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What's a "docx" file, and how did I get one?

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Interesting tid-bit for hardcore nerds - the new Office formats (such as DOCX) are actually ZIP files. Rename a DOCX to ZIP, then open it. Ta-da! Lots of interesting XML for the text, styles, and themes - the binary files are stored in their native state. Compressing the XML can make the DOCX file much smaller than the old DOC files - often by 50%. Some folks are converting from DOC to DOCX just to save file space. This also means that information inside the DOCX can be updated without using Word. Systems that need to update content dynamically within a document can do so programmatically without using Office automation. Sweet!

Posted by: Dave B. at May 28, 2007 3:02 PM

i have document dcx and i cannot download .what can i do?

Posted by: joseph borg micallef at July 30, 2007 8:33 AM

Mac and P.C. users that do not own Microsoft Office, or users of earlier versions of Microsoft Office that are not covered by Microsoft compatibility pack, but still want to convert open and use Word 2007 DOCX or Excel 2007 XLSX files on their own computer, can use "docxconverter 2.0". See:
http://www.panergy-software.com/products/docxconverter/features.html

Posted by: Mickey at October 15, 2007 1:11 AM

Hi Leo. I love your site! I just wanted to let you know that we recently encountered this problem and our solution was to open it in Pages on the Mac. My husband is a teacher and unfortunately he is stuck using a PC the school provides with next to no tech support. So, he would not be allowed to install the MS update (or any other software) and it would be difficult for him to get ALL of his students and colleagues to convert their files so that his old computer can read them. However, I told him to reference the link to this page when and if he does request the sender to convert the file. (But thats like, you know, following instructions and that is usually a lot to ask of most! ha ha ha)

In the meantime, for us at least, it's much easier for my husband to forward to me the email from his PC at school, I open the attachments on my Mac at home using iWork Pages, export them to Word, then re-attach them and send them back to my husband. It only takes seconds to do and is much more efficient than waiting for the response from the original sender. I just wanted to share this trick with you. Thanks again for such a wonderful reference! I share it any chance I get!

Posted by: Melissa at January 23, 2008 9:52 PM

Informative article, but it would be extra helpful if you included a link to where I could download the compatibility pack.
Thanks.

Posted by: Jeffrey Mehr at January 25, 2008 5:14 AM

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Hash: SHA1

The "previous article" that this article links to is about,
and has the link to, the compatibility pack.

Thanks,

Leo


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Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at January 25, 2008 4:11 PM

First time on your site. Quick question, I upgarded to 2007 office and for some reason my clients can not open my emails, it put my text like it is an attachment and also sends a wmv. file and another attachement. I never had a problem with office 2000. can is send my e-mail in a lower format or something??? I know about saving in WoRD and Excel to a lower version but cant figure this out. Help

Posted by: dan fuchslin at February 13, 2008 10:42 PM

You can also use http://www.zamzar.com, which is an online converter and here is a review: http://www.oooninja.com/2008/02/zamzarcom-docx-odt-converter-review.html

Another way is OxygenOffice, which is a special edition of OpenOffice.org. You can use OO to convert to older formats such as .doc: http://www.oooninja.com/2008/02/installing-oxygenoffice-fedora-7.html

Posted by: Andrew Z at February 24, 2008 8:58 PM

Hi Leo
Could you please advise me on sending emails regarding attachement, i send files regarding applying for employment positions and i have difficulty in knowing if the recipient will receive ok and is readable, i have XP and email is outlook express 6, when sending files what format do i send them in could you please help with this problem - i was asked to send in Word Format to job application and was not sure of format.... please help
Barbara

Posted by: Barbara at March 31, 2008 7:24 PM

I have Word 2007 installed on my laptop. Why can't I open a docx file? What do I need to do?

Any help you can give would be appreciated.

Betty

Posted by: Betty J. Klein at May 27, 2008 8:07 PM
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