Office 2007 File Format Information
By default, Microsoft Office 2007 will save files with a 4-character extension (.docx / .xlsx / etc.). These files will initially be unreadable
by older versions of Microsoft Office both on PC and Macintosh. If a fully
patched version of Office 2003 is used to open an Office 2007 document, the
user should be presented with a prompt to download a compatibility package
from Microsoft. Other versions of Office should behave in the same way,
provided they are current with Microsoft's patches. This package is
roughly 27MB in size and makes it possible for users to both read and write
in the Office 2007 format.
The patch for PC versions of Microsoft Office can be downloaded at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en.
Another approach is to save documents in 'Compatibility Mode' which should
keep the files readable in both versions of Office. If units are intending
to delay the deployment of Office 2007, they may want to consider a hybrid
solution - saving by default in the Office 2003 and earlier format as well
as implementing the compatibility update in the event that an external
document was created in Office 2007. For systems in an Active Directory
environment, it is possible to implement a Group Policy Object (GPO) to
control the way Office 2007 saves files by default. We are exploring
creating a GPO for general use. Instructions for this procedure are
available here: http://technet2.microsoft.com/Office/en-us/library/07946c8e-9311-42a6-979b-5bc89afb7a661033.mspx?mfr=true.
A compatibility package for Office 2004 for Macintosh should be available
for free in the March/April time frame. Until that package becomes
available, Microsoft advises units to save documents in the Office 97-2003
format. One final point of note: Office 2007 updates are not currently deliverable via WSUS, so compatibility packages will have to come directly
from Microsoft.
Special thanks to Mark Hart from CITES Security who informed us of the changes to Office and wrote the text for this page.
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