Open And Save Office 2007 Files In Office 2000/XP/2003

It has been about a week since Microsoft released the Office 2007 Beta 2 Technical Refresh and it is running great for me. By default Office 2007 is setup to use the new file format that Microsoft came out with which is much more efficient than the old format. I have noticed that my file sizes are typically 50%-75% less than the original file.

If you are unaware of the new file format here is a list of file extensions and what they represent:

Word

• .docx–Microsoft Office Word 2007 document
• .docm–Microsoft Office Word 2007 macro-enabled document

PowerPoint

• .pptx–Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 presentation
• .pptm–Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 macro-enabled presentation
• .potx–Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 template
• .potm–Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 macro-enabled template
• .ppsx–Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 show
• .ppsm–Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 macro-enabled show

Excel

• .xlsb–Microsoft Office Excel 2007 binary workbook
• .xlsx–Microsoft Office Excel 2007 workbook
• .xlsm–Microsoft Office Excel 2007 macro-enabled workbook
• .xltx–Microsoft Office Excel 2007 template
• .xltm–Microsoft Office Excel 2007 macro-enabled template
• .xlam–Microsoft Office Excel 2007 add-in

I didn’t start using the new file format until I noticed that Microsoft had released an add-on for Office 2000, XP, and 2003 and would let me open/save files with these extensions. Here are the direct download links for the add-on that you need to install (which can also be found on the converter homepage):

• English Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
• Japanese Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
• French Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
• German Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack
• Spanish Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack