Latest Feature: File Compatibility
Excel 2003 and Excel 2007 (Compatibility Issues)
Most companies and organisations use two versions of MS Excel; one is part of MS Office 2003 and the other is part of MS Office 2007, the latest release from Microsoft.
Often they also use two versions of the MS Windows operating system; Windows XP and Windows Vista. New machines tend to be supplied with Vista. MS Office 2003 will work with both operating systems. Office 2007 normally uses Vista, not because there are problems with XP per se, but laptops running XP tend to be older and already have Office 2003 installed.
However if you create a document using Office 2007 (the latest version of the MS Office suite) it may present problems for someone with Office 2003; they may not be able to open the document. This problem is common across many organisations.
Microsoft has recognised this as being a major issue for many of their customers; their solution is to supply a file format conversion / formatting plug-in for Office 2003. After the plug-in has been applied Office 2003 will ‘know’ how to open the Office 2007 files. Typically Office 2007 files have the extension xlsx or docx rather than doc or xls so it is easy to identify the files created using the different generations or versions of the MS Office suites. This new extension also ensures it is easy to identify why the document that has been sent to you cannot be opened.
The file format converter program is available to download from the Microsoft website and it only takes a few minutes to install. It may also be necessary to install the latest ‘patch’ to Office 2003 prior to installing the file converter plug-in.
If there are any specific 2007 features used, these will be lost when it is changed using 2003. But in the majority of cases this does not present a problem.
Interface differences between Office 2003 and Office 2007
When most users (who are familiar with Office 2003) look at Office 2007 they do not know where to start; all of the familiar icons seem to have disappeared. Over time everyone will understand the new layout and interface but untill that happens the users will need some guidance.
Microsoft have provide a help file to show the Excel 2007 equivalent commands for Excel 2003 users. You can either Run this interactive help file or save it on your computer (the options may be dependant on your browser and set-up). The original file is on the Microsoft website and is copyright of Microsoft.
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