Opening docx format

[David H]

Is it possible for older computers to open the new docx word documents or is all our software now obsolete? If not what would I need to do to read it as I've been sent a work document and appears the whole world will now not be able to communicate with the other half due to Microsoft.

[kempie]

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA10044 4731033.aspx

[fo3nix]

.docx is a truly awful format. All created to spite .odf, a truly open document format.

Apparently, openoffice can read docx files (get it from openoffice.org).

So you can probably install it on older computers. It depends how old. I mean, eventually new technology succeeds old, so it will happen eventually.

[squarebear]

Use the Microsoft Office compatibility tool linked to in the first answer. Once it's installed it converts them without you having to do anything.

[David H]

Thanks all, I've uploaded it but luckily my client managed to convert it to word format so I have them both now. Lucky I got MS office recently or I'd have been really up the creek, I managed perfectly well with wordpad till then.

[beso]

Hating Microsoft is a religion. fo3nix is a kneejerk Microsoft hater so I would recommend users take very little notice of their computer software advice. They will no doubt also tell you that Open Office is a superior suite, which is also rubbish advice.

While Open Office is worth every cent of its free purchase price it is not as powerful of versatile as Microsoft Office 2007.

The fact that Open Office can read docx would suggest that it is not "a truly aweful format".

Microsoft's docx is compliant with the standard that has been adopted as the document format that all wordprocessors and spreadsheets will have to adopt or risk becoming irrelevant.

There was a long running competition between the Microsoft designed format and the one adopted by Sun Microsystem's Open Office Suite. Both are xml based formats and both work well.

In the end the superior Microsoft format prevailed as the committee responsible for determining the standard wasn't particularly impressed by the arguments that did little more than criticise Microsoft for being Microsoft.

[fo3nix]

beso:

I'm certainly not a general Microsoft hater. They do some good stuff. They have some very clever people working for them (notably Bill Gates and Ray Ozzie themselves).

I think that Microsoft Office is the best product they've ever shipped. It's better than Open Office (currently) in practically every way, so I agree with you there.

However, Open Office very often "will do the job", which is why I and others recommend it.

However, .docx is a bad format. Instead of going clean, they've included a load of old stuff to keep compatibility with the stuff from Word 97 and previous, stuff that's been in there for 20 years almost.

And yes, they competed to be the standard 'open' XML format too. However, there are two points here:

- It isn't truly open.
- They have been found to bribe the people who vote on the ISO panels.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ooxml#Criticism

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2007/sep/ 07/charles.arthur

I would ever wager that the very name, OOXML, is designed to confuse people and think you're referring to the true open format, ODF.