the same as the OpenDocument standard, which is also based on the XML-standard and zip compression. The OpenDocument standard format for word processing has an ODT file extension.

Because DOCX is based on Microsoft new XML format, Microsoft has clearly stated that they want DOCX files to replace the commonly used doc format in Office 2007 and future releases Office versions.

This means that eventually this will become a problem with anyone using previous versions of Word over time when they try to open a DOCX file created in Office 2007.

For anyone who uses pre-Office 2007 versions, there are a couple of ways to get around the problem of opening a DOCX file.

• Have the person who uses Office 2007 save the document as a DOC file format. Office 2007 allows you to save files in the format of earlier versions of Office. The 2007 Office release includes both compatibility checkers and file converters to facilitate file-sharing between different versions of Office.

The compatibility checker will make sure that you have not introduced a feature that an earlier version of Office does not support. When you save the file, the compatibility checker reports those features to you and then allows you to remove them before continuing with the save. (make sure your previous version of Office has the latest Office Service Pack installed).

• A better solution is to install a file converter which makes it much easier to open and edit a 2007 Office file in an earlier version of Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, such as Microsoft Compatibility Pack. The Compatibility Pack adds support for DOCX and other Office file formats (.xlsx, .pptx) as well as additional file formats for Word 2007 (docm, dotx, dotm) are also supported.

By installing the Compatibility Pack in addition to Microsoft Office 2000, Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able to open, edit, and save files using the file formats new to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007. The Compatibility Pack can also be used in conjunction with the Microsoft Office Word Viewer 2003, Excel Viewer 2003, and PowerPoint Viewer 2003 to view files saved in these new formats

To install, download the Compatibility Pack from Microsoft download center (make sure you have all the latest Office patches installed). Once downloaded, double-click the FileFormatConverters.exe file to start the setup program, then follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.

For complete instructions on how to use the Microsoft Compatibility Pack see the following knowlegebase article