Microsoft Office 2007 files - Excel, Word and PowerPoint
A saved file using Microsoft Office 2007 will have an "x" as part of the file extension. For example, a Word document extension would be .docx. Download the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack if you are not using Microsoft Office 2007, so you can open and save these types of files.
Click here to find out how to use earlier versions of Excel, PowerPoint, and Word to open and save files from Microsoft Office 2007 programs.
Saving a document using Microsoft Office Word 2007 to be compatible with
Microsoft Office Word 97-2003
- When you are ready to save your document, click the Office button in the top, left corner of your window.
- Click on "Save As" in the drop down menu
- Click on "Word 97-2003 Document"
This document will be saved with a .doc file extension.
Filename extensions with Vista and Internet Explorer 7 (concerning documents in Blackboard)
If a Vista document is opened or downloaded from Blackboard using Internet Explorer 7, the file extension changes. IE 7 interprets the new Office 2007 file extension (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx) as a Zip file and the file will be named with the .zip extension. The file will need to be renamed with the correct file extension in order for it to be opened.
First you need your computer to show file extensions in order to rename the Vista .zip document
Then change the file extension of the document you have downloaded (If the file extension is .zip instead of .docx, .xlsx, or .pptx, you will have to rename it).
Submitting document or files to your instructor (file name format)
Blackboard allows files with illegal characters in the file name to be submitted to the instructor; however, the instructor often can't access such files. The fix in this case is for the student to rename the file without the illegal character(s) and resubmit it.
Allowed characters in file names are A-Z, a-z, 0-9, a "-" (dash), and an "_" (underscore). It is highly recommended that file names with spaces, #, %, $, etc., not be submitted.
Formatting Files
The instructor may ask for assignments (files) to be submitted in different formats. Students need to read the course requirements provided by each instructor to find their instructors preferred format.
The list below provides the most commonly used formats.
doc - (document) - Microsoft Word document (Office 2003 and earlier)
docx - (document) - Microsoft Word document (Office 2007)
rtf - (Rich Text Format) - document
txt - (Text File) - document
pdf - (Portable Document Format) - Adobe PDF document
xls - (Microsoft Excel) - Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (Office 2003 and earlier)
jpeg - (picture file) - image, photo, and graphic formats
gif - (picture file) - image, photo, and graphic formats
To change the format (file type) of a document:
Open the document
Click on File in the toolbar
Click "Save As"
Type in the "File name"
Click on the drop down arrow next to "Save as type" or "Format" to display a menu
Choose the format
Click Save
To change file associations (extensions):
Windows Vista
Windows XP
Mac OS X
Windows Millennium Edition
Windows 2000
Windows 95, 98, and NT
Additional formatting information:
Convert Microsoft Works documents to Microsoft Word format
Open and convert WordPerfect documents to Microsoft Word format
File Formats for Microsoft Publisher
