Every time a new version of Office is released, new updated file formats are released as well. Older versions of Office have a difficult time reading and editing these new files formats.

Here is how to do it.

It's a painful time for learning providers, practitioners and learners every time somebody updates to the latest version of Word.

Before long, nobody understands why they can't open up these new types of documents. What is the Open XML File Format anyway?

This new file format was included as the default file type in the latest versions of Office for windows and macs. This file format can contains all the default office documents including presentations, spreadsheets, charts, and documents.

So how can you open these new files in your older version of Office?

Here are the updates needed on your apple or windows machine:

• Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.0.1 downloadable from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=2a8d9a3b-b8a4-43b6-82a6-a2e7d16ae11d&displaylang=en.

• Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats downloadable from http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en.

Installing these respective updates will allow your older versions of the Office suite to read these new file formats.