Couple of days back, I was introduced to the much hated "Office 2007 Expired" window. It seems that time flies when you use Microsoft trial software. I should of paid more attention to the many warning pop-ups.

Most of the important files that I have are saved using the .docx format and so I was looking at major trouble.

Microsoft Word 2007 uses .docx as the default file extension. Essentially they are nothing but a bunch of zipped XML documents. You can even go as far as to rename the extension to .zip which would allow you to easily extract the content.

If you have earlier versions of Microsoft office, you can view, edit, save, and print .docx files with this free Microsoft Office compatibility Pack.

Now, if you are on a mac and wish to perform the same tasks mentioned above, then simply download the Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac.

Lets just say you are like me and do not have a full version of any Microsoft Office software. Here are some of the many online conversion sites available.

Zamzar is an excellent service which performs the essential duty of converting any file you have under the .docx extension to .doc format [there are several other formats to choose from] . Be aware that you need to provide an email address to receive the converted file. After receiving the file through email, you can always use Google Docs to open the file and edit it.

Just like ZamZar, docx2doc.com offers the same service but at a more straight forward manner. Meaning it is created just for this task and so you don’t have to worry about any third party software or any other confusing file format options.

Ultimately, you can download the Docx-converter Dashboard Widget which allows you to convert files right from your Desktop. Best of all, any updates or feature additions to the web site will automatically be reflected in the widget!