First there was XP, then Vista, and soon there'll be Windows 7. That's just the operating systems. What about Microsoft Office? No doubt that Office 2007 will soon be making way for the latest version, too. Hard to keep track, isn't it? More importantly, how does this affect you, as a Microsoft Office user? Many of us don't run out and upgrade our software straight away at home, yet businesses often do.

This means that many people are using different versions of the same software, at the same time... and we're all constantly exchanging information with each other. When these versions change significantly, it can create confusion. We'll take Microsoft Word as an example of the importance of "backwards compatibility".

Let's say that you have Word 2003 at home. After all, it's just over five years old, it serves you well, and you know how to use it. Great! You write a CV when applying for a job, and email it to a prospective employer, who has Word 2007. They can open your document, because Word 2007 can open files created in earlier versions of the software. This is "backwards compatibility". All well and good. Then, they write a letter inviting you to interview, but they do it in Word 2007, of course. You excitedly open your email - argh! You can't read their letter. Why? Because Word 2007 has a new file format, called .docx, that only Word 2007 users can read. There's no such thing as forwards compatibility, because nobody can predict what software we'll be using in 2, 5 or 10 years time.

What do you do? Well, thankfully, you don't always have to run out and buy the latest software in order to keep up with the times. In this day and age, it's not feasible or affordable for many of us, either. Microsoft is aware of this, and help to correct anomalies by providing several free viewers, or converters. A viewer means that someone who doesn't have ANY version of Word, can open (but not edit) a Word document. The converters are relatively new. Let's go back to the above example - ".docx" is a brand new file format, but you can convert it to an older one, and read the letter. This type of software is free, and available from Microsoft's website.

Let's backtrack a bit, and look at this from the reverse angle. Let's say you have Word 2007, and the prospective employer doesn't, so they can't read your CV. It wouldn't be convenient for them to waste work time searching for and downloading a converter. You wouldn't expect them to. No, best to play it safe - and count on the fact that your latest software has backwards compatibility. When you're saving a file, and click on "save as", you can choose which version of Word to save it as - according to who will read the file.

As a side note, and a handy tip - there are some word processing formats that can be read by almost any program, made by any software vendor. "Rich Text Format" (or .rtf) is one, and "Plain Text Format" (or .txt) is the other. Usually, if you save a file as one of these, you may lose some formatting, but you're almost guaranteed to have a file that is readable by everyone.

Overall, though - it's best to keep up to date. Be conscious of both what other people might be using when they write to you, and what you're using when you write to them. It's only Words - but now you can make sure they will always be read!