Computer files are part of a framework for managing the data you create and store on your computer. When you create information in a program, such as a letter, you save that information in a file and assign the file a memorable name.

When you want to work with the file at a later time, you can identify the file by its name and open the file in the program. Although the ins and outs of creating and using files differ somewhat among the Office programs, after you learn to work with files in one Office application, you will for the most part be able to work with files in the other Office applications. The skills you learn next will come in handy when you need to work with files in various Office programs.

Understanding Office 2007 file formats
Every program saves data in a particular file format that reflects how the program identifies, organizes, and interprets information. You can typically identify what program was used to create a file in two ways:

• The file’s icon in a Windows folder window or a dialog box such as the
  Open dialog box identifies the program used to create the file. That is,
  all files created in a particular program use the same icon. Figure 3-1
  shows the file icons for some of the key Office programs.

• A three- to five-letter filename extension (such as .docx for Word 2007 files) also identifies the program used to create the file. Although filename extensions often are hidden, you may see the extension when viewing information about a file or browsing to find a file in Windows.

The file formats for the 2007 releases of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint have been dramatically changed to use the Microsoft Office Open XML Formats. Microsoft Office Open XML Format is based on a wider standard called eXtensible Markup Language (XML), a method of describing data that was designed to facilitate sharing data between different systems. To signify their XML roots, the filename extensions for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint now include an x: .docx for Word documents, .xlsx for Excel workbooks, and .pptx for PowerPoint presentations. The change to XML-based file formats enables the applications to create smaller, more secure files that corrupt less easily but can be shared more easily.

Access 2007 also features a new .accdb database file format rather than the old .mdb file format. The new Access file format and the database engine that drives it give tighter integration with SharePoint Services and Outlook 2007. There are also some special variations of the Access file format, including an execute-only database file (.accde) and a runtime version (.accdr) of the database file. Although Access can read tables from database files created in earlier Access versions so that you don’t have to recreate those tables, older Access versions cannot read tables from an Access 2007 database file. Publisher 2007 files continue to use the .pub filename extension.

Creating a new, blank file
When you start some of the Office applications—such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—the application automatically opens a new, blank file for you. You can then begin adding and formatting the content you want to preserve for yourself or other readers or viewers.

If you’re working with an existing file and need to create another blank file, you can do so at any time, using one of the following two methods:

• Press Ctrl+N. The blank file appears immediately.
• Click the Office Button (File menu) in the upper-left corner of the program window and then click New. The New Document Type dialog box, like the one for Excel shown in Figure 3-2, appears. Double-click the Blank Document Type icon, which closes the dialog box and immediately opens the new document onscreen.

Because of its more complicated file structure, Access requires you to take a few more set up steps when you create a new database file. If you double-click the Blank Database icon after starting Access or choosing the New command, Access prompts you to enter a name for the file. After you click Create (Figure 3-3), you then must set up the first table that will hold the data you’ll enter. Chapter 34 covers the process for creating an Access table.

Creating a file with a document template
You can avoid starting from scratch when creating a file by selecting a template. A template includes starter content and attractive formatting, both of which you can adapt for your own uses. For example, Excel includes a Loan Amortization template that includes all the formulas required to calculate payments on a loan; you plug in the loan terms, and presto! The worksheet presents you with precise principal and payment information for any payment date in the life of the loan. As shown in Figure 3-4, this template also includes the formatting needed to organize and highlight the information.

Some templates install on your system’s hard disk when you install Office. Microsoft also enables you to browse and download templates stored on Office Online, giving you the opportunity to take advantage of new templates as Microsoft adds them to the site.

Whether you choose an installed template or download a new template, the process for using a template to create a new file is roughly the same:

1. Click Office Button?New. The New Document Type dialog box appears.
2. Click Installed Templates in the Templates section of the list at the left. OR Click a template category in the Microsoft Office Online section of the list at the left.
3. Click a template thumbnail. As shown in Figure 3-5, a preview of the template appears at the right side of the dialog box.
   
4. Click Create (for an installed template) or Download. If you selected a template installed on your system, the new file appears. An online template will take a few moments to a few minutes to download, and then the new file will appear.

