MS Office upgrade question

[Vol4Ever]

I work in a small office (~5 desktop PC's) with a limited operations budget. We have successfully used Office 2002 for the last several years, but are about ready to pursue an upgrade.

Of course Microsoft will say that any upgrades are completely seamless, but my experience shows that with a MAJOR software version upgrade, a full format/reinstall is in order. Obviously I'm only talking about operating system software & Office which seems to almost be fully integrated into the day-to-day systems operation any way.

Any thoughts here. Is a *full* Office upgrade really that seamless? Just curious.

~Vol

 

[cabbey77]

MIne was. I went from Office 97 to Office 2003 with 0 glitches, I was really shocked.

 

[KenPuls]

Hi there,

Honestly, the difference between Office 2002 and 2003 is hardly what I'd consider a "MAJOR" software upgrade. The platforms are nearly identical, with the exception of Outlook.

Typically, when I make the switch between versions of Office, I uninstall the first one completely, then install the new one. The only difficulty with that is if you want continuity in Outlook. You'd need to export your address book, personal folders, etc... Help for that can be find at MS's site, though, I believe.

As far as the file format, I interchange Office 97-2003 files all day, every day. If you try and open a "newer version" in an "older version" file, it will truncate the new features, but I don't think you'll find anything that corrupts your data that way. I've NEVER had an issue taking a file from an older version to a newer version.

Ken Puls, CMA

http://www.excelguru.ca

 

[Vol4Ever]

Thanks for the tips. I just received a heads up that a completely new Office version was scheduled to come out in the next 60-90 days (Office 2007 maybe?). As long as we're upgrading, I'll probably just wait for it.

Thanks again for the assistance.

~Vol

 

[GlennUK]

Hi Ken Puls,

just a quick comment for interest ...

I've NEVER had an issue taking a file from an older version to a newer version.

My users are upgrading from Excel 97 to Excel 2003, and one of the first files to be used crashed straight away ...

http://www.tek-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=1272740&page=1

Cheers, Glenn.

Did you hear about the literalist show-jumper? He broke his nose jumping against the clock.

 

[KenPuls]

Interesting, Glenn. Thanks for linking. I'll definately file that away for future reference.

Ken Puls, CMA

http://www.excelguru.ca

 

[KenWright]

Thanks for the tips. I just received a heads up that a completely new Office version was scheduled to come out in the next 60-90 days (Office 2007 maybe?). As long as we're upgrading, I'll probably just wait for it.

Be ready for a huge learning curve then, as this is nothing like any previous releases of Office. Whole new interface and a different way of working.

Regards
Ken................

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[fumei]

For a more expanded discussion on upgrading/2007 see:

Why upgrade to Office 2003 if Office XP works?

thread68-1243027

Gerry
My paintings and sculpture