Change Default File Format in Microsoft Office 2007/2010

With the major update to the office suite Microsoft launch its Office 2007; file formats of files has also been changed, Word uses .docx file format, Excel uses .xlsx file format while Powerpoint uses .pptx file format; Which are different from the old file formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt etc.). It means your current documents are not compatible with earlier versions of microsoft office.

Still a large community uses old versions of Microsoft office. Microsoft has provided compatibility tool for office 2003

which anyone can easily download and install from Microsoft's site. People who have installed the tool will be able to open and edit their documents.

But, no one can assume that others will be able to work with your documents. The new document formats in office 2007/2010 can cause compatibility issues when it comes time to share your documents electronically especially important business documents.

Here we have a good news, you can change Word 2007's default file format easily and even permanently. You can change file formats every time or, you can tweak Microsoft office so that your documents are automatically saved in the desired compatible formats (.doc, .xls, .ppt etc.). In this way, you need not to worry about files compatibility issues.

Below are the steps you can use to configure your Microsoft office so that you can save your documents in a format that is compatible with earlier versions of office without worrying about compatibility issue.

• Open Microsoft word
• Click the Office button
• Click Word Options
• Open the Save options
• Beside Save files in this format, select Word 97-2003
• Click OK
• Repeat same steps for Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint.
• Applicable for Microsoft office 2007 & 2010.

Your documents will be saved in the .doc format, which is compatible with earlier versions of Word.

Note: See Other related posts

• Change Default File Save Location in Microsoft Office 2007/2010