Open XML file ___ cannot be opened...

I have read of several people having the same problem but cannot find a definitive answer. I am on an iMac with version 10.6.8 OS X. I bought and installed Office 2011 last week (version 14.4.0) and I cannot open any file that I had created in version 2008 nor any file sent to me (I use Outlook Web email). The complete error message is: "The Open XML file solar.docx cannot be opened because there are problems with the contents or the file name might contain invalid characters (for example, \/)." I am at a loss as what do do. I am not a "techie" person, so any fix needs to be "spelled" out clearly.

Thanks for any help.

~Cynthia

Microsoft Office 2011-OTHER, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Aug 5, 2014 1:14 PM

Posted on May 29, 2016 7:38 PM

Since your post is from 2014, I hope you found a solution....

Today 5/29/2016 this is what I did and it worked.

1. Make a copy of the file in question and put it on your desktop.

2. Log into Google Docs (if you don't have an account, you have to create one and trust me you will be glad you did).

3. In google docs start a new file (don't know why this works, but it does)...

4. Go to the file menu and select "Open". Along the top are several options (my drive, shared with me, Starred, recent or upload).

5. Select "Upload" to Open your file in Google Docs... Violå... it opens formatting and all!!!!

6. Save it as a google doc (so you have a backup). Depending on your system you may have to select Make a copy....

7. Once you have a Google doc saved as a google doc....Gso to the file menu and select DOWNLOAD AS "Microsoft Word (docx)... It will ask you what app on YOUR Mac to open it with, select Microsoft Word...

Hope this helps.

Pam

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