IT Professional

Many companies have started to upgrade from Microsoft Office 2003 to Microsoft Office 2007, although Microsoft will continue to provide support until April 8, 2014. The major difference between the two is the interface has been changed to a ribbon style and the introduction of a new file format called Open Office XML (also informally known as OOXML or OpenXML). It is a zipped, XML-based file format developed by Microsoft. The Open Office XML specification has been standardized by ECMA.

There are several different file types between Microsoft Word, Powerpoint & Excel such as the XML (.docx, .xlsx, or .pptx), XML Macro-Enabled Template (.dotm, .xltm, or .potm), Template (.dotx, .xltx, or .potx), and Macro-Enabled (.docm, .xlsm, or .pptm). There are some additional file formats for Microsoft Powerpoint & Excel. In Excel 2007, there is a Binary Workbook which has the .xlsb extension and the Macro-Enabled Add-in which has the .xlam extension. In Powerpoint 2007, there is a XML Show (.ppsx), Macro-Enabled XML Show (.ppsm), and Macro-Enabled XML Add-In (.ppam)

Advantages
1. Lower file size
2. Files are more reliable. Less likely to become corrupt.

Disadvantages
1. Not backwards compatible without a convertor. The files will open slower due to the file conversion.

The Microsoft Office Compatibility pack is available from Microsoft here for Microsoft Office XP and 2003. This will allow you to open, edit and save
Before installing the pack, please make sure that you have applied all the latest patches, otherwise you will probably run into some errors. If for some reason you forgot to apply them, click here for the solutions to those errors.

Free training on Office 2007 is available at:http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/training-FX101782702.aspx