In Office 2007 Microsoft introduced a new file format called the Microsoft Open Office XML Format (.docx). This format is not compatible with older versions of Microsoft Word. The Mac version (Office 2008) isn’t expected to ship until the second half of 2007.

So far this month, several clients have called to ask how to open, convert, or place Word 2007’s new .docx file format on a Mac. For the next couple months, this issue will be a problem for many Mac-based studios.

Here are some conversion options for now:

You’ve recieve a Stuffit archive (.sit) that contains crucial files for your project. But when you expand that archive, Stuffit Expander ends up giving you an apparently empty folder, or only shows a couple of your needed files.

This is one of those problems we get a lot of calls about from frustrated designers. Certainly more designers suffer in silence.

In this tip we’ll not only explain what’s going on, we’ll give you three easy ways to fix the problem for good!

RCDefaultApp is a free utility that Creativetechs has started adding to our recommended Mac OS X installs. It adds a special preference pane that allows you to quickly change the default application for many common situations:

• Open all your .pdf files in Acrobat instead of Preview.
• Pick a different default mail client or web browser.
• Control what opens when digital cameras or webcams are plugged in.
• Close security holes with how certain weblinks are handled.

Of course you can change these settings other ways. But RCDefaultApp makes it much easier by putting the most requested controls into one location — a new “Default Apps” option at the bottom of your Mac OS X System Preferences.

Last week we reprised our annual Fonts & Mac OS X talk at Seattle’s School of Visual Concepts. This year included some significant updates for designers managing their fonts in 2007.

Here is a link to the PDF of the presentation, which includes specifics on some of the details covered:

SVC Font Class 2007.pdf

In addition to this PDF, we have a variety of links and resources that were mentioned during the presentation.