I have MS Office 97. Should I upgrade to 2007.

Started by Goldie April 14th, 2009 5:09 PM
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  • 27 replies

Goldie

Trainer from the Boonies

Northern Alberta
Seen October 9th, 2014
Posted August 22nd, 2014
80 posts
15 Years
I have Microsoft Office 97 on Windows Whistler. I toke a look at the 2007 version, it looks really complicated with that ribbon interface, and I was wondering if there would be any good reason to upgrade. I have 512 megabytes of RAM.

Should I upgrade?

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Gummy

by fire be P U R G E D

Age 30
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Seen December 26th, 2013
Posted October 26th, 2013
4,518 posts
16.3 Years
I also have 512 MB of RAM, which might make MS07 irritating at times but you'll manage. However, the interface will drive you crazy and take weeks to get used to. If you can, just upgrade to 03.


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Gerri Shin

  

Male
Burbank, CA
Seen February 17th, 2014
Posted April 13th, 2013
3,575 posts
15.9 Years
I would advise, if you do upgrade at all, go to the office 2003 version, it's still a very capable suite and you can get a plug in from Microsoft that allows Word '03 to read and save to the Word '07 DocX file type. however Office 2010 should be coming out within a year or so, I would simply save and get a new computer, which usually allows you to get a discount at most retail stores if you buy a new computer and MS Office at the same time.
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Spinor

<i><font color="b1373f">The Lonely Physicist</font></i>

Age 27
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Seen February 13th, 2019
Posted October 4th, 2015
5,175 posts
17.3 Years
My reccomendation is that you upgrade. Of course it may take some getting used to, but it is very excellent overall and you can transition to '10 if it comes out earlier a lot easier than long time users.

I'm serious, if those guys from "The Office" were real, they would laugh at you epically for owning '97 :O.

Goldie

Trainer from the Boonies

Northern Alberta
Seen October 9th, 2014
Posted August 22nd, 2014
80 posts
15 Years
I mainly use Office for writing up stuff and sending them to people. I heard that there was an extra security feature in Word 2007, making you type a password before being able to open documents. Office 97 has been good for many years now, the only thing I hate about it is the STUPID paper clip. I think I'm going to look into Office 2003, but I hear that they don't sell that in stores anymore. Going to have to try eBay or something.

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Shadow

Original Flavor Darkness

Age 34
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Seen August 6th, 2021
Posted July 27th, 2021
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19.6 Years
You'll probably hate the interface of Word 2007 for the first several weeks (months, years?) of using it. It depends on your preferences and whatnot.

It'll also likely drag along if you have an older computer. I agree that you should likely only update to Word 2003 (I didn't know they had an addon to allow it to open .docx files, I should probably forward that to my teachers in case I forget to not save in .docx on school assignments). That is, if you update it at all.

If you only write simple things, just stay with what you have. You can shut off that Paperclip in options and if you really need something password protected, just protect your computer.
Seen September 18th, 2020
Posted February 18th, 2018
7,741 posts
16.6 Years
Office 97 has been good for many years now, the only thing I hate about it is the STUPID paper clip.
You can turn that off:
Right Click on the assistant and select Options.
In the options window, uncheck the Use the Office Assistant option. The office assistant will be gone forever.

twocows

The not-so-black cat of ill omen

Age 32
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Seen February 19th, 2023
Posted April 30th, 2021
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14.2 Years
OpenOffice.org is a great modern program with support for Office and ODF documents. Also, it's free and has a great support community; not to mention the interface isn't that ribbon crap.

donavannj

Age 32
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18.2 Years
Don't use OpenOffice...
End Of :P

Use Office 03
I wholly agree with this. Of course, this is coming from someone who is a wizard with Office 2003.
whoops
Seen April 15th, 2009
Posted April 15th, 2009
5 posts
14.1 Years
OpenOffice.org is a great modern program with support for Office and ODF documents. Also, it's free and has a great support community; not to mention the interface isn't that ribbon crap.
Yup, I like that one too :) It's a lot cheaper than that microsoft stuff, takes less memory running and almost just as good
Age 28
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Seen June 8th, 2009
Posted May 21st, 2009
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14.2 Years
Yup, I like that one too :) It's a lot cheaper than that microsoft stuff, takes less memory running and almost just as good
Well, it's free actually.....!!!

Open Office is a good idea but if u have money to spare then MS Office 2007 would be better (coz it has a got a gr8 interface).....
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Age 30
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Seen January 25th, 2013
Posted October 21st, 2009
7,482 posts
15.4 Years
Yeah microsoft office 07 is a pain to get used to but hey I went from 2000 to 2007. I think its my easy to get used to anything charateristic that helped there but yeah. The ribbon interface is a pain but it is easier to use then you think. If you want go for it otherwise go for 03.

twocows

The not-so-black cat of ill omen

Age 32
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Michigan
Seen February 19th, 2023
Posted April 30th, 2021
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Well, it's free actually.....!!!

