Comments on: Office 2003 update blocks older file formats
Latest service pack for productivity suite renders older file formats--including those for Word, Excel, PowerPoint--inaccessible.
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MS itself said they did this.
And no, I never upgraded my old file formats - hence, I am stuck with tons of old 5" floppies full of info that isn't stored anywhere else, and yes, I was dumb enough to let the opportunities to update them slip through ... personal data, but beloved by me, nonetheless. I DO still insist on having a floppy drive on all my computers, though, unlike some folks - but even I don't have anything that can read a 5 inch floppy. Does that make me archaic? I doubt it - I'm like Mike, I'll try anything. I don't know a darn thing about computers, but I'll download any kind of demo, beta, or free trial just to play. So much for this particular computer - Windows Live OneCare destroyed my registry, and I still haven't gotten it back to normal two months after removing the offender - but that's okay - I can always reformat.
Back to the original story - to me, there is no reason to insult those who have not upgraded their files for whatever reason - in the case of my mother's associates, simply because they'd have to buy a whole new computer, and they don't need to - they never go online. I do, however, feel sorry for my mother, who, as president, has taken it on herself to be responsible for that agency, as well as another non profit AND her own business. The learning curve IS steep - and she's much braver than I am, to take on Publisher '07 with no training.
Can't MS ever fix anything without breaking other things? Ever heard of full regression testing?
And no, they do not know how to test.
Having spent many years supporting MS products, well, I just keep shaking my head. As to the poster who dumps documents after 5 years... what, you work at MS corporate or something?
I think that Microsoft should at least give customers the option to turn on old format compatibility, or at least give them a tool to convert old Office file formats to the newer formats. If Microsoft doesn't, I'm betting that developers will provide a tool to convert all old documents to Word 2003 or above formats.
Like someone else already mentioned, they are unsafe because Office is unsafe. Those same files opened in another program do no damage.
So the article is incorrect. Word could be configured to block the documents as described in the first paragraph, but this is not the default setting.
As the article says:
*****
For example, the default value of this entry is set to "Word 6.0 for Windows" or "101." This setting means that all Word documents that were created in Word 1.x for Windows through Word 2.x for Windows Taiwan are blocked from opening. You can increase or decrease the default version. The versions that are specified in the list are in ascending order.
*****
(Not a Microsoft fan; just an interested Win/Mac user.)
---Karl
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938810/en-us
In most cases, MS's stuff works. It's something everyone's familiar with, especially long time workers. Sorry OpenOffice, maybe a few more generations.
An open document format will allow the company to archive documents and open it anytime in the future.
An open document format will allow the corporation to choose from any vendor in the future, they won't have to be locked in to one vendor.
Open source software through a support partner provides better security assurance. You don't have to worry that the vendor is hiding a vulnerability it is aware about because it doesn't know when or how to go about fixing it.
These arguments may or may not be what a corporation is looking for in their software. But I wouldn't say MBA's are stupid and can't understand the potential value of the above points.
BTW, regarding the familiarity you mentioned, look at the new MS office interface. The fact is, many users are going to find OO to be more "Office-like" than the 2007 version of office. MS can do anything they want with their UI, but it is really a good idea to at least keep the old interface as an option. Also, remember wordperfect? It worked, most users were once familiar with it. Due to its many owners' mistakes , however, offices did switch.
Anyway, sounds like an a way to force upgrade lot's of institutions and businesses to 2007 that were happy to keep using 2003.
You know it takes a lot of money to keep the evil empires death star running in Redmond, Washington.
This issue is just a bunch of lamers complaining because they don't have the knowledge to make their machines perform...someone should take they machines away and give them networked workstations with a central boot ROM.
To quote the article:
In the support document, Microsoft said SP3 blocked access to those formats because they were less secure than newer versions. "By default, these file formats are blocked because they are less secure. They may pose a risk to you," it said.
End quote.
If we are to take them at their word does anyone see the staggering implications of that statement. Older versions of Office used and saved data in formats that were unsafe and posed a threat to their customers. If they are unsafe now with the advances in security then they were considerably more unsafe and posed an even greater risk when the formats were developed. And it's not just one version of Office it's all the old versions of Office that did this.
Now the question begs to be asked. Did this occur out of ignorance or did Microsoft knowingly and willingly create file formats that pose a risk to a company's IT and business infrastructure. Regardless of the answer this leads to a second question. Do the file formats currently used by Office pose a similar threat to a person's or company's computer and or data. This may not be such an unreasonable question. When Microsoft created those formats and the applications that use them they were the largest software company in the world. Office at that time as it is now is considered to be the state of the art in office productivity applications. They had and have an R&D budget greater than a billion dollars. They were then and are now employing the best people in the business. So how can you be sure that it is a good idea to continue to use and support Office.
