Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows has a new file format for improved data and file management.  The default Microsoft Office 2007 file format is incompatible with all previous versions of Microsoft Office.   Since this incompatibility may interfere with course work submissions or document sharing ITS is encouraging users to continue using Office 2003 but to install the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack which enables prior versions of Office to open Word 2007, Excel 2007 and PowerPoint 2007 files.

This is currently a Windows-only download. A compatibility pack is not yet available for Office 2004 for the Mac.  Mac Users will not be able to open a file created with Office 2007 with the current version of MS Office.  These documents will need to be saved the file in an older format (.doc) to keep it compatible for Mac Users.

This page will be updated when a Macintosh version of the compatibility pack is available.

You can (1) install the compatibility pack now or (2) wait to be prompted to install it which will happen the first time you attempt to open a document created in Office 2007 format.

(1) To Install the Compatibility Pack Now (click here for PDF version)

1. Close all Microsoft Applications and all Outlook messages except this one.
2. Click this link to go to the Compatibility Pack web page: Office 2007 Compatibility Pack
3. Click the Download button located in the blue bar above the Quick Details section
4. Choose Run OR if Run is not an option, choose Save, then locate the file and activate it to begin installation.
5. Follow the prompts to install the software and accept the license agreement. You will also be prompted to close this message and Outlook.

Upon completion, a dialog box will confirm the successful installation.
(2) To Install Compatibility Pack When Prompted

1. When you try to open a Word, Excel or PowerPoint file created in the new Microsoft Office 2007 format, you will be "prompted" to download a compatibility pack. 
2. Follow the instructions on this page to complete the installation. 

Note:  If you Windows or Office updated to an adequate level the Compatibility Pack may fail to install.

IMPORTANT -
To make it easier to share Office documents with others you should change the default file format so all new documents created will be compatible with older versions of Office.

To change the default file format in Office 2007:

1. Click on the Office Button (the round Office logo button in the upper left hand corner).
2. Select Word Options at the bottom of the menu.
3. Click Save. It is in the left hand column of the new window that opened.
4. Select the Word 97-2003 Document option in the Save files in this format: drop down box.   The procedure for changing the default file format for Excel and PowerPoint is similar.

To change the default file format in Office 2003:

1. Click on Tools from the Menu Bar and select Options.
2. Select the Save tab.
3. On the Save Word File As dropdown box select Word Document(*.doc) or select Word 97-2003 & 6.0/95 – RTF (*.doc).  Do not select Word 2007 Document (*.docx).  The procedure for changing the default file format for Excel and PowerPoint is similar.