Thanks Microsoft. No seriously, thanks. As far as I can tell, the new .docx default document format in MS Word 2007 and 2008 (for Mac) does nothing to make my life easier, but has certainly made it more of a pain. Although my office predominantly uses Office 2003, our users are starting to receive documents saved in the newer .docx format, and are unable to open or edit them. Since I happen to be running Office 2007 and 2008 on my machine (it's a Mac with VMWare Fusion for running Windows), I get to play the role of "mister file converter".
Well, no longer.
Thanks to
our pals over at TUAW, I can now redirect my office mates to
Zamzar's free online file converter. We've
written about Zamzar before, but this is the first I had heard that it supports Office file formats.
Tags: doc, document-conversion, docx, docx-to-doc, excel, freeware, tuaw, word, zamzar
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Comments
31
Subscribe to commentsThe Zamzar TeamSep 24th 2008 7:40PM
Thanks for your comments guys - a few points:
- We're as concerned about privacy as you are. Your files are yours alone, period. You can read more at http://www.zamzar.com/privacy.php
- We also support xlsx and pptx conversion as well
- We hear you about the slow conversion speeds, and we're currently working to speed things up
UnbangyourmomSep 25th 2008 6:19AM
Good example of looking for problems that do not exists.
GutterSep 25th 2008 6:47AM
I used this with Open Office, works pretty well (as far as I can tell)
http://katana.oooninja.com/w/odf-converter-integrator
I never compared the output to one given by Office, but I used it to open spec documents from MS themselves, where my plea to them to send their stuff in a format I could use fell into deaf hears.
Stuart HallidaySep 25th 2008 2:54PM
Hi Folks, you're all pointing links to the original pack.
There is a SP1 version -
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9a1822c5-49c6-47bd-8bec-0d68693ca564&DisplayLang=en
kevjohnSep 25th 2008 1:40PM
Ohhh, so that's all I have to do... Go out and download MORE software so that the software we paid for can use the files from the 'updated' version of the same software that someone else paid for. Yes that is so simple that there's no point even complaining about it. Thanks to all the folks who say just install the compatibility pack. And thank YOU, Microsoft.
What's this? I can't do it at work without violating my company's software installation policy? Oh noes! :~(
JoeSep 26th 2008 12:27PM
@James - Sadly, even the best document file format solution is wasted if the market cannot pass it around without needing to install an add-on, upgrade or use a translator.
That is an "epic fail" as demonstrated by the technically savvy commenters on this post who have had to deal with this issue to support their own or their company's/clients' encounters with this obnoxious obstacle.
Yet what of the greater majority lacking such support since they think using a word processor and accepting documents from others should be seamless and painless? They're caught in a loop of emailing back and forth with the document orginator trying to get a useable document so they can get on with business, or just their miserable lives.
nishadeviSep 30th 2008 7:21AM
best service
JimNov 29th 2008 8:50AM
Or you can use http://www.docx2doc.com which has instant conversion and save as doc or pdf among other formats.
NateDec 1st 2008 8:11PM
The people that called this post 'stupid' have no class, probably some stuck up rich grade school kids. Mom probably hires someone to do their upgrades.
Office 97 isn't supported by this patch, even though a lot of people still run it, so your post is actually very helpful.
thanks!
ReidDec 11th 2008 2:37PM
Or you can use WordPerfect Office X4 which can open and save in a multitude of formats including all the Microslop stuff, plus it can open, edit and save PDF files. Microslop 2007 can save in PDF but it can't open and edit a PDF file. Why in the world would anyone use a primitive system like Microslop Office when a real, world-class system is available and is less costly than Microslop? The new "ribbon" is a piece of crap. When I have to use Microslop 2007 I find myself wearing out the "help" button trying to find things. Try to "insert" a row or a column in Excel by clicking on the "insert" button in the ribbon. Whoops. Wrong "insert" button. Have to use the other one. No, I don't work for Corel and never have.
ChannonDec 23rd 2008 1:20PM
I've tried several frustrating times to install the Compatibility Pack, and it simply won't work. It's extremely frustrating, and a quick search of the BBs indicates it's not just me. XP Pro.
OpenOffice sounds like a good choice -- stop using MSFT and it will prevent future issues, too.