Installing Different Office Versions side by side?

Hi basils57,

You may have two installs of Office on the same system without problems; but you can use only one copy of 'Outlook' installed in the system at any given time.

You may want to take a glance at the following 'Microsoft article': Keep earlier versions of Office programs when installing Office 2010 - Excel - Office.com for more details.

Hope this helps.

Hi basils57,

It is likely that some individual 'program components' are installed/loaded before the application opens up. If this is the case, it looks like a normal activity where 'Access 2007' checks and loads updates before starting.

Please share if you encountered any error message. A screenshot may also be useful.

basils57 said:

Hi Saurab A

... When I open a Access 2007 for example, it seems to want to re-install some of the 2007 program before opening?

That is how it work when you have multiple versions of Access installed. The other Office Apps do not do this. It is just something unique to Access. Access must update system settings to have the correct information for the version launching/ Every time you switch versions Access must update your Windows System settings.

I have noit experienced any issues with multiple versions of Word and Excel installed side by side. That is not try with Access. I only install a single version of Access on the same cop-y of Windows. . If I need another version of Access on the same machine then I use a Virtual Machine (VM). On my development system I have several VMs each with a different full version of Microsoft Office including Outlook.

Hi HiTechCoach,

Haven't had a chance of working with two 'Office versions' together on my machine; thank you for the valuable inputs.

Behavior exhibited by 'Access' may be normal in the given situation. However, please share if that is a safe setup? Would you recommend 'basils57' to continue using 'Office' the way it is setup, or do you advise any changes? (In absence of a Virtual Machine)

Saurabh A said:

Hi HiTechCoach,

... However, please share if that is a safe setup? Would you recommend 'basils57' to continue using 'Office' the way it is setup, or do you advise any changes? (In absence of a Virtual Machine)

I have been deploying Access application for over 15 years now. There has always been issues with multiple version of Access installed. It does not mater if the mix is with the Full/retail version and/or the Runtime versions. Starting with Access 2000 most components were installed in a separate sub folder under "Microsoft Office". Access 97 was a different. You must install it in a different folder than later versions.

End Users:
If it is an end user using just a compiled database (mde or accde) they generally have few if any issue other than the "reinstall" when they switch versions.

Developers:
The main issues I see is when you are doing development with multiple versions installed.

The issue arises from the "C:\Program Files\Common Files\microsoft shared" and/or "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\microsoft shared". This can cause issues with Library references when you deploy the Access application.

When developing on a machine with Multiple version of Access I find it critical to always test my deployment files on a machine with only a single version of Access installed. A VM is great for that.

In the end, if you are doing development with multiple versions of Access installed you will need multiple machines. You need a machine with only a single version of Access installed. I find using VMs the most efficient and economical. The ability to roll back a VM is great for keeping a clean testing environment.

I use Virtual Box and Microsoft's VirtualPC. If you Have Windows 7 Pro or higher then you have a free license for XP. You can install XP Mode which uses Virtual PC. This way you do not hae to purchase an additional License for a Windows OS.

You will need purchase a copy of Windows for each VM you install. A VM is just lucke a full computer. You will need a license for all the software you will install. The cost saving on a VM is the hardware. You can run multiple VMs on the same hardware. This does not reduce the number of software and OS licenses. Just less hardware.

I use a Windows 7 66bit Ultimate with 16 GIG RAm as the host (primary PC OS that boots). I have 5 VMs set up. This is like having 6 PCs but only had to purchase a single desktop box (Hardware). I do have multiple monitors. This allows me to run multiple VMs at the same time on separate monitors. Sures saes a lot on money on hardware and desktop space.