Roger Jeffs wrote:
I use the converter listed here to open docx in my older version of Word. It
works fine.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100444731033.aspx
All this discussion about the availability of converters and
the possibility of changing the default file-format for
Word2007 to save files in begs a huge question about why MS
changed the default format to begin with -- members of this
list are computer literate (for the most part) and aren't
afraid of looking under the hood of the programs we use nor
of searching for tools to solve the computer problems we run
into.
A huge segment of the Word-using population (and the
computer population in general) haven't got a clue that
there are such things as file-format converters, nor are
they aware that they can change how their software works.
My wife (who has used computers for many years yet still
remains a newbie) was taking an on-line course where the
teacher was sending things out in .docx format. We use
WordPerfect in our house and it couldn't open them. Many
others in the class were using earlier versions of Word, and
NOBODY could open the files. And the teacher had no clue
what to do about it! I had to tell my wife what to send to
the teacher in an e-mail about changing the format, and I
don't even use Word!
It's incredibly short-sighted of Microsoft to have done what
it did, and while it can be changed easily 1) if you know
where to look in the program to change it and 2) you're
willing to make that change and 3) you're even aware that a
change is possible and 4) you have any clue why people you
share files with can't open them.
Most computer users are totally ignorant of what goes on
under the hood and will never do what many of us on this
list would have done within minutes of using the program or
within minutes of receiving a file we couldn't open from
someone using the new version of Word.
--
David H. Bailey
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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