Information Technology Services

Can Office for Macintosh users open/edit files created in Office 2007?

Office for Macintosh (Office 2004 or earlier) users currently cannot open Office 2007 files in the native 2007 format without installing an additional file. Office 2008 for Macintosh users will be able to open files in the Office 2007 format without problems. (see additional information about Office 2008 below.)

To be compatible with most Office for Macintosh users, Office 2007 users will need to save files in either the Office 97-2003 format or the .RTF (Rich Text Format).

Is there a Compatibility Pack available (similar to the Office 2000-2003 for Windows Compatibility Pack) for Macintosh Office 2004 users?

Microsoft has made three beta versions of a Compatibility Pack for Macintosh Office 2004 available for free download:

Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 0.1b (Beta) and Mac 0.2 (Beta) and Mac 0.2.1 (Beta)

If you downloaded the first beta version (version 0.1b) or the second beta version (version 0.2) earlier, you'll want to download and install the newest version (0.2.1) from Mactopia.

You should install only one of these patches - if you had already installed version 0.1b or 0.2 you should install version 0.2.1. If you have not yet installed either earlier versions, you should only install version 0.2.1 now.

Since these files are still early "beta" versions, there may be a number of bugs to be worked out. ITS does not support these patches and suggests that users wait for a more stable version unless there is an overwhelming need at this point.

Microsoft released the following information about the File Format Converter for Mac 0.2.1 (Beta) on December 18, 2007:

Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 0.2.1 (Beta)

With the Open XML Converter, you can convert Open XML files to a format that is compatible with Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac and Microsoft Office v. X for Mac. You can choose to convert and open one file, or convert a large number of files.

Applies To: Microsoft Office Word, Microsoft Word 2004 for Mac, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac, Office

Released: Tuesday, December 18, 2007

When is the next version of Office for Macintosh due? Will it address these issues?

Updated 01/23/08

Office 2008 for Macintosh was released in January 2008.

Office 2008 for the Macintosh can open/edit Office 2007 formatted files (and all other Office formats as well) without problems.

Office for Macintosh versions earlier than 2008 will not be able open files created in Office 2007 for Windows without the installation of the compatibility pack mentioned above.