MS Office 2003 compatible with Windows 7?

[michaelas]

Hi
I'm a little confused by some of the posts I've read about Office 2003 & Win 7.
I just bought an Acer Aspire with Windows 7 installed and am using a trial version of Office 2007.

1. Just for the record, can I replace Office 2007 with Office 2003 if I want?
2. Or if I decided to use Open Office instead, will that be compatible with Win 7? eg. will OOffice spreadsheets read MS Excel?

Thanks for your help.

 

[gregrocker]

Both Office 2003 and Ofc S&T 2003 work with Win7 just fine.

Open Office does as well.

Use Revo Uninstaller to uninstall Ofc Trial as it is a bear that can otherwise corrupt the OS just from its removal.

 

[michaelas]

Thanks. I'm glad to know that.
Could you please explain Revo Uninstaller? And where I get it? Or how?
Thanks

 

[gregrocker]

Download Revo from its website via Google; choose free version.

It finds leftover Registry and Files after running Program's own uninstaller. Don't restart until you complete it's Next steps to Delete all bolded Reg items and Files with program's name.

Note it sets a restore point before every uninstall so they can be rolled back, even from Repair CD or DVD.

 

[A Guy]

I'm using Office 2003 on my Windows 7 x64 with no issues. There is also a program to remove Office 2007 if you can't do it normally:

RipOutOffice2007

A Guy

 

[michaelas]

Thanks for all the help. I'll let my Office 2007 trial version play out for another 25 days and then give it a shot.

 

[michaelas]

Thanks for the help. I installed Office XP Professional after getting rid of Office 2007, and the install went fine. However, there is one annoyance. When I open up a Word document, or a new one, I see four margin corners on the page. (This is on my laptop.) Since I'm unable at this time to connect the laptop to a printer, I don't know if the document will print that way, but when I transfer a document to my PC that also has MS Office XP Professional, and is connected to a printer, the margin squares do not show up or print. In any case, just seeing them is an annoyance.

Is there a way to turn these off?
I'd include a screenshot but I'm not sure if I can put one on this post.
Thanks

 

[Bill2]

You likely have an Asian language enabled in Start=>Run=>Microsoft Office Tools=>Language Settings. Disable the language.

If not, they can be turned off in Tools=>Options=>View.

 

[michaelas]

Sorry, I'm not getting this. I'm not running Windows XP. I'm using Windows 7 and trying to use MS Office XP on it. Going to Start=>Run=>Microsoft Office Tools=>Language Settings. Disable the language - is not an option because then I am instructed to put in my install disc (XP).

If I use Tools>Options>View, which check box am I looking for?

 

[Petey7]

Open the start menu and type in Microsoft Office XP. Look for a program called Office XP Language Settings. Even if that doesn't work, the margin corners only appear on the screen. They will not be printed on to anything you print (or at least it has never happened when I printed something).

 

[DeaconFrost]

This is just a suggestion. You mentioned Office 2003, but then told us you installed Office XP. If Office XP was the only version I had to use, I'd switch to Open Office in a heartbeat. Chances are, it will be just as compatible with current files, as an office suite going back nearly ten years.

 

[Petey7]

This is just a suggestion. You mentioned Office 2003, but then told us you installed Office XP. If Office XP was the only version I had to use, I'd switch to Open Office in a heartbeat. Chances are, it will be just as compatible with current files, as an office suite going back nearly ten years.

You are wrong. I can open .docx and other new Office files just fine with Office XP. You have to download a compatibility pack from MS, but Windows Update installed it for me this last time. So, there is no real reason not to use it. If you are a fan of Open Office, good for you, but not everyone has to be. And one thing is for sure, no version of MS Office will open a .odt file. This can cause problems in some situations. For example a friend of mine just got a C on a school paper instead of the A the teacher told him he would have had because he had to turn the paper in late, because he saved the file as .odt (Open Offices default) and put it on a flash drive, intending to print it off at school. We only have 2007 and aren't able to install anything on school computers.

