<p>News Google Apps Drops Export Support for Older Microsoft Office Files</p><p>Those using Google Docs can no longer directly export their files to the older Microsoft Office binary file formats.</p><p>The change, effective today, means that users can only download Google Docs files to the newer Microsoft Office XML-based file formats, as signified by file extensions with an "X" at the end, such as .DOCX, .XLSX and .PPTX. The change affects "Google Apps, Google Apps for Business [and] Government and Education" editions, according to a Google announcement made last week. Consumer users of the free Google Docs version are also affected by the export limitation, according to a Google spokesperson, via e-mail.</p><p>Google's announcement indicated that the change affects Office users from Office 97 to Office 2003. Still, Google Docs users aren't without resources. They can download the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel and PowerPoint Formats, which is available here. The Compatibility Pack allows the newer XML-based formats to be saved as .DOC, .XLS and .PPT files.</p><p><a href="http://redmondmag.com/articles/2012/10/01/google-drops-support.aspx">Keep reading...</a></p>