Re: Office 2007 Backward Compatible

Well, how painful Word's backsaving is depends on what your needs are.

For example.

With PowerPoint, if you insert something (maybe a new text effect like a
soft drop shadow, maybe a SmartArt diagram, etc.) into 2007 that isn't
supported in previous versions, when you save the file as 97-2003 format,
those items become uneditable. They are just images on the slide. But when
you reopen the file in PPT 2007, the items become editable again even if
you're still in what is called "compatibility mode."

Word is different. If you insert a SmartArt diagram and then backsave to
97-2003 format, the diagram becomes uneditable (a picture) in previous
versions, and when you reopen that file in 2007, the SmartArt is still
uneditable. However, all is not lost -- you can go to Office File Button |
Convert to make everything editable again. It's just less convenient for me
than it is in PowerPoint, but I know there are reasons the Word development
team decided to do it this way.

I do believe the various application development teams really did try to get
the backwards compatibility stuff right for their primary users.

Now, if your clients only need to read your information, this shouldn't be a
problem -- and it's probably not as big a problem for even you, the document
creator, as "painful" made it sound! You might also want to consider saving
as PDF to send to your clients. That is a new feature in Office 2007
applications, but it does require a free download from Microsoft to install
the capability.

I don't really know about the Outlook stuff, sorry. But if you clarify that
you meant Outlook 2007 --> 2003 (not 2004), hopefully someone else can shed
some light there.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

"Sairy" <Sairy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:E99FCCF5-D56E-4255-9595-A84F7A140825@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks Echo but what makes Word "more painful"? Are you referring to the
file size? If so, that is not a problem. It is not practical to notify
receivers of my emails to download the compatibility pack. I am sending
documents, etc. to business customers. It would not be good business to
ask
them to do something that they are not used to doing (or in some cases are
prevented from doing - downloading and installing) in order to read my
information...they might just decide they can use a different consultant.

Do you know what happens to Outlook files? If I download and use the
preview version of Office 2007 will I be able to uninstall it and have my
Outlook revert to Outlook 2004?

Lots of questions. I have to wonder if MS thought this backward
compatibility through before they foisted it on us. I like the features
but
can't afford to use it if it is going to cost me customers.

"Echo S" wrote:

In each program, you should be able to specify the default save format so
that you automatically save as 97-2003 format. The backsaving will be
more
painful in some programs (Word) than others (PowerPoint).

You can also ask the 2003 user to install the compatibility pack, which
is
free from microsoft.com. It allows Office 2003 and Office XP applications
to
recognize and open the new 2007 file formats.

--
Echo [MS PPT MVP] http://www.echosvoice.com
What's new in PPT 2007? http://www.echosvoice.com/2007.htm
Fixing PowerPoint Annoyances
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/powerpointannoy/

"Sairy" <Sairy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:C7D799A2-F116-431B-ABDA-25E19CF3BD4C@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
I understand that the user does not have much ability to modify some
things
in Office 2007. Can I default the save format to the 97-2003 format or
do
I
have to perform that change each time I save a document? If so, can I
change
all saves (Word, Excel, OneNote, PPT, etc)

"Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:

Only if the documents are saved in 97-2003 compatible format. The
default 2007 format is not backwards compatible.

--?
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, b asked:

| Can documents that are created in Office 2007 with Vista OS be
emailed
| andopened by a user who uses Office 2003 Windows XP?






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