“Various sources, including Microsoft, indicate that PC created Open XML formated files cannot be opened after applying last week’s Office 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2). Redmond’s recommending that users roll back to an earlier version in order to restore compatibility,” Ronald O. Carlson reports for MAC.BLORGE.com.
“MacWindows is reporting that Office 2007 (ie Windows) Open XML formated documents (.docx), presentations (.pptx) and spreadsheets (.xlsx) cannot be opened by Macs running Office 2008 after applying the SP 2 Update from last week,” Carlson reports. “Maddeningly, this issue appears to affect different Macs and their users inconsistently.”
Full article here.
It seems that Microsoft’s Mac Business Unit awoke long enough to concoct laundry list of workarounds while users of Mac Office 2008 SP2 wait for Microsoft to release an update in August.
Microsoft’s “solutions” can be found here.
MacDailyNews Take: Do you really need Microsoft Office? Give Apple’s free 30-day iWork ’09 trial a try and find out for yourself.
So far, I’m perfectly happy with NeoOffice 3.x. No MS Office on my laptop.
I turn off XML and stick with 2003/2007 compatibility for PC and Mac anyway.
Oh well.
Rarely I’ll use office to solve formatting problems, but I would never, EVER use Office to get real work done! I use iWork for that.
Wow. This is extraordinarily dumb even for Microsoft. Is there another way they can make my life harder?
Unfortunately I have clients with very complex document formatting so I have to use Word.
I would love to be able to dump all Microsoft file formats, but unfortunately I can’t.
My wife still doesn’t understand file formats (nor does she really care to learn them) or saving ‘out’ in different types. Because we use OpenOffice at home she’s been very frustrated at me because she can’t just shoot somebody an ODT file and have them open it because everybody uses MS Office formats, and it seems we may be having to buy Office just for that purpose.
I can’t help but think there are many in the same situation as me; wanting to switch, needing to get out from under Microsoft and yet unable to do so.
I actually rejoiced when they got the XML formats approved as an open format. It may be from Microsoft originally but this will give other applications a chance of using one all-encompassing format that even Office shills can use and understand.
Lets hope they don’t pull their usual ‘shoot themselves in the foot’ crap and kill their own thing here.
That is why I switched to Apple, I just can´t stand this BS.
Get iWork and Neo. That’s all you need to get the job done and to be compatible to users that are enslaved with Microsloth Office.
@Jubei
Unfortunately, that simply isn’t true in the real world. While most simple documents work just fine with the alternative programs, they fall apart quickly for large or complex documents. There simply isn’t a realistic alternative to Office yet.
Has anyone here TRIED to open Windows-created OpenXML files with Office 2008 SP2? Because I’m having no problems at all; it seems like this might not be an everyone’s-experiencing-it problem, and it’s amazing how many people here are reacting without trying it.
An easy fix for those using Time Machine.
Clearly, the right-hand knows not what the left is doing. Or perhaps its more sinister than that.
@Ronin
There simply isn’t a realistic alternative to Office yet.
That’s right. As long as Microsoft dictates the standard there never will be parity.
Oh for the love. As if it weren’t bad enough I have Office forced down my throat in the first place.
iWork for new documents that need a professional look.
NeoOffice for legacy documents and sending/receiving from clients.
Works fine with our Exchange/Office environment, zero complaints with documents sent out via a Mac. All the complaints are PC to PC with docx, xlsx and pptx formatting.
If you have to upgrade for Win 7 and Office 2007, then why not just move to a Mac?
What a disappointment. Microsoft should try being more open and compatible like Apple.
@ RamaFan – For read-only documents, have your wife use the Mac’s “print to PDF” functionality. Everyone can read PDFs.
@Jason
Because I’m having no problems at all; it seems like this might not be an everyone’s-experiencing-it problem
The article stated as much; it’s an intermittent problem, one that is not uniform across the Mac platform.
Perhaps you installed Office with just the right combination of features from the list of install options that SP2 saw fit to leave in tack.
Well, you can’t really blame M$. I mean, who would have thought to test cross-platform compatibility? In the SP2, they fixed what was broken in SP1. Isn’t that good enough for you? Gees, you mac guys are so spoiled!
Watch Your Ass Folks
First thought, then confirmed after reading a comment via link to full story’s site
Maybe deliberate to screw with Mac ?
When does (did?) that “agreement” with Microsoft expire ?
And “agreement” or not, can Microsoft ever be trusted to “do the right thing” for Mac ?
Or anyone but Microsoft ?
Cover Your Butt
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BC
@G4Dualie
That’s right. As long as Microsoft dictates the standard there never will be parity.
And until Apple and all the “competitors” sit on their ass and do not add the features the real world needs, Microsoft has the field to themselves.
Can anyone who to automatically generate a table of contents in Pages? Index?
There actually IS an alternative for MS Office for Mac. I’ve been using Mariner Software’s Write and Calc apps for a while now and love them!
Can anyone tell me whether or not people who are strictly Windows have been able to open iWork docs and Neo docs when sent from a Mac to Windows via email? I get a huge amount of people telling me they can’t open the docs I send them. I only use Neo but have been tempted to start using iWork which I always get anytime there is a new one updated !! Please advise or comment !! Thanks, Taz
@ Taz
NeoOffice is an OpenOffice clone and as such has .odt as the default document type. This can be changed to .doc or .docx in the preferences for new documents or on a document-by-document basis.
I send hundreds of NeoOffice created/edited documents in Office 97 .doc and .xls format and everyone in the UK government offices and construction employers I send to have been able to read them all. I am not sure about .ppt nor the .docx/.xlsx/.pptx formats as I have no experience in this.
I like iWork Pages and Numbers. However, they are not fully compatible enough with MS Office files for my needs both for reading and for writing. iWork won’t always read in correctly and I’m told that people who tried to open iWork files written out as Office files found strange differences. I recently went to Mac Office 2008 and automatically applied SP2 and then found I couldn’t read the docx files so I re-instaled and manually applied just SP1 and am now fine.
Generally I’m finding I like Office 2008. It doesn’t seem substantially worse than earlier versions of Office. iWork is cleaner but I wouldn’t say Office is horrible on the Mac either.
@RamaFan
I use NeoOffice, and in the preferences I’m able to set the default format in which files are to be saved. I set mine to .doc and .xls so as to be compatible with my coworkers… You could do that for your wife and it would be entirely transparent for her
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Bummer with iWork is that you can’t simple save as a .doc, it must always be a Save As… 🙁