Edit: here is the link to the compatibility pack if any one needs it http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...70-3ae9-4aee-8f43-c6bb74cd1466&displaylang=en

 

[DeaconFrost]

You are wrong. I can open .docx and other new Office files just fine with Office XP. You have to download a compatibility pack from MS, but Windows Update installed it for me this last time. So, there is no real reason not to use it. If you are a fan of Open Office, good for you, but not everyone has to be. And one thing is for sure, no version of MS Office will open a .odt file. This can cause problems in some situations. For example a friend of mine just got a C on a school paper instead of the A the teacher told him he would have had because he had to turn the paper in late, because he saved the file as .odt (Open Offices default) and put it on a flash drive, intending to print it off at school. We only have 2007 and aren't able to install anything on school computers.

Edit: here is the link to the compatibility pack if any one needs it Download details: Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats

I addressed some issues with the converters in another thread. Simply put though, your friend didn't know what he was doing, and made a classic user error. Are we really going to blame that on the product? He made a mistake....the software didn't fail. Had he saved it as the correct file type (which at one time could be set as the default), he wouldn't have had the issue, and you wouldn't have had this anecdote to share.

I also asked in the other thread to leave the snippiness out of the threads, as it benefits no one. I said in the other thread that "I believe" not "I'm 100% dead sure". Correct me if you must, but leave the snippiness out.

As I should have mentioned as well, please follow your own advice. While you may not be a fan of Open Office, don't discount it for others either. Personally, I love MS Office, and I'm not crazy about the UI of Open Office. I'm smart enough, and have been around the block enough to know that my personal opinions don't make for advice for others in all cases. Sometimes, you just have to throw out valid solutions and let the users pick. Open Office is a valid solution as well, and gives the thread start a choice. Sticking with Office XP is a valid option. I threw it out there as a suggestion.

 

[Petey7]

I have tried multiple times to set .doc as the default in Open Office and never been able to. If he used Office XP, the problem never would have occured in the first place. Yes, the program worked like it was supposed to, so I can't place total blame on the program. I responded to what you wrote in the other thread and will state the same thing here for the sake of the OP. Excel XP is not good in general in my opinion. If Excel is something you use a lot, Open Office is better. I just don't think its right to say that XP in general should not be used. It works fine except for Excel.

 

[michaelas]

I installed Office XP and afterward installed some Windows updates, and this actually took care of the margin squares that were appearing in my Word documents. Now they no longer appear. However, now I have a new problem. I cannot open my Excel programs without without the Windows Installer window coming on and telling me that "The feature you are trying to use is on a network resource that is unavailable.

If I go to Start>Programs>Microsoft Excel, then I am able to open some existing excel files from the menu of previously opened files on the right. (It's looking for MS Home & Student, which I no longer have) (Error 1706 - Setup cannot find the required files.) But I cannot use any file icons or shortcuts to open them.


Is this a Windows Installer Issue? Or do i have to reinstall again? Or maybe try a different uninstaller? What'd I do wrong...
Hope this is clear.

 

[Petey7]

Sounds like something went wrong with the installation. The XP Professional disc has an option to do a repair install. Try that first. Also, did you do a full install? IIRC there is an option for standard and full installs. I always do a full install

 

[michaelas]

Thanks. I'll try it this evening and get back to you.
By "XP Professional disc" You do mean the Office Suite, right? (I'm not running XP as the OS). ie., the disc I used to install Office XP pro.

I'm not clear anymore if I did a full install or not. I thought I did. But I'll try a repair and get back to you.

Thanks.

 

[Petey7]

Yeah thats what I mean. I was a little rushed earlier and just left off the word "office."

 

[michaelas]

Thanks. I'll try it this evening and get back to you.
By "XP Professional disc" You do mean the Office Suite, right? (I'm not running XP as the OS). ie., the disc I used to install Office XP pro.

I'm not clear anymore if I did a full install or not. I thought I did. But I'll try a repair and get back to you.

I did the Office XP CD repair, and I am happy to report that the repair worked. I have Excel back using my original shortcut icons, and Word is normal also, no longer showing margin squares. Everything seems back to normal again, and that is great!
Thanks for your help & advice. I greatly appreciate it!

 

[Petey7]

Glad to here it is working for you.