Microsoft KB Archive/924074

= How to use earlier versions of Excel, PowerPoint, and Word to open and save files from 2007 Office programs =

Article ID: 924074

Article Last Modified on 10/15/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Office Excel 2007
 * Microsoft Office Excel 2003
 * Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Excel 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
 * Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
 * Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Office Word 2007
 * Microsoft Office Word 2003
 * Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition
 * Microsoft Word 2000 Standard Edition

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INTRODUCTION
Microsoft has added the new Office Open XML Formats to the following 2007 Microsoft Office programs:
 * Microsoft Office Excel 2007
 * Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007
 * Microsoft Office Word 2007

A compatibility pack is available to make sure that you can open and save Office Open XML Formats in earlier versions of Microsoft Office. You can install the compatibility pack on a computer that is running Microsoft Office 2003 programs, Microsoft Office XP programs, or Microsoft Office 2000 programs. When you install the compatibility pack, you can open, edit, save, and create files in the robust Office Open XML Formats.

This article discusses the following topics:
 * The updates that you must install so that earlier versions of Office programs can use the Office Open XML Formats.
 * The issues that you may encounter if the computer has not been fully updated so that it is compatible with the Office Open XML Formats.
 * The changes that are made to the Office programs after you install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack.



Updates for earlier versions of Office programs
The following is a list of the updates that you must install to open and to save files in the Office Open XML Formats:  You must have the following updates installed:

Office 2003 programs

923097 Description of the update for Office 2003: October 10, 2006

923272 Description of the security update for Office 2003: October 10, 2006

923088 Description of the security update for Excel 2003: October 10, 2006

923091 Description of the security update for PowerPoint 2003: October 10, 2006

923094 Description of the security update for Word 2003: October 10, 2006

Office XP programs

918420 Description of the security update for Microsoft Excel 2002: July 11, 2006

917153 Description of the update for PowerPoint 2002: July 11, 2006

917347 Description of the update for Word 2002: July 11, 2006

Office 2000 programs

There are no updates required for the Office 2000 programs.  You must install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Office 2003, Office XP, and Office 2000.

Download the Compatibility Pack
For more information about the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack, and to download the Compatibility Pack, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=941b3470-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466



Issues that you may encounter if the computer has not been updated to be compatible with the Office Open XML Formats
When you try to open a file that was saved in one of the Office Open XML formats in an earlier version of the Office program, you may experience one of the following issues:  If the computer has not been updated and you have not installed the Compatibility Pack, you will receive one of the following error messages when you try to open the file, depending on the program that you are using.

Word

When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of Word that you are using, you receive the following message:

Select the encoding that makes your document readable.

When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer or you double-click the file as an attachment in e-mail, you receive the following error message:

Windows cannot open this file.

Excel

When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of Excel that you are using, you receive the following error message:

The file is not in a recognizable format.

When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer or you double-click the file as an attachment in e-mail, you receive the following error message:

Windows cannot open this file.

PowerPoint

When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of PowerPoint that you are using, you receive the following error message:

PowerPoint can't open the type of file represented by

When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer or you double-click the file as an attachment in e-mail, you receive the following error message:

Windows cannot open this file.

To resolve this issue, install each update for your version of the Office program. And, install the Office Compatibility Pack. If the computer has not been updated but the Compatibility Pack has been installed, you will receive one of the following error messages when you try to open the file, depending on the program that you are using.

Word

When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of Word that you are using, the file will open correctly. When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer, the file will open correctly.

Excel

When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of Excel that you are using, you receive the following error message:

The file is not in a recognizable format.

When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer, the file will open correctly.

PowerPoint

When you use the Open dialog box or when you use a drag-and-drop operation to move the file into the version of PowerPoint that you are using, you receive the following error message:

PowerPoint can't read the outline from. No text converter is installed for this file type.

When you double-click the file in Windows Explorer, the file opens correctly.

To resolve this issue, install each update for your version of the Office program.

 If the computer has been updated but the Compatibility Pack has not been installed, you will receive the following error message when you try to open a file.

Word, Excel, or PowerPoint

This file was created by a newer version of Microsoft. Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file?

