Convert Office 2007 files down to Office 2003

HO87

fitshase wrote: »

Such as advanced custom filtering. In 2007 when you autofilter a column, you can use tick boxes to select the values you want to filter on. In 2003, you can't. Other things like a better conditional formatting function.

As for being arrogant in the extreme, it is not. Our company is currently deploying 2007 across the board but some of us still have 2003. Our clients all have 2007 and the industry as a whole uses 2007. If there is one or two people who don't have this version, there are ways for them to open the files. Why should we use older file formats for just those few people. The "gee-whiz" software you are on about is already over 3 years old and soon to become the old version when 2010 comes out.

It may not be arrogant but, with respect, it does fail to take into account the very many companies who have made positive choices to use what others may regard as "non-standard" software. We work across a wide variety of industries and the reality of what is often regarded as an "industry standard" is just what the two or three largest companies in the sector use - not "everyone". In any event, "industry standard" is a term rarely used to describe an office productivity suite but usually something rather more crucial to the industry output such as CAD packages and sales and order processing. One could also suggest that the .doc/x format is an industry standard but it matters not, for example, whether this was produced using Office 2003, 2007, OpenOffice or Star Office provided it is capable of being shared efficiently - which I think is what was at the root of the original question.

fitshase

DVardysShadow wrote: »

If everyone had that attitude, the Great Western Railway would still be broadgauge.

The reason to do it is for interoperability - presumably you want these people to actually be able to read the files. As far as I can see the new formats offer no tangible benefits which encourage the 2003 people to change.

This is exactly the problem. If I create something and save it as docx or xlsx then anyone with an older version of Office can still open it and read it using the compatibility pack. My issue is that people think I should save the file in an older format so they don't have to bother downloading a compatibility pack. As mentioned there are benefits to using 2007 over 2003 so why should the person using 2007 not use those benefits?

Interoperability is still possible, I never said it wasn't. My issue was I use the current version and save it as the current version. By saving it as an older version, I lose functionality whereas someone with an older version can open the new version.