The following blog post was originally published in May 2007 and it remains one of the most popular blog posts I have written for TechRepublic. So, I thought instead of just revisiting the blog post, it might be a good time to ask just how many are still using Office 2003.

The tip is still valid if you are using Office 2003.

As adoption of Microsoft Office 2007 (Office 2010 now) becomes more prevalent, the likelihood that you will receive a document saved in the native Office 2007 format grows. If you and your organization are not quite ready to transition to Office 2007, you will still need to open files from clients, vendors, and partners. The Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats makes it possible for users of Office 2003 applications to open and edit Office 2007 documents.

The latest version of the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats can be downloaded for free from Microsoft.