The answer is much simpler and neither malpractice nor malfeasance is involved. Microsoft is in business to sell software. They make their money by selling existing customers upgrades and new customers applications. They also sell service contracts and software certifications. They can't make you buy upgrades but they can give you incentives as in this case. And it's their right to do so. The file formats and Office belong to Microsoft. If they discontinue support for older file formats for whatever reason that is their decision.
This story could be, as some of the respondents have said, much-ado about nothing. But the import of the underlying implications are very real. By using a closed proprietary format you have given away control of your data. Would Microsoft lock you out of your own data, highly unlikely. Could they through discontinued support of an operating system and or application or the lack of backward compatibility, yes. The solution is file formats that are completely open and unencumbered. Even if you continue to use Microsoft products, this should be a wake up call to shift from Office's native file formats to one that is open.
One a side note.....
As a linux user and supporter I always read stories concerning the latest studies of linux vs. Windows by companies like Gartner and The Yankee group. After reading this story and posts by users like sutys I wonder if the TOC studies those groups do include the cost of file maintenance. Consider a company like IBM, they must produce hundreds of thousands of documents a year. If, in order to maintain 100% compatibility, all their important documents are upgraded with each new version of office the cost must be considerable.
Lastly I've come up with a parable regarding this story. I hope you enjoy it.
A few years ago a man rented some storage space at one of those "U-Store-It" places. He loaded it up with the usual things. Old clothes and furniture, files and old receipts from appliances that were already replaced. Everything old and unused went into storage. The shed in the backyard was empty as was his attic.
Every month the bill for his storage space arrived and he payed it on time and in full. As the years passed his new stuff became old and when it was time to put all of his "new" old stuff into storage he went back to the "U-Store-It". But there was a problem. The lock had been changed. Seeing this the man went to the manager.
"I just went to my storage container and I can't get in because my lock has been changed", the man said to the manager.
"Yes I know. We changed all our customer's locks", the manager said to the man.
"Why did you do that?" The man asked.
"Well, most customers bought locks that could be picked and their stuff stolen. So we upgraded everyone's lock to one that's pick-proof", the manager explained.
"That's very considerate of you to be so concerned about you customers like that", the man said. "Now if you'll just give me the key to the new lock I'll be on my way", the man said.
"I'd love to sir, but you see the lock and the key are company property and I'm afraid I can't give away company property", the manager tells the man.
"Then how am I supposed to store all my new stuff and get to my stuff already in storage?" The man asks the manager.
"You have more stuff?" The manager asks craning his neck to see. "That's no problem sir, as a current renter you're entitled to a 50% discount on more storage space", the manager tells him.
"Hmmm, alright I suppose I need the extra space anyway", the man said after thinking it over. "And will you sell me one of your pick proof locks too?" the man asks.
"Sell you? No well give you the lock and keys", the manager said.
After a few moments thought the man looked at the manager and asks. "What happens if someone figures out how to pick your pick proof lock?".
"Why, we'll upgrade your lock free of charge, just like last time", the manager said with a smile.
Thank you all for you time.
It can be fixed with some registry keys.
Important: These steps may increase your security risk. These steps may also make the computer or the network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious software such as viruses. We recommend the process that this article describes to enable programs to operate as they are designed to or to implement specific program capabilities. Before you make these changes, we recommend that you evaluate the risks that are associated with implementing this process in your particular environment. If you decide to implement this process, take any appropriate additional steps to help protect the system. We recommend that you use this process only if you really require this process.
You can manually set the registry values to enable these file types in various products. To do this, follow these steps for the product that you are running.
Warning Serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly by using Registry Editor or by using another method. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk.
Note You should temporarily unblock the file types. After you open or save the files, block the file types again.
Excel
To enable Excel 2003 to open files in earlier Excel file types, follow these steps: 1. Exit Excel 2003.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Excel\Security
4. After you select the subkey that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click Key.
5. Type FileOpenBlock, and then press ENTER.
6. With the FileOpenBlock subkey selected, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
7. Type LotusandQuattroFiles, and then press ENTER.
8. Right-click LotusandQuattroFiles, and then click Modify.
9. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
10. Repeat steps 6 through 9 for the LegacyBinaryFiles registry entry and for the LegacyDatabaseAndDatasourceFiles registry entry.
11. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.
To enable Excel 2003 to save files in earlier Excel file types, follow these steps: 1. Exit Excel 2003.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Excel\Security
4. After you select the subkey that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click Key.
5. Type FileSaveBlock, and then press ENTER.
6. With the FileSaveBlock subkey selected, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
7. Type LotusandQuattroFiles, and then press ENTER.
8. Right-click LotusandQuattroFiles, and then click Modify.
9. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
10. Repeat steps 6 through 9 for the LegacyBinaryFiles registry entry and for the LegacyDatabaseAndDatasourceFiles registry entry.
11. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.
PowerPoint
To enable PowerPoint 2003 to open files in earlier PowerPoint file types, follow these steps: 1. Exit PowerPoint 2003.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\PowerPoint\Security
4. After you select the subkey that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click Key.
5. Type FileOpenBlock, and then press ENTER.
6. With the FileOpenBlock subkey selected, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
7. Type FilesBeforePowerPoint97, and then press ENTER.
8. Right-click FilesBeforePowerPoint97, and then click Modify.
9. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
10. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.
To enable PowerPoint 2003 to save files in earlier PowerPoint file types, follow these steps: 1. Exit PowerPoint 2003.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\PowerPoint\Security
4. After you select the subkey that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click Key.
5. Type FileSaveBlock, and then press ENTER.
6. With the FileSaveBlock subkey selected, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
7. Type FilesBeforePowerPoint97, and then press ENTER.
8. Right-click FilesBeforePowerPoint97, and then click Modify.
9. In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK.
10. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.
Word
To enable Word 2003 to open files in earlier Word file types, follow these steps: 1. Exit Word 2003.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Word\Security
4. After you select the subkey that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click Key.
5. Type FileOpenBlock, and then press ENTER.
6. With the FileOpenBlock subkey selected, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
7. Type FilesBeforeVersion, and then press ENTER.
8. Right-click FilesBeforeVersion, and then click Modify.
9. In the Value data box, type the value that corresponds to one of the values in the , and then click OK.
For example, the default value of this entry is set to "Word 6.0 for Windows" or "101." This means that all Word files that have a version number that is less than but not equal to Word 6.0 for Windows are blocked from opening. You can increase or decrease the default version. The versions that are specified in the Word file version table are in ascending order.
Note When you set the value of the entry to 0, all earlier-version files can be opened. We recommend that you set the value of this entry to one of the values that are listed in the Word file version table instead of setting of the entry to 0. This is because the parsing code that is used to open the earlier file types is less secure.
10. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.
Word file version tableVersion Registry value
Word 1.x for Windows 33
Word 4.x for Macintosh 33
Word 1.2 for Windows Japan 34
Word 1.2 for Windows Korea 35
Word 5.x for Macintosh 35
Word 1.2 for Windows Taiwan 36
Word 2.x for Windows 45
Word 2.x for Windows BiDi 46
Word 2.x for Windows Japan 46
Word 2.x for Windows Korea 47
Word 2.x for Windows Taiwan 48
Word 6.0 for Windows 101 (This is the default setting.)
Word 6.0 for Macintosh 104
Word 95 RTM 104
Word 95 Beta 105
Word 97 for Windows 193
Word 98 for Macintosh 193
Word 2001 for Macintosh 195
Word X for Macintosh 195
Word 9 for Windows 217
Word 10 for Windows 257
Word 11 for Windows 268
Word 2004 for Macintosh 268
Word 11 saved by Word 12 274
Turn off all file blocking 0
Corel Draw
To enable .cdr files to be opened, follow these steps: 1. Exit all Office 2003 programs.
2. Click Start, click Run, type regedit in the Open box, and then click OK.
3. Locate and then click the following registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Shared Tools\Graphics Filters\Import
4. After you select the subkey that is specified in step 3, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click Key.
5. Type CDR, and then press ENTER.
6. With the CDR subkey selected, point to New on the Edit menu, and then click DWORD Value.
7. Type Enabled, and then press ENTER.
8. Right-click Enabled, and then click Modify.
9. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
10. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.
More Details Visit: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/938810/en-us
- Why not ASCII text?
- by slimshady007 January 5, 2008 8:18 PM PST
- First, I'll actually address the main problem here: Microsoft
- Like this Reply to this comment
-
Showing 2 of 2 pages (184 Comments)intentionally making older documents not open in new
(updated) software. This is ridiculous, even if you argue that it
makes it "more secure" to block older formats. Microsoft didn't
make it clear that these changes (lockouts) would occur upon
the update's installation? Sounds like they either overlooked it
(irresponsible) or tried to hide it (despicable). MS messed up
here.
But as to an archive format? For 15-20 (and even 20+) years?
What sorts of formats are really still around AND alive (not just
"still supported")? My answer: ASCII text. HTML? 16 years old.
Likely to stick around? I'd say yes. Other formats? Who knows?
I'm a fan of PDF, but that's only been around since '93. People
that are pushing for ODF still need to consider that even if the
standard is "open" that it may become generally "unsupported"
after 20 years. EBCDIC, anyone? Sure, IBM was/is the devil, but
that standard went the way of the dinosaur, just like any other
format might at the drop of a hat. The only thing for sure (and,
of course, even THATS up for debate) is ASCII. Problem with it?
Oh yea, not a whole lot of formatting options. But at least you
won't have to convert it every 3-4 years!
Tim G.