To resolve this issue, install the Office Compatibility Pack. For more information about the compatibility pack, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

919026 Error message when you try to open or to save a 2007 Office document: &quot;Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file&quot;



Changes that are made to the Office programs after you install the Office Compatibility Pack
After you install the required updates to open and to save files that have been saved in the Office Open XML Formats, the following changes to the Office programs are made:

Excel 2003 and Excel 2002
The following file formats are added to the Save dialog box, the Save As dialog box, and the Open dialog box:
 * Excel Workbook (*.xlsx)
 * Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)
 * Excel Binary Workbook (*.xlsb)
 * Excel Template (*.xltx)
 * Excel Macro-Enabled Template (*.xltm)
 * Excel Add-In (*.xlam)

Additionally, you can use Windows Explorer to open files and save files in the Office Open XML Formats.

Excel 2000
No file formats are added to the Save dialog box, the Save As dialog box, and the Open dialog box.

To open an Excel 2007 file in Microsoft Excel 2000, follow these steps:
 * 1) Locate the file in Windows Explorer.
 * 2) Double-click the file.

Note Microsoft Excel 2000 must be installed on the computer. If other versions of Microsoft Excel are also installed, the file may open in a different version of Excel than expected.

To save an Excel 2000 file as an Excel 2007 file, follow these steps:
 * 1) Locate the file in Windows Explorer.
 * 2) Right-click the file, and then click Save As.
 * 3) In the Save As dialog box, click one of the following Excel 2007 file formats in the Save as type box, and then click Save:
 * 4) * Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Workbook (*.xlsx)
 * 5) * Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Macro-Enabled Workbook (*.xlsm)
 * 6) * Microsoft Office Excel 2007 Binary Workbook (*.xlsb)
 * 7) When the save is complete, click OK.

PowerPoint 2002 and PowerPoint 2003
The following file formats are added to the Save dialog box, the Save As dialog box, and the Open dialog box:
 * PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx)
 * PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Presentation (*.pptm)
 * PowerPoint Template (*.potx)
 * PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template (*.potm)
 * PowerPoint Show (*.ppsx)
 * PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Show (*.ppsm)

Additionally, you can use Windows Explorer to open files and save files in the Office Open XML Formats.

PowerPoint 2000
No file formats are added to the Save dialog box, the Save As dialog box, and the Open dialog box.

To open a PowerPoint 2007 file in Microsoft PowerPoint 2000, follow these steps:
 * 1) Locate the file in Windows Explorer.
 * 2) Double-click the file.

Note PowerPoint 2000 must be installed on the computer. If other versions of Microsoft PowerPoint are also installed, the file may open in a different version of PowerPoint than expected.

To save a PowerPoint 2000 file as a PowerPoint 2007 file, follow these steps:
 * 1) Locate the file in Windows Explorer.
 * 2) Right-click the file, and then click Save As.
 * 3) In the Save As dialog box, click one of the following PowerPoint 2007 file formats in the Save as type box, and then click Save:
 * 4) * Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Presentation (*.pptx)
 * 5) * Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Macro-Enabled Presentation (*.pptm)
 * 6) When the save is complete, click OK.

Word 2003, Word 2002, and Word 2000
The following file formats are added to the Save dialog box, the Save As dialog box, and the Open dialog box:
 * Word Document (*.docx)
 * Word Macro-Enabled Document (*.docm)

Additionally, you can use Windows Explorer to open files and save files in the Office Open XML Formats.

Additional query words: excel2007 excel2k7 excel12 xl2007 xl2k7 xl12 excel2003 excel2k3 excel11 xl2003 xl2k3 xl11 excel2002 excel2k2 excel10 excelxp xl2002 xl2k2 xl10 xlxp excel2000 excel2k excel9 xl2000 xl2k xl9 powerpoint2007 powerpoint2k7 powerpoint12 ppt2007 ppt2k7 ppt12 powerpoint2003 powerpoint2k3 powerpoint11 ppt2003 ppt2k3 ppt11 powerpoint2002 powerpoint2k2 powerpoint10 powerpointxp ppt2002 ppt2k2 ppt10 pptxp word2007 word2k7 word12 wd2007 wd2k7 wd12 word2003 word2k3 word11 wd2003 wd2k3 wd11 word2002 word2k2 word10 wordxp wd2002 wd2k2 wd10 wdxp word2000 word2k word9 wd2000 wd2k wd9

Keywords: kbhowto kbinfo kbconversion kbopenfile kbsavefile kbexpertisebeginner kbfileawareoff2007 KB924074

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