If you have recently upgraded to Office 2007 or are planning to do so in the near future, you may want to consider how you are saving the documents you are creating. Office 2007 documents can only be opened in a previous version of Word if the user with the older version has installed the Microsoft Compatibility Pack for Office 2007.  (For more information on the Compatibility Pack go to www.uwindsor.ca/cls and choose Microsoft 2007 from the menu on the left).

IT Services’ recommendation is that until Office 2007’s use is broadened,  it is wise to save your document in a format that is recognized by Word 97 to Word 2003 programs.  You can  do this by changing the default setting for file formats, to one that is backward compatible.

To do this in Word 2007, for example, click on the Microsoft Office button in the top left hand corner when you first open the program. 

Then, click on Word Options in the bottom right hand corner.  Click on Save.  This option allows you to customize how documents are saved in this program.  To the right you will see the line Save files in this format.  By default, the Word Document is being saved with a *.docx extension.   To modify this, click on the arrow to the right of this box and you have the option of choosing another file format.  Here you will choose Word 97 - 2003 Document (*.doc)   

Another option is to save individual documents in the  format that is recognized by Word 97 to Word 2003 (.doc) instead of changing the default settings. To do this click the Office button and go to Save As  and then choose Word 97-2003 Document.

You have now made it easier for your co-workers, who have not yet upgraded to Office 2007, to open, edit and save the document you have created.