How to Open Docx files if You are Still Using Word 2003

1. If someone sends you a file that was created in recent version of Microsoft Office that you have not installed yet, you will not be able to open the file. You can identify these files created easily because they will have an 'X' at the end of the extension name --- 'docx' on Word files or 'xlsx' on Excel files.
2. You do not have to go out and buy the most current version of Office, however. There is a simple fix to the problem. Visit the Microsoft Download Center and follow the instructions to download a compatibility patch.
3. Once the patch is downloaded and installed, you can open any Word document with your Office 2003 version. If you make changes to the document, the changes are saved in a regular '.doc' version, but the user with current Word is able to open the document just fine.