File conversion & Office Compatability Pack

[rocknrollstar]

Hi, I am looking to install the office FileFormatConverters.exe so that we can view 2007 documents in our Office 2003 system.

I've used the extract method, and have got the msi ok. Whilst searching on the net, I came across the "Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack Service Pack 2". Do I need this? Does it replace FileFormatConverters? Can I simply deploy the FileFormatConvertere msi across the network, and ingore the Compatability Pack SP2?

The Compat. Pack also looks like a small download, then a big download based on needs. Is there an msi for this?

Thanks for your help.

[DrPerceptron]

Not familiar with FileFormatConverters.exe - first I've heard of it infact.

We rolled out the plain Office 2007 compat' pack and didn't have any problems with it.

Download details: Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack Service Pack 2 (SP2) That'll get you the full install, let it run through so far and you can nick the whole MSI from a Program Files directory somewhere (not sure which...)

I don't remember changing anything in the MSI to deploy it either, just slapped it in a GPO and it was happy.

[leco]

Echo that above. Compatability Pack pushed out by .msi from GPO. No issues that I know of - I don't think anyone noticed, I just get fewer calls about files that won't open

[rocknrollstar]

Thanks for that. Do you know where I can get the msi from for the compatability pack? Does it need additonal files, or just the msi?
THanks.

[DrPerceptron]

<filename>.exe /extract

It'll ask you to confirm, then ask where you want the files.

[rocknrollstar]

THanks- but doesn't that get you an MSP file, not a MSI file? As far as I know, an MSP can't be deployed through GPO. Could be completely wrong though!
Thanks.

[Chuckster]

SP2 comes extracted as an .MSP file so how do you go abouts updating your current old version of the compatibility pack with the latest version?

I looked at GPO and you can't deploy it.

[DrPerceptron]

Ahh, OK, it's obviously changed.

I guess you will need to get the MSI from the original compatability pack and apply the MSP from the SP2 version to that either at the administrative point or in the GPO (if you can do that using the "upgrade" tab...)

[eean]

I haven't done this myself for this particular package but usually it's something along the lines of:

With your original MSI make an administrative image by running:
MSIEXEC /A "c:\path\setup.msi" TARGETDIR="C:\Temp\converters"
This will extract the msi to c:\temp\converters. You will see the MSI and it's files in that folder.

Then do
MSIEXEC /p "c:\path\patchfile.msp" /A "c:\temp\converters\setup.msi"

[rocknrollstar]

So does anyone know the difference between

FileFormatConverters.exe

and

Office Compatability Pack SP2 (or SP1)?

Seems strange as I have installed teh FileFormatConverters pack, and am able to load 2007 documents (docx) into 2003. So what is the compatability pack for?

Thanks.

[elsiegee40]

I think FileFormatConverters.exe and the compatibility pack are one and the same!

If you look at the M$ page for the compatibility pack, the file you download is called FileFormatConverters.exe

Download details: Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats

[CyberNerd]

openoffice serves as a compatibility enhancement. It opens 2007 and 2003 file formats.

[Zoom7000]

I just use the following command in a script and deploy using SCCM or AB Tutor

"FileFormatConverters.exe" /quiet
"CompatibilityPackSP2.exe" /quiet

I've found that you need to install the FileFormatConverters.exe before the SP2 as the SP2 package complains that there are no compatible packages installed if you haven't installed the FileFormatConverters first.

However, I agree with the above post, that OpenOffice is a very good alternative. It can open and save Office 2007 formats and even has built in PDF saving capabilities! I've made it a compulsory integration into my RIS images.

[rocknrollstar]

Thanks for your replies. I think the answer to my question is that you should have both the FileFormatConverter.exe and the Compat Pack SP2 installed (in that order). Although I can't tell the difference, it won't hurt to install both.

OpenOffice, though great, is not an option at the moment.

Thanks for all your help.

[Michael]

I've used the extract method, and have got the msi ok. Whilst searching on the net, I came across the "Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack Service Pack 2". Do I need this? Does it replace FileFormatConverters? Can I simply deploy the FileFormatConvertere msi across the network, and ingore the Compatability Pack SP2?

I can confirm FileFormatConverters.exe is essentially the Microsoft Office 2007 Compatibility Pack. Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack Service Pack 2 is exactly that. It's a Service Pack for Microsoft Office 2007 Compatibility Pack.

If you take a look at the Logistix Office 2007 Compatibility Plus Pack you can see how I do things