In Office 2007 Microsoft introduced a new file format called the Microsoft Open Office XML Format (.docx). This format is not compatible with older versions of Microsoft Word. The Mac version (Office 2008) isn't expected to ship until the second half of 2007.
So far this month, several clients have called to ask how to open, convert, or place Word 2007's new .docx file format on a Mac. For the next couple months, this issue will be a problem for many Mac-based studios.
Here are some conversion options for now:
Free Mac converter coming soon: Microsoft will be releasing a free Office 2007 converter for the Mac in March/April. Which obviously does you no good today. You can read about it in a recent post on Microsoft's Mac Mojo blog: Converters Coming! Free and (Fairly) Fast.
$20 converter available today: Meanwhile, Panergy Software has released a $20 utility that does the trick today. Their docXConverter utility converts .docx files into a format which can be opened in almost any text editor, or placed in Quark, InDesign, or most other graphics applications. Download a free trial which lets you convert up to 20 documents: Panergy Software Download Trial.
Free web service: Docx-converter.com provides a free web-based service that will convert a Microsoft Office .docx file into a simple html file. Upload your file on their website, and you can read the results in your web browser. From there you can copy any needed text and paste it into your layout. A free Mac OS X Widget is available as well: Docx Converter Widget.
Original Link
That "recent posting" from MS was from back in Dec '06. They are on beta 2 now.
Reply to this
I think http://blog.codexpress.cn/docx2html-converter/ is a nice free tool, too
Reply to this