Technical Writing


Saving for Compatibility in Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac

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ABOUT OFFICE 2008
Microsoft Office 2008 is the Macintosh version of the Office Suite, containing the programs Excel, PowerPoint, Word and Entourage. Files created in Office 2008 (Mac) can be opened in Office 2007 (PC).

SAVING IN WORD 2008
By default, all documents in Word 2008 are saved with the .docx extension. This extension is only compatible with Office 2007 (PC). To establish compatibility with earlier versions of Word, you must either save the document as a different file type or change the default save preferences.

USING SAVE AS
To be compatible with earlier versions of Word, your file needs to have a .doc extension. Use the Save As menu to save in a different format.
Choose File -> Save As...
From the drop down box, click the Format button.
Choose Word 97 – 2004 Document (.doc).
Click Save.

CHANGING THE SAVE PREFERENCES
To avoid the repetition of using the Save As menu, simply change the default save preferences to .doc. This method may make certain Word 2008 features unavailable.
Choose Word -> Preferences...
In the Output and Sharing section, choose Save.
Under the Save Word Files As drop bar menu, choose Word 97 – 2004 (.doc).
Click OK.

BEST PRACTICES
To avoid compatibility issues with users who have earlier versions of Microsoft Office, it is best to:
1. Change the save preferences to .doc format to ensure that all formatting remains intact.
2. Save as a PDF file if the user does not have Microsoft Office.

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