Saving and naming a file
When you create a new file, the application assigns it a temporary name, numbering names sequentially when you create more than one new file. If you create more than one new file in Excel, for example, the program assigns the temporary filenames Book1, Book2, and so on. To replace the temporary filename and to make sure your work in a file gets preserved on your computer’s hard disk or a network drive, you need to save the file.

The application you’re saving with will automatically apply the file format extension to whatever filename you specify during the save process. Follow these steps to save a file in an Office application running in Windows Vista:

1. Click Office Button?Save or press Ctrl+S. The Save As dialog box appears.
2. Click the Browse Folders button. This expands the dialog box to include a pane where you can choose a disk or folder in which to save the file. The Browse Folders button changes to the Hide Folders button, which you can click at any later time to suppress the folder display.
3. Click the up arrow to the right of Folders in the left pane. The Folders list with the folder tree for navigating to disks and folders expands.
4. Click the triangle to the left of any disk or folder to display its contents, if needed. A triangle appears beside only folders that have subfolders within them, so you may not see any triangles beside folder icons.
5. Click the desired folder in the tree. This selects the folder as the save location. Figure 3-6 displays a selected folder.
   
6. Drag over the contents of the File Name text box and type a new name. Make sure your filename not only describes the file’s contents but also includes information such as a date to distinguish it from other similar files.
7. Click Save. The program saves the file and displays the new filename in the title bar onscreen.

As you continue working with a file, you should save it periodically to ensure that your latest changes are included in the stored version. That way, in the event of a power surge or problem with your computer, you won’t lose much work. Saving every 10 minutes proves good insurance for your file.

To save your latest changes, click the Save button on the Quick Access toolbar or press Ctrl+S. If you must, you can click the Microsoft Office button and then click Save, but why choose two steps when you can choose one?

Files created in the 2007 versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access cannot be opened with older versions of those programs by default. (They can download and install a compatibility pack to handle the files; information is available by going to the main Office Web site at http://office.microsoft.com and searching for “office compatibility pack,” with or without quotation marks.) If a user running an older version of one of these applications needs to open one of your files, you may need to save a copy of the file in a compatible format. Here’s how:

1. Click Office Button?Save As right arrow. A list of other file formats that you can select for the copy you’re creating appears, like the one shown in Figure 3-7.
   
2. Click the desired “save as” format.
3. Specify a save location and filename in the Save As dialog box. The process works just as described in the previous set of steps about saving a new file.
4. Click Save.

Opening a file
Opening a file you’ve previously saved loads the file back into the program so that you can review, change, or print it. The open process works a lot like the save process. You select the folder in which you stored the file and then select the file to open, as follows:

1. Click Office Button?Open or press Ctrl+O. The Open dialog box appears.
2. Click the up arrow to the right of Folders in the left pane. The Folders list with the folder tree for navigating to disks and folders expands.
3. Click the triangle to the left of any disk or folder to display its contents, if needed. A triangle appears beside only folders that have subfolders within them, so you may not see any triangles beside folder icons.
4. Click the folder that holds the file to open in the tree. The files stored in the folder appear in the dialog box.
5. Click the file to open.
6. Click Open. The file loads in the program.

Closing a file
Closing a file that you’ve finished working on removes the file from the system’s working memory. Only a few years ago, closing a file was a necessity because most computers had limited amounts of working memory.

Today’s powerful computers make that less of an issue, but there are some other equally important reasons to close a file after you finish making changes. For example, you may want to close a file so that it’s not visible onscreen for security or privacy reasons. Closing a file also reduces the chances of the file’s being corrupted by a power fluctuation or a system error; it also gives you a reminder to save your changes to the file if you haven’t already done so.

Some Office applications offer a Close (X) button for the file window itself, located below the application Close (X) button near the upper-right corner of the program window. Clicking the file window Close button closes the file. Other Office applications may not include a file window Close button. If that’s the case, you can close the current file by clicking the Microsoft Office Button or File menu and then clicking Close. The keyboard shortcut Alt+F+C will close the current file as well in some Office applications.

If you haven’t saved your most recent changes to the file being closed, a reminder message like the one shown in Figure 3-8 appears.

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