office 2007 - *.pptx issues

I have a client working on office 2007 for Microsoft and I need to play with his powerpoint file (*.pptx) on my Mac with Office 2004. Apparently it is something to do with some new XML or something, and I've looked around and havent been able to find anything to get me to open this 2007 *.pptx file on my 2004 office mac.

Has anyone had similar experience and managed to work around it?

I can't seem to find a converter for Macs (only a Windows version seems to be available), so it looks like your only option is to get OpenOffice and open it with that (not sure if the latest version of NeoOffice has support)

Edit: I just created a test file in Powerpoint 2007. Both Keynote 08 and NeoOffice can open the file, but Keynote has far better compatibility than NeoOffice. Keynote either used the same fonts or substituted very similar ones. NeoOffice, on the other hand, showed the font fine in editing mode, but in Slideshow mode, the fonts were very different. NeoOffice also had trouble displaying the pictures I threw in the test file.

So overall, the best way to view Office 2007 files right now would be either with iWork 08 or through Office 2003/2007 within Windows (Boot Camp or Parallels).

The MacBU did promise to have a converter done "soon" (that was at the beginning of the year); but Apple seems to have beaten Microsoft to it with iWork 08.

Can you ask them to resend in the usual .ppt format (that every other version of Office; and 90+% of all Office users use). I hate it when people send application specific files when they could use another format. Even .toast disc images; yeah I have Toast, but be considerate... an .iso will do just fine. I don't even like .doc files, even though I have 4 applications that will open them; .rtf is much more efficient.

Have you tried Keynote? You can download a free 30-day trial from Apple if you don't already have it. I know that Pages and Numbers handle the new filetypes, but I haven't had the opportunity to try them in Keynote.

You can grab a converter here:

http://www.microsoft.com/mac/downlo...mac/download/Office2004/ConverterBeta_0_2.xml

Alternatively your client could save it as an Office 2004 Powerpoint file...