[RESOLVED] Migrating from Office 2000 to Office 2007 Professional

[Coach17]

Hello,

I am in need of some help moving from Office 2000 to Office 2007 Professional.
My questions are; I have Windows XP SP2

1. I want to save all of my Outlook 2000 contacts and everything in my Inbox including sub folders so that I can import that into Outlook 2007. I need a detailed explanation.

2. Should I leave Office 2000 on my machine when I install Office 2007 and then uninstall it?

3. I have been reading about file formats for Word and Excel that they are different for 2007. If I sent a Word file created in 2007 and sent it to someone that has a lower version it will not open. Is this correct?

Should I save my current Word and Excel files as they are and keep them seperate with a back up and then convert the ones in My Documents over to 2007?

I am not sure what else to ask, so if there is anything else, please let me know.

Thanks for all of your help.

Paul

[jdc2000]

Outlook 2007 should be able to import all of your Outlook 2000 data without any problems. Outlook 2007 does not remember which e-mail you were viewing in each folder like Outlook 2000/2003 did though. It also uses a different e-mail editor/viewer setup when not using Word for editing.

Having multiple versions of Office on one PC and Windows installation is possible, but not recommended. A separate Windows installation on the same PC is possible.

The standard / default file formats for Office 2007 are different. At present, most search tools cannot search them, and users os previous versions of Office cannot view / edit them without additional software. You can save documents in the previous versions file formats however, (except Access).

A backup copy of your Word, Excel, and Outlook files from 2000 that will not be edited with 2007 is always a good idea.

The big difference will be the user interface. It is completely different. If you are used to finding things in the menus, you will need some time to relocate and memorize where to find the options with the new interface, since there are no longer any menu items.

[Teknophobia]

Following is based on you not connecting to an exchange server.

I done this upgrade last year, and as far as I can recall, the Office 2007 Pro CD/DVD will uninstall Office 2000 for you and install 2007 in it's place (hence stpe 2 is moot).

If you are wary, you can locate your pst file(s) (do a search for *.pst) - remembering you may also have archive .psts and older .psts from other accounts/profiles, etc. You can then back them up before the install (although they wont be removed by the upgrade). You could also export your contacts folder to a .pst file and back that up also.

You can use the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack to allow backward compatibility. Alternatively, the other person can also install the appropriate version of viewer (word 2007 viewer for example) from Microsoft (free). Details of both can be found here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/l...chNet.10).aspx

Your excel/word files will be untouched.

A tip after installation. It usually buries your .pst file deep within your Documents and Settings directory. If you do not get your 'old' inbox, I find the best way to get it back (before you start downloading new emails) is to locate the directory (Tools > Options > Mail setup tab > Data files) where it has put your new data files. Then go to that directory using explorer and rename (to outlook.pst.old for example). Exit outlook. When you open outlook agtain, it will report that it cannot find your .pst file, and then gives you the chance to specify where it is - that is where you point it to your old .pst file - this will give you your 'old' inbox back.

HTH,

TEk

[Coach17]

Thanks to both of you for your quick reply. I appreciate your help.
If anyone else has further information please let me know.

Thanks,
Paul

[jseidel]

Ditto for both of the above. I write a lot of work procedures for my job at home in Word 2007 and simply save the new composition as a "Word '97 - 2003 doc" and then they open at work just fine. (We still have '97 at work.) One of my favorite features of Office 2007 is the add on pdf converter. You can save any file created in Word, Publisher, Excel in pdf format and then ANYONE can open it with a pdf viewer such as Adobe Reader or Foxit. This has essentially eliminated all of my compatibility problems with my last century software at work and can be used with great advantage to send things to folks via E-mail.
Once you get used to saving things in the previous formats Office 2007 is just fine with or without the pdf converter.
Also, I installed Office 2007 right over the top of 2003 and all of my address in Outlook carried over no problem.
I have to add for the first couple of months I was ready to go to Add/Remove Programs and take 2007 off and go back to 2003. I never did actually do it and now after more practice and time I like 2007 better and am happy with it. The new Word is a very large learning curve. It has been said it is easier for a complete newbie to learn Word 2007 than for someone who has used previous versions for years and in my case that is true. It takes quite a while to find the features you previously used on the new ribbon and layers of drop down menus contained within. On my first day with Word it took me a couple of hours to figure out how to print . . .
J.

[Coach17]

Thanks again to everyone that replied. I will prepare for the switch.

I just want to check that according to one answer I should inastall without un-installing Office 2000?

Let me know.

Thanks,
Paul

[jdc2000]

You should not have to uninstall Office 2000 first. The Office 2007 installation routine should take care of the uninstall for you.

[Teknophobia]

Ditto jdc2000's reply. The installl routine will check for previous installations and give you the options.

TEk