Article ID: 933347
Article Last Modified on 12/4/2007
APPLIES TO
- Microsoft Office Professional Edition 2003
- Microsoft Office Standard Edition 2003
- Microsoft Office Small Business Edition 2003
- Microsoft Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003
- Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003
- Microsoft Office Excel 2003
- Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
- Microsoft Office Word 2003
- Microsoft Office XP Professional Edition
- Microsoft Office XP Standard Edition
- Microsoft Office XP Small Business Edition
- Microsoft Office XP Standard Edition for Students and Teachers
- Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 Standard Edition
- Microsoft Word 2002 Standard Edition
This article is intended for a beginning to intermediate computer user.
You may find it easier to follow the steps if you print this article first.
Symptoms of the problem
You try to open or to save a 2007 Microsoft Office document by using an earlier version of a Microsoft Office program, such as Microsoft Office Word 2003 or Microsoft Excel 2002. When you do this, you may receive one of the following error messages:
Methods to resolve the problem
Method 1: Install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats when you are prompted
To do this, follow these steps:
- Open or save the 2007 Office document.
- When you are prompted to download the Compatibility Pack, click Yes.
- After the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Web page opens, click Download.
- Click Run.
![[GRAPHIC: User Account Control permission]](/wiki/index.php?title=File:Securityshield.jpg){kind=small}
If the computer is running Windows Vista, you may be prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation. Type the password, or click Continue.
- Click Run when you are prompted to run the software.
- Click to select the Click here to accept the Microsoft Software License Terms check box, and then click Continue.
- Click OK.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue.
- When the Compatibility Pack is installed, click OK.
Method 2: Download and then install the Compatibility Pack
To do this, follow these steps:
- Visit the following Microsoft Web site:
- After the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats Web page opens, click Download.
- Click Run.
![[GRAPHIC: User Account Control permission]](/wiki/images/f/f6/Securityshield.jpg)
If the computer is running Windows Vista, you may be prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation. Type the password, or click Continue. - Click Run when you are prompted to run the software.
- Click to select the Click here to accept the Microsoft Software License Terms check box, and then click Continue.
- Click OK.
If you are prompted for an administrator password or for a confirmation, type the password, or click Continue. - When the Compatibility Pack is installed, click OK.
References to more information
For more information about the Compatibility Pack, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
924074 How to use earlier versions of Excel, PowerPoint, and Word to open and save files from 2007 Office programs
919026 Error message when you try to open or to save a 2007 Office document: "Do you want to download a compatibility pack so that you can work with this file"
Keywords: kberrmsg kbtshoot kbconversion kbmsccsearch kbopenfile kbsavefile atdownload kbexpertisebeginner kbceip KB933347
