Convert DOCX Files to DOC Files Using These 3 Quick Methods

The other day, one of the Inside Sales Team approached me with a request. He said that a client of his had sent him a document in a format that he couldn’t open on his system. He said, “I got this document that I can’t open, my computer is asking to go online to find a program to open the file. It’s in a DOCX format. What the heck is that?”

Well, boys and girls, DOCX is Microsoft’s new format used by MS Office 2007. The format is XML compliant and can’t be opened by the older versions MS Office, in particular, older versions of MS Word.

However, if you have MS Office 2007, you can save the document out in the older DOC format to be backward compatible. Since the DOCX format is the native format for Office 2007, you’ll have to make a conscious effort to save out your document in the older format.

Now, it’s not always convenient to say to a client, “Hey, I’m still using the older version of MS Word and don’t want to cough up the $500 bucks to buy the latest version of MS Office. Could you save your document in the older format?” Doesn’t leave the best impression in the minds of your client.

However, there are some options you have at your disposal:

  1. Download and install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for 2007 Office. If you are using Microsoft Windows XP or Vista with an older version of the Microsoft Office suite, you can load the Compatibility pack from here to give your older version of Word the ability to open the newer format. Get it here at the Microsoft website.

  2. Use Gmail. For all of you Lotus Notes users out there, you probably received a DOCX document at some point in your life, saved it to your system and said, “Great! Now what?” Here’s what you can do. Forward it to your gmail account (or if you are already forwarding all of your Lotus Notes email to your gmail account, simply login to your gmail account) and open the email. Because the DOCX format is based on the XML standard, gmail will let you open the document and view it in a browser window. Yep, if you need to see that document right away, simply open your email in gmail, scroll down to the attachment, click on the link that says, “View as HTML” and the document will open in a browser window. It won’t have all of the pretty pictures and if the document uses textboxes, those text boxes will be treated as images and you won’t see them. Not exactly the best solution, but it will retain some of the formatting and it will give you a quick peek at what your client is sending you allowing you to respond quickly.

  3. Use one of the online conversion tools. A few of organizations out there that have recognized a need in the online community. I’m talking about how to convert files from one format to another without spending $200 or more to buy the original software. How valuable would it be to you to have the capability to convert a DOC file into a PDF file to send to one client, a DOCX file to send to another, and then turn it into a JPG file to drop onto your website? The good folks at Zamzar have recognized this need in the community and have created a service to allow you to do exactly that type of conversion. And, it’s free, with certain restrictions, of course. If you are plan on doing over 100 MB of file conversion, you’ll have to pay for the service. But for those few documents that we sales people need, this service can be a godsend. And it’s pretty simple and straightforward to use. Seriously. Even a caveman can do it. You can find the site here at zamzar.com.

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