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cheerful
Still using Word 2002 or some other outdated version? I am. And over the past year or so, I've started getting .docx files sent to me that I can't open or read. These mostly come from editors, and I've had to let them know several times that I couldn't open the documents they sent. Embarrassing. Or from friends with newer computers than mine, which is not as embarrassing but is still a pain.
My husband, Randy, writes about tech stuff, and he recently did a column of great, free, online programs that do the job of expensive software. One of the sites he recommended was openoffice.org, which offers a suite of free programs that basically do the jobs of the different parts of Microsoft Office (which costs $150 or so).
So, you go to the site and download OpenOffice for free. Then, when you get a .docx file (probably as an email attachment), save it to your Desktop or in whatever folder you want it in. Next, simply open your OpenOffice program. Then use File>Open to open your .docx program. Then use File>Save As to save it as a regular .doc document (make sure to change the Save As type to one that matches your Word program or is even older than your Word program). Then you can close OpenOffice and open the document with your regular Word program and do whatever you want with it. Yay!
OpenOffice also includes programs that mimic/replace Excel, Access, and PowerPoint.
Now I've gotta go--two critique clients I need to do work for sent their documents as .docx files. Time to convert so I don't have to reveal that I DON'T have the most up-to-date word processing program!
Special thanks to Randy, my personal help desk. I would be much slower and terribly inefficient without his help!
