Saving files in Microsoft Office 2007 is an important task, fortunately saving files in the new version of Office is simple. Below you will find information about using Save, Save As, and the new Office 2007 file formats.
Using Save
Saving files in Office 2007 is a simple process. Just click on the Office Button, and select Save from the menu. This will save your document in the default location with the default file format. For a Word 2007 document, the save location would be My Documents and the extention will be .docx
Using Save As
To use Save As, click on the office button and move your cursor to the Save As option. Once you have Save As selected you will notice that more options available. Clicking Save As will provide a dialogue box in which you can specify the location and file name.
If you choose the other options, you will be provided with a list of options to choose from. Selecting Save As Word 97-2003 Document will result in a file saved with the .doc file extension.
Selecting Save As PDF of XPS will allow you to publish the document in the specified format. *PDF/XPS plugin required for this action. More info here.
Microsoft Office 2007 File Formats
With the new version of Microsoft Office 2007 come new file formats. First and foremost, many users wonder why a new format was created. Here are a few reasons:
- Increased security in Office documents
- Reduced chances of file corruption
- Reduced file size of up to 75%
- To support new features implemented in Office 2007
Here is a small table to compare the old file format extensions with the new ones:
| Application | Microsoft Office 2007 |
Microsoft Office 2003 |
| Word | .docx, .dotx, .docm, dotm |
.doc, .dot |
| PowerPoint | .pptx, .potx, .pptm, .potm |
.ppt, .pot |
| Excel | .xlsx, .xltx, .xlsm, .xltm |
.xls, .xlt |
There are many more different file types, a full list can be found here
When working with other users who may not have Microsoft Office 2007, keep the following information in mind:
- Office 2007 users can open files from Office 95-2003
- When opening and working with legacy file types, Office will open in Compatability Mode and save the files as the same format they were opened in. (Word 97 files will be saved as Word 97 files)
- New documents/presentations/workbooks will be saved in the Office 2007 format by default. To save in a different format, use Save As
- When Office 2003 users try to open Office 2007 documents, they will be prompted to install the Microsoft Office Compatability Pack. The compatability pack allows Office 2003 users to open, edit, and save Office 2007 documents, presentations, and workbooks.
More information about the file formats can be found on Microsoft's Office 2007 training page. Click here for Microsoft web-based training on Office 2007 file formats.