Microsoft Office Q&A: General Discussion (Word, Excel, PowerPoint...)

John Sullivan7 said:I think they had some back in 2007, but if I wait until after 2010, will they actually open it up there??

what about then

driftingmarlin70 said:And what about...

Open what exactly?!?!?

I mean, how am I supposed to avoid completely trashing the file while trying to bypass whatever security is in place—like changing an extension without getting flagged by the system? Just give me a lead if you actually know something.

just save it then open it in Notepad, delete those first few lines, hit save, and see if Word will take it. probably just some weird error

driftingmarlin70 said:Just try saving the file, then opening it with Notepad to strip out those first few lines of junk code; once you save it again, see if Word can handle it, because there’s clearly some corruption lurking in the header.

Well, I don't spend my life wrestling with Word; I'm usually stuck navigating the chaos of Google Slides 2010.

Whatever, just give me this in Notepad.

driftingmarlin70 said:It’s all the same nonsense; you might as well just use Notepad.

🙏👍

So, I'm stuck grinding away at my resume and cover letter in Word 2010

Do you think anyone can actually open this stuff if they're still stuck using Word 2007 or even Word 2003?

Douglas Garcia52 said:Hey guys, I'm currently working on my resume and cover letter using Word 2010

will I be able to open those files if the employer is using an older version like Word 2007 or maybe even Word 2003?

It should work fine in 2007—but with 2003, well, it really depends on whether they have that specific Microsoft Office Compatibility pack for Word installed. Honestly, my two cents? Just use a PDF. It's much safer! 🙂

Douglas Garcia52 said:Hey guys, I'm working on my resume and cover letter in Word 2010

Will I actually be able to open these files if they're using an older version like Word 2007 or even Word 2003?

In Word 2003? Absolutely not. Unless, of course, you save them in a format from the Word 2000 era or earlier!

Dana Diaz8 said:In 2003, you won't get 100% compatibility—not unless you avoid saving files in Word 2000 or anything newer!

I wouldn't be quite so bold with those percentages. 🙂

If you just Google "Microsoft Office Compatibility pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint file formats"—that actually 😁 brings the failure rate way down; once that's installed, it can read pretty much everything (aside from specific features that 2003 simply lacks compared to later versions).

Nicholas King said:Should work fine in 2007, but for 2003? Depends on if they've got that extra converter thing installed. My two cents: just stick to PDF. It's way easier. 🙂

The format is DOCX (.docx)

Hopefully the folks at this firm I'm sending it to have a newer version of Office installed... fingers crossed. 😁

Douglas Garcia52 said:Hopefully that company I'm sending this to actually has a newer version of Office installed.

If they don't, honestly, don't even bother taking the job.😁
btw: can't you just save as a PDF in Office 2010?

Douglas Garcia52 said:I am currently working on my resume and cover letter using Word 2010.

Will this be compatible with older versions like Word 2007 or Word 2003?

Douglas Garcia52 said:The format is DOCX.

I just hope the company I'm sending this to has a newer version of Office installed. 😁

Maybe some places care about that stuff, but at my company, they didn't want to deal with any of that nonsense—people who caused issues over it were let go immediately. If you actually want to keep your job, you need to show flexibility and focus on presenting your work professionally, rather than obsessing over whether you're using the latest Word document format. 🙂

driftingangler11 said:Sure, maybe there's some technical reason for it—but honestly, at my firm, they didn't have any patience for that kind of nonsense, and people who insisted on it were basically shown the door immediately. If you actually want to land a job, you need to realize that employers value YOUR flexibility and how professionally you present yourself, rather than some pedantic obsession with whether you're using the absolute latest Word document format. 🙂

That makes sense.

Like I said before, anyone with half a brain understands the utility of a PDF—and frankly, if you try to work for a company that doesn't know how (or can't) open a PDF, you might want to reconsider if that's somewhere you'd actually want to be employed anyway.

Nicholas King said:It makes sense.

Like I said before, anyone with half a brain understands how to use a PDF—frankly, if you work for a company that doesn't know how to handle them, you probably shouldn't be working there in the first place.

as reliable as a house.

Even if Microsoft Office lacks native support, there are plenty of cheap or free tools out there to bridge the gap (we’re actually still running 2003 at my firm, so I wouldn't know 🙂 ).

figured as much 😁

"we" always end up with the latest software because we aren't actually paying for it, whereas some big corporation is gonna buy it once and then just sit on it until the next version drops 🙂

so, what format should I be saving this as? A PDF or whatever? Just want to make sure anyone can open it in any version of Microsoft Word without it looking like total garbage (since everything moved to .docx back in the day)

also, how do you actually change the file format in Microsoft Word or one of those other Microsoft Office programs? I'm pretty clueless when it comes to text editors

Go to File, then Save As, and pick either the Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc) or PDF option from the Save as type menu.

Actually, if you want to save some time, you can just set it up so Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010 always defaults to that older format—you know, the one for 97-2003—by heading over to File, then Options, and clicking on Save.

driftingnomad68 said:Go to File, then Save as, and pick either the Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc) or a PDF

You can actually set it up so Microsoft Office always defaults to that older format—you know, the 97-2003 one—by heading into File, then Options, and hitting Save. Just a little trick to save some clicks.

Aha, found it. So if I save it as a Word 97-2003 (.doc)

I’m guessing the newer versions like Word 2007 or 2010 can still open that? Or is it strictly just for the old school 97 and 2003 versions?
_______________________________

The thing is, even when I try saving it that way, it keeps reverting back to a .docx format. What gives?

Douglas Garcia52 said:So, what format should I be saving this as—a PDF or whatever—so it actually opens correctly in any version of Word (since everything moved to .docx now)?

Also, how do you even change the file format in Word or one of those other programs in the Office suite? I'm not really an expert when it comes to text editors.

Gosh. Actually, two gorshes.

Gosh number 1: I don't know what your profession is or where you're planning to apply, but you have to—and I mean you simply must understand what a PDF is, how to create one, and what software is needed to read it. If you don't, you can't exactly claim on that same Resume that you're computer literate.

Gosh number 2: You aren't familiar with text editors? Well, go learn. Unless you are some absolute superstar in your field—in which case you wouldn't be writing cover letters at all, but rather choosing which mountain of job offers to accept—you aren't really in a position to just shrug your shoulders, say "I'm not really familiar with it," and expect people to be understanding about it.

Nicholas King said:Man. Honestly, two "mans" here.

Man number one: I don't even know what your field is or where you're trying to land a job, but you seriously have to know what a PDF is, how to make one, and how to open one. Without that, you can't exactly claim you're computer literate on your own Resume.

Man number two: You aren't familiar with text programs? Well, get familiar. Unless you're some absolute superstar in your industry—in which case you wouldn't be writing applications, you'd just be picking through a mountain of offers—you aren't really in a position to just shrug your shoulders, say "I don't really know how," and expect anyone to give you a pass.

that's why I'm asking what I don't know, and I appreciate any help
I haven't needed those programs until now so I haven't used them, and I won't even be working with those programs, I'm just sending my application via email, so I'm asking what format I need so I can read it

do you happen to know if I can't save it as a .doc