Microsoft Office Help

Office 2007 and 2010 (Windows) and 2008 (Macintosh) Compatibility Issues

The release of Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 for Windows and 2008 for Macintosh has introduced some file compatibility issues with older versions of Office. If you have Office 2000, XP (2002), or 2003 for Windows, you should download and install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats. This will allow you to open any Office 2007/2010 or 2008 documents you receive.

If you have Office X or Office 2004 for Macintosh, you should download and install the Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac. This will allow you to open any Office 2007/2010 or 2008 documents you receive. The installer will begin automatically when the download finishes; just follow the directions on the screen. NOTE: this utilily requires Macintosh OS 10.4.11 or later.

The download and installation is easy, but faculty and staff can submit a WITS Service Request and we will install the compatibility software for you.

Important information for Office 2007/2010 users: If you expect to send documents to people who have older versions of Office, you should configure your Office 2007/2010 products to save in a compatible file format. This will make it easy on them if they have not installed the Office 2007/2010 compatibility software.

Change the Office 2007/2010 default file format:

Start Word 2007, Excel 2007, or PowerPoint 2007.
Click on the Microsoft Office button in the upper left corner of the screen (in Office 2010, click on the File menu).
Click the Word Options, Excel Options, or PowerPoint Options button.
Click on Save.
In the Save files in this format pull-down list, choose one of the following:
- Word: Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc)
- Excel: Excel 97-2003 Document (*.xls)
- PowerPoint: PowerPoint 97-2003 Document (*.ppt)

Office 2007 and 2010 Resources from Microsoft

Go to the Microsoft Office Ribbon web page. You will find help for the Ribbon, the Office 2007 button, Office 2010 Backstage, Interactive Guides to Office 2007 and 2010, keyboard shortcuts, and self-paced training materials.

On any page in the Microsoft Office web site, click on the support menu item for detailed, topic-oriented help on Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You will also find free Office training and Getting Started guides on this menu. Most of these resources cover Office 2010, 2007, and 2003.