Issues with Vista Attachments

Every time I send an attachment to someone who does not have Vista, when they
open it they only see symbols and numbers which don't make sense as well as
incorrect formatting on the page. When I try to open an attachment from
someone who does not have vista the same happens to me. Is there a download
that I need to install to make my Vista compatible with those who are using
XP?

"hhirst01" <> wrote...
> Every time I send an attachment to someone who does not have Vista, when
> they
> open it they only see symbols and numbers which don't make sense as well
> as
> incorrect formatting on the page. When I try to open an attachment from
> someone who does not have vista the same happens to me. Is there a
> download
> that I need to install to make my Vista compatible with those who are
> using XP?


Does your new Vista PC have Office 2007 installed? It is very likely this
problem is related to Office 2007; and has nothing to do with Vista, as
such. You would find the same problem if you were running Office 2007 on an
XP machine.

Office 2007 introduced new file formats for most applications - for example,
Word 2007 by default saves files as *.docx, using a compressed format.

In Word 2007, if you want to save the a file so it can be read by users with
Office 2003 or earlier, you need to go to "Save As ..." instead of "Save".
Then select the option to Save As "Office 97-2003 document". The file will
be saved in a *.doc format (no "x"), which is the same format used by
earlier versions of Office.

Then attach the *.doc version to an email and send that instead, instead of
a *.docx file.

The new Office 2007 have several advantages over the older formats. The are
smaller, and more XML-friendly (that's a Good Thing). But there is a period
of transition, where some people are using Office 2007 and some people are
using Office 2003.

Hope it helps,

--
Andrew McLaren
amclar (at) optusnet dot com dot au

"hhirst01" <> wrote in message
news:FD886E9F-26D0-4924-8846-...
> Every time I send an attachment to someone who does not have Vista, when
> they
> open it they only see symbols and numbers which don't make sense as well
> as
> incorrect formatting on the page. When I try to open an attachment from
> someone who does not have vista the same happens to me. Is there a
> download
> that I need to install to make my Vista compatible with those who are
> using
> XP?

What email program are you using?
What email program is the recipient using?
If you are using Outlook and they are not, make sure you are not sending in
RTF or they will not be able to open the attachment.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM
I won't answer email.