.docx for Mac

[Macnoviz]

I ran across this problem today, when I received a .docx file from a friend, who used the beta1 for Office 12. The new word no longer exports to .doc by default, but to .docx, which is basically a bunch of .XML files that form your document, compressed in a zip archive (reducing it's size by 80%)
I got a solution from a friend, and what I needed to do, was changing te suffix .docx to .zip, open the file, and then opening the XML file document. I got the text there, but none of the layout. I'm posting this thread for users that might experience the same problem, but also to ask if there aren't any better solutions?

 

[ChrisBrightwell]

Print to PDF?

 

[MisterMe]

I ran across this problem today, when I received a .docx file from a friend, who used the beta1 for Office 12. The new word no longer exports to .doc by default, but to .docx, which is basically a bunch of .XML files that form your document, compressed in a zip archive (reducing it's size by 80%)
I got a solution from a friend, and what I needed to do, was changing te suffix .docx to .zip, open the file, and then opening the XML file document. I got the text there, but none of the layout. I'm posting this thread for users that might experience the same problem, but also to ask if there aren't any better solutions?

First off, you need to explain to your nitwit friend that he should save his documents in .doc format if he intends to send them to friends, if he wants to keep his friends. Please remind him that Word 2007 is still beta. In his world, only he and his other beta-pirating buddies can read .docx documents.

For Mac users, Microsoft will release a suite of Office 2004 conversion filters for the new XML-based formats. However, they will not be released before the new Office:win is officially released.

 

[homerjward]

idk about beta 1, but tell your friend that beta 2 (the public beta) can save to basically any version of .doc along with many other formats. tell him to use the 97-2003 one

 

[IJ Reilly]

For Mac users, Microsoft will release a suite of Office 2004 conversion filters for the new XML-based formats. However, they will not be released before the new Office:win is officially released.

So we suppose. How Microsoft plans on handling the docx format is not entirely clear. They are submitting it to a standards body, so theoretically, in the future any application could support the format. But it's also expected that Microsoft applications will insert proprietary objects into docx files that will render that openness of the format essentially moot.

In the meantime, assuming you can't educate your friends to save as, try this product. They say it already supports docx.

 

[MisterMe]

So we suppose. How Microsoft plans on handling the docx format is not entirely clear. They are submitting it to a standards body, so theoretically, in the future any application could support the format. ...

We are not in dispute, only talking about different things. My comments were based on a message from Microsoft PR flack Tammy Hovey to Macintouch.com and published on that website on Friday, June 30, 2006. Herewith is Ms. Hovey's message reprinted in its entirety:

I spotted a post to your site the other day and wanted to follow up with some information. Mac BU partners closely with the Windows Office team to ensure seamless cross-platform compatibility, and, as outlined last summer, the Mac BU will support the new file formats.

The Microsoft Office Open XML file format is based on an open standard with a royalty-free license that is broadly accessible to any technology provider. With the release of Office 2007, the Mac BU will provide converters to ensure cross-platform compatibility until the next version of Office for Mac leverages the new file formats.

Source: http://www.macintouch.com/ Note and Tips 30 June 2006

Nothing in this post implies that I believe for one microsecond that Microsoft is not Microsoft.

 

[IJ Reilly]

We are not in dispute, only talking about different things. My comments were based on a message from Microsoft PR flack Tammy Hovey to Macintouch.com and published on that website on Friday, June 30, 2006. Herewith is Ms. Hovey's message reprinted in its entirety:

I know, I read this on Macintouch the other day, which started me thinking about how Microsoft will really be handling docx -- as in, the entire story. Where Microsoft is concerned, what they don't say is at least as important as what they do say. For one thing, it's of critical importance that applications other than Word be able to fully support docx. If not, it will be an "open" standard in name only, conceivably a worse situation than what we've got now.

I realize, this is a bit off topic, but I think it's worth discussing.