MS Office-installing an older version?

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brookline
Posts: 184
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 6:53 am

MS Office-installing an older version?

Post by brookline »

Hi everyone,
I own a computer running Windows 10 (OS Build 15063.138/Version 1703). It comes with a preinstalled up to date version of Microsoft Office. If I choose, I can run MS Office for a month and then buy a license from Microsoft. My preferences are to:
1) Delete the preinstalled version of MS Office
2) Purchase an older version of MS Office at low cost
3) Install the older version.
Are there any reasons I shouldn't try to do this? Any recommendations on making the process go smoothly?
Thanks!

Riggerjack
Posts: 3182
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2011 3:09 am

Re: MS Office-installing an older version?

Post by Riggerjack »

Open office.

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TheWanderingScholar
Posts: 650
Joined: Thu Dec 30, 2010 12:04 am

Re: MS Office-installing an older version?

Post by TheWanderingScholar »

LibreOffice has implemented a lot of advancements from OpenOffice as my vote is for that.

But yeah the main reason I got Microsoft Office for my old computer was because I got it for free.

brookline
Posts: 184
Joined: Fri Feb 21, 2014 6:53 am

Re: MS Office-installing an older version?

Post by brookline »

Hi,
I've been using Office Libre but it is proving glitchy. I should mention I do freelance writing so I need a fully functional word processor. So I'm looking for MS Office which is relatively reliable.

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jennypenny
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Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:20 pm

Re: MS Office-installing an older version?

Post by jennypenny »

I've avoided upgrading windows for this reason. I'm running Word 2010. It's my favorite version of the software. When I can't run it anymore I'll give up Word. I'm not 'subscribing' to Word. Photoshop either.

If you write professionally, it's hard to avoid using Word and the older versions are best/cheapest. Libreoffice is nice but no substitute. I also use Scrivener but it has a learning curve since it's not exactly a word processor. At least Scrivener is inexpensive.

Is anyone using WordPerfect? I used to love WP before I had to switch to Word. The last time I checked it wasn't subscription based.

IlliniDave
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Re: MS Office-installing an older version?

Post by IlliniDave »

I use Open Office on my Windows 10 machine because A) it's free (though you can make donations to the project) and B) it seems perpetually locked into a Windows 98-like appearance/interface which is easier on my aging brain than keeping up with all the changes they roll out.

I would think you should be able to do what you describe. I did similar on Windows XP. I didn't even uninstall the newer Office. That caused an inconvenience because I had to open Word first to open a document. Just double-clicking the document defaulted to the newer version. Probably could have fixed that, it just wasn't enough of a burning platform.

Not sure how to do it in Windows 10. My laptop running 10 didn't come have a DVD drive so I couldn't put my old Word on there at first (and I'd already been using Open Office for their excel knockoff) so I just made the switch then. I suspect it's just a matter of installing in compatibility mode. Windows 10 might be able to do that transparently.

Chad
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Joined: Fri Jul 23, 2010 3:10 pm

Re: MS Office-installing an older version?

Post by Chad »

Google also has a free service that isn't bad if you don't need all the bells and whistles of Microsoft Office, which most people don't.

KevinW
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Joined: Mon Aug 02, 2010 4:45 am

Re: MS Office-installing an older version?

Post by KevinW »

+1 to LibreOffice/OpenOffice or Google Docs

If you are a professional and your clients demand Word specifically, I doubt that an obsolete version of Word will be acceptable for very long. Microsoft tends to intentionally break backwards-compatibility to force users to upgrade. In this case Word is a cost of doing business.

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