We're on Word here and still have that problem. If you have a newer version of Word that does .docx files, you have to save as the older .doc files, because some recipients will complain that they can't open the newer ones. And if you're on the older one yourself, you have trouble opening stuff people send you. Whenever Word files go out to a distribution of more than two or so people including some external collaborators, I've always had problems. Afaict, Word on the Mac also behaves differently from Word on Windows, at least in terms of who reports back to me that they can't open a file I sent, and god help you if you try to embed media or use the reference manager.
Honestly OpenOffice users give me the fewest problems, because they seem to be able to at least open anything I send them, even if the formatting is a bit mangled, while a significant percentage of Word users report back with "I couldn't open your file" or "your file seemed corrupt" or something.
"Honestly OpenOffice users give me the fewest problems"
Just a guess, but perhaps that's because the OO users that have actually stuck with it are the more technical ones who look for their own solutions first. I use OO primarily at home and when I get files I can't open I try Google docs, Office live apps, or the Word viewer.
We're on Word here and still have that problem. If you have a newer version of Word that does .docx files, you have to save as the older .doc files, because some recipients will complain that they can't open the newer ones.
This tells me that Microsoft is actually in a vulnerable position here. If they start ramping up their rate of change to maintain lock-in they're going to inconvenience their customers even more. OpenOffice will start looking like the better alternative.
Honestly OpenOffice users give me the fewest problems, because they seem to be able to at least open anything I send them, even if the formatting is a bit mangled, while a significant percentage of Word users report back with "I couldn't open your file" or "your file seemed corrupt" or something.
It's not good to get egg on your face because the formatting is messed up. That looks like your fault. A corrupt file is seen as something like traffic. "Computers are tricky and stuff happens" is the usual reaction I see.
Honestly OpenOffice users give me the fewest problems, because they seem to be able to at least open anything I send them, even if the formatting is a bit mangled, while a significant percentage of Word users report back with "I couldn't open your file" or "your file seemed corrupt" or something.