Open Office is a good idea but if u have money to spare then MS Office 2007 would be better (coz it has a got a gr8 interface).....
You're one of two people I know that likes the Office 2007 interface. You'll be happy to know that they carried it over into some of Windows 7's components, like Paint and WordPad, though that might change before release.

Nooo That's what piracy is for :D
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Gerri Shin

  

Male
Burbank, CA
Seen February 17th, 2014
Posted April 13th, 2013
3,575 posts
15.9 Years
to be very honest OpenOffice.org version 3 is pretty much the same as getting MS Office 2003, however the key differences are these:
  • It's free, MS Office will still costs upwards of $150 (depending on where you buy)
  • It currently has more support via it's support forums than MS Office 2003
  • Like MS Office 2003, Openoffice.org version 3 will still run well on older hardware/OS systems.

As you can see OpenOffice.org can be a very useful suite. the only drawbacks that I've noticed is that you cannot open or create MS Publisher or Access databases.
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twocows

The not-so-black cat of ill omen

Age 32
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Seen February 19th, 2023
Posted April 30th, 2021
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to be very honest OpenOffice.org version 3 is pretty much the same as getting MS Office 2003, however the key differences are these:
  • It's free, MS Office will still costs upwards of $150 (depending on where you buy)
  • It currently has more support via it's support forums than MS Office 2003
  • Like MS Office 2003, Openoffice.org version 3 will still run well on older hardware/OS systems.

As you can see OpenOffice.org can be a very useful suite. the only drawbacks that I've noticed is that you cannot open or create MS Publisher or Access databases.
As of version 3, it also has support for newer formats, such as .docx and similar MS Office formats. It can also export documents as PDF files.

Mobile Tsk

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MS Office 2007 is pretty useful, although the most notable changes are in PowerPoint and Excel. If you don't plan on using these, you may want to stick with 2003 if you prefer the old interface. I am not declaring supremacy of either one, but I prefer the 2007 layout while most others prefer the 2003 layout.

Cartmic

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Posted March 20th, 2016
618 posts
19.6 Years
I don't think anything past Office XP is going to work on Windows Whistler... well 97 is good enough for the simple stuff that I do.
You might also want to look at Abiword as well as Open Office 3, which is also Free Open Source Software; FOSS.

twocows

The not-so-black cat of ill omen

Age 32
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You might also want to look at Abiword as well as Open Office 3, which is also Free Open Source Software; FOSS.
Just as he said. Abiword works great on older or underpowered hardware without sacrificing the new features in most word processors. You won't get a full office suite with it, though.
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Male
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Seen November 25th, 2010
Posted April 20th, 2010
392 posts
14.1 Years
I suggest that you wait until Office 2010 comes out, then buy that.

Or if you really want Office 2007, go ahead, but it's really complicated. (2010 will be even more complicated, unless Microsoft has learned that not all its customers are techies).
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Gerri Shin

  

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Seen February 17th, 2014
Posted April 13th, 2013
3,575 posts
15.9 Years
Also, it's a stupid idea to, in a Microsoft Office-established world, suggest that someone do the switch to OpenOffice.org, methinks. Most businesses and education facilities rely on compatibility most times.
Actually it is a good idea for those on a strict budget, because OpenOffice.org can read, write, and save in the same file format as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, so there really isn't a problem compatibility-wise there. (It's not like we're suggesting they switch to something like Abiword or Notepad++)
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twocows

The not-so-black cat of ill omen

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Posted April 30th, 2021
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The idea that Office 2007 is "cluttered" etc. is pretty silly.
It's cluttered and it's poorly designed. The current way most interfaces are designed has prevailed for so many years not just because everyone knows where everything is by now, but because everything is exactly where you would think it would be. File-related tasks are in the "file" menu, help-related tasks are in the "help" menu, and editing tasks are in the "edit" menu. In Office 2007's wonderful interface, file-related tasks are in a picture of the logo, help-related stuff is in a picture of a circle with a "?," and some of the file editing tasks are in "home," while some are in other menus. Microsoft forgot that "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," and ended up messing up something good.
Also, it's a stupid idea to, in a Microsoft Office-established world, suggest that someone do the switch to OpenOffice.org, methinks. Most businesses and education facilities rely on compatibility most times.
OpenOffice has support for every Office format that exists, as well as many other formats, including the ODF format, which is used by many governments and educational institutions (source). Its support for older Office formats is pretty good; it'll even read some files that Office refuses to read and labels "corrupt." Office, on the other hand, has never supported ODF until a few days ago, when Office 2007 SP2 launched with "support" for ODF. I put that in quotes because Office won't read ODF spreadsheets from any other application, and its ODF spreadsheets can only be read by the "CleverAge" plugin, a Microsoft-sponsored Add-in for Office to view ODF (source, source).
I suggest that you wait until Office 2010 comes out, then buy that. Or if you really want Office 2007, go ahead, but it's really complicated. (2010 will be even more complicated, unless Microsoft has learned that not all its customers are techies).
A better idea would just be to use OpenOffice.org or Office XP. Both have the classic interface you're looking for, though Office XP is, AFAIK, no longer supported by MS.
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