How to Change Microsoft Word 2007's Default File Type

Microsoft Word 2007 brings with it a new file extension, DOCX. While the DOCX file extension provides Word users with a few extra bells and whistles over the standby DOC format, it is not widely used. Users who regularly share their Word documents often find that others cannot open DOCX files. In fact, many websites flat out refuse to accept this file type. This doesn't mean that you must abandon Word 2007 and go back to an earlier version. Instead, you can either save individual documents as DOC files or change the default file type in Word Options.

Saving Individual Word 2007 Files in the DOC File Format

Saving individual files in the familiar DOC format is easy. Simply go to the Office button in the upper left corner of the screen and choose Save As. When the next menu slides open, choose Word 97-2003 and then name your document as normal. Now, anyone who can view DOC files can view your Word 2007 document.

Changing the Default File Format in Word 2007

To change Microsoft Word 2007 to automatically save all new documents as DOC files rather than DOCX files, go back into the Office button and click the Word Options button found in the lower right corner of the menu. Now, click the Save link found in the left task pane in the Word Options screen. Under Save Documents, look for the line that says, "Save documents in this format." You'll see a down arrow which will list the various file formats available. If you want to have Word 2007 default to the old DOC file format instead of the new DOCX file format, choose Word 97-2003 (*.doc) from the list. If you prefer a different default file format, make your selection and then click OK.

Viewing Word 2007 DOCX Files in Earlier Versions of Word

What if you're using an earlier version of Word and receive a DOCX file from someone else? As more people upgrade to Word 2007, this will become a frequent problem to those who haven't yet made the change. While you could e-mail this article to your friend and ask them to do the "File > Save As > Word 97-2003" trick, you can also take matters into your own hands.

Microsoft offers a free Word 2007 viewer as well as a Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 file formats that allow you to view DOCX files even if you don't have a copy of Microsoft Word installed on your computer. The Word 2007 view is ideal for those who do not have any version of Microsoft Word installed while the Compatibility Pack updates older versions of Office with the ability to open DOCX files (as well as the other new file formats introduced in Office 2007).

These three tips should help you convert or work with DOCX files. Eventually, enough people will have upgraded to the new format and when this happens, you can change the default file type back to DOCX.