Microsoft Word templates can be serious time savers; if you find yourself creating similar documents over and over again, using a template can let you save the basic format and then automatically open it as a new document every time you want to work with it. The problem with templates--also known as DOTX and DOTM files--is that Word 2007 is the oldest version of Word capable of opening them. If you need to access the contents of a DOTX or DOTM file but you're running an older version of Word, you're out of luck, unless you have a program like DOTX to DOCX Converter. True to its name, this simple utility can convert DOTX and DOTM files to DOCX and DOCM files, letting you open them in earlier versions of Word.

There's not much to the program, really. The interface consists only of buttons that let you browse to the original template to be converted and the desired destination location. We chose a DOTX file we had handy, chose a new name and destination for the converted file, and clicked Convert. Almost immediately we got a message stating that the conversion was complete, and the new DOCX file opened in Word automatically. The program has no Help file, but that's OK; if you understand that you need to convert from a DOT file to a DOC file, there's really not much else you need to know. DOTX to DOCX Converter isn't fancy, but if you need to perform this specific task, it can be a lifesaver.

DOTX to DOCX Converter installs and uninstalls without issues.