Using XP and Word 2003.
I need to get a new computer. I will still be using XP.
I do a lot of document processing, i.e., typing, faxing, saving and the like. I am comfortable with Word 2003, as I have used it for years. Is there any good reason I should opt for Word 2007 in my new computer?
My opinion - no. If you have not used Office 2007, you will find that you have to relearn where to find the tools and options for just about everything. And, the ribbon bar takes up quite a bit of screen real estate.
I wouldn't bother. If you need to open Office 2007 files, you can get the compatibility pack.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...3-c6bb74cd1466
Thanks guys. I will gladly stick with Word 2003.
2003 is very nice, and still more than adequate. I have 2007 here on a laptop and it's ok. Several nice changes but the ribbon does take some learning. From what I've seen, 2010 is the way to probably go. It's 2007 refined. More tweakable than 2007...
As HAN says, if you were going to upgrade, go for Office 2010 rather than 2007. They have put a lot of the tweakability back, as well as making some other worthwhile improvements, and a consistent interface across all the applications. Personally, I found the ribbon interface to be the best thing they ever did, and so did Mrs SS, who isn't tech savvy at all.
The ribbon interface may be nice if you've never used Word or Excel, but I find that it actually takes at least twice as many clicks to navigate to a function I want to use.