EVEN MORE FAQ's: Why not .docx?

I've had several people ask me what .docx is and why they shouldn't use it.

If you don't know what it is, then you probably don't need to worry about it. This is the file extension for the new format of Word 2007, so if you have Word 2007, you might want to check to see if your document extension is .docx and not .doc

Why can't we use it? Well the older versions of Word can't read it, and a lot of people have chosen not to update a program they see as working perfectly well for them. I actually bought a version of it, but it's been sitting in its original box since last summer, untouched, uninstalled. I don't want to go through the problems it creates. I'm sure it's a perfectly fine version, but if nobody can read it, why don't I just stick with my favorite, WordPerfect, which I already have to convert to send to people? Why go through two conversions?

There is a conversion package you can get. But I will be much better off as the coordinator if I don't have to solve this problem in addition to others that are bound to come up. So that's why I'm asking all contestants to save their entries in .rtf format. Then we all can read it. If you happen to make a mistake and send it to me in WordPerfect or Word as a .doc file, I'll just convert it for you and send it on to the judges. But if you send it as .docx, sorry, I'll send it back and ask you to fix it.

If you don't know how to save as .rtf, I'll be happy to help you do it. It's easy. But I can't do it for you because I can't open your .docx file. No, I have no clue why Microsoft did this and I probably won't ever know.

Maybe next year.