Opening and converting old DOC, XLS and PPT files
What to know about Office 97–2003 files (DOC, XLS, PPT), and what to keep in mind when viewing them in the browser and converting them to newer formats.
DOC, XLS and PPT are the binary formats used by Office 97–2003. Their structure is completely different from today’s DOCX, XLSX and PPTX, so simply changing the extension won’t make them open.
What DocDori can do
- XLS and XLSB: reads sheet values and supported formulas, lets you edit them, and saves the result converted to XLSX.
- DOC: reads the body text, lets you edit it, and extracts it to TXT or builds a new DOCX from the text.
- PPT: reads the slide body text, lets you edit it, and extracts it to TXT or builds a new PPTX from the text.
Important to know
Converting DOC and PPT doesn’t carry over the original layout as it was. It pulls out the text and creates a new document. Table structure, images, fonts, page layout and slide design are not carried over. Before you download, DocDori tells you what will be left out and asks for your consent.
If a document needs to keep its original look, the most accurate approach is to convert it with ‘Save As’ in Microsoft Office or LibreOffice and then open the new file in DocDori. With the newer formats (DOCX, XLSX), DocDori can edit while preserving the original formatting and parts.
When a file won’t open
For safety, files that are password-protected or have edit protection set, and PPT files containing macros or signatures, are not opened. The original is not changed.
When this comes in handy
- When you want to keep using an old work template (XLS) in the current format (XLSX)
- When you want to pull just the body text out of an old DOC and move it into a new document
- When you want to quickly check what was in an old presentation (PPT)
Frequently asked questions
Can’t I just rename the extension to .docx? No. The internal structure is completely different, so renaming the file means no program will be able to open it. You have to convert and save it.
Do formulas survive XLS conversion? Supported formulas are read and calculated. Unsupported functions are marked ‘Not calculated’, so check the result values in the converted file once.