Old word software: I've been using MS Word 14 for many years now. Time to upgrade for the "latest & greatest" features. I've subscribed to MS 365. What are the thoughts of this group...

Johanna Loc: Albuquerque, NM

I've been using MS Word 14 for many years now. Time to upgrade for the "latest & greatest" features. I've subscribed to MS 365. What are the thoughts of this group, should I uninstall the old stuff first then the new? Or the opposite?

Daryls Loc: Waco, TX

Johanna wrote:

I've been using MS Word 14 for many years now. Time to upgrade for the "latest & greatest" features. I've subscribed to MS 365. What are the thoughts of this group, should I uninstall the old stuff first then the new? Or the opposite?

Johanna,

I have both installed with no issues. I use MS Office 2019 for my personal stuff and MS Office 365 for work activities. Since 365 works over the Internet, and MS Office 2019 does not need the Internet to work, this setup is most convenient for me. It should work for you too.

Daryl

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Once you get used to Office 365, you won't use the old stuff.
We have 365 on two laptops, but the <old> desktop can't run it, so I still use 2003 on that computer.

therwol Loc: USA

Johanna wrote:

I've been using MS Word 14 for many years now. Time to upgrade for the "latest & greatest" features. I've subscribed to MS 365. What are the thoughts of this group, should I uninstall the old stuff first then the new? Or the opposite?

The best answer is to uninstall Word 14 before installing Office 365. Start with a "clean" machine to avoid any conflicts and errors. But here is an important question. What operating system are you using? Word 14 dates to Windows 7. The latest version of Office 365 will not install in Windows 7. I don't know how you can obtain an older version now. If you are using Windows 10, perhaps as an upgrade, you should be fine.

Per Microsoft.

"This means that if you want to use Microsoft 365 Apps on devices that are running Windows 7, you need to use Version 2002. If you try to install a newer version of Microsoft 365 Apps, such as Version 2201, on a device running Windows 7, you'll receive an error message."

Johanna Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Gee thanks for some quick reply's! It is my thought to uninstall the old then the new. Thus saving space on the C: drive, a precious commodity.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Johanna wrote:

Gee thanks for some quick reply's! It is my thought to uninstall the old then the new. Thus saving space on the C: drive, a precious commodity.

I usually never keep the old version.
The only one I did was Elements 14 when I got 19.

I kept one other program to print "blank forms" to PDF because the new version didn't print blank forms.
Then I deleted the old version.

My reasoning is that once I start using the new version, I will no longer use the old version.
So it will just sit there and take up space.

BebuLamar

Office 365 is good but I don't think it offers me anything more than old version did. Yes it does have a lot more features but I don't really use them. I have office 365 on my work computer but I won't subcribe to it for myself. I use Office 2010 and it's fine for me.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

BebuLamar wrote:

Office 365 is good but I don't think it offers me anything more than old version did. Yes it does have a lot more features but I don't really use them. I have office 365 on my work computer but I won't subcribe to it for myself. I use Office 2010 and it's fine for me.

2003 did fine for me, but with the Covid "work at home" my wife got 365 to be compatible with her work files.
We kept it (so far) after she retired.
I've not tried putting 2003 on a Win 11 box.

ddgm Loc: Hamilton, Ontario & Fort Myers, FL

I have Office Pro 2007 on a Windows 11 Pro computer but just last week took the plunge to Office 365. I kept the Office Pro 2007 installed because it has Access and Office 365 doesn't. So far have only used Excell from the new Office 365.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

ddgm wrote:

I have Office Pro 2007 on a Windows 11 Pro computer but just last week took the plunge to Office 365. I kept the Office Pro 2007 installed because it has Access and Office 365 doesn't. So far have only used Excell from the new Office 365.

Excel can be used in many ways.

Bmarsh Loc: Bellaire, MI

Us Linux guys use Libreoffice. A comprehensive package and totally free. Compatible with most MS packages. Built for Windows as well as Linux.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

Johanna wrote:

I've been using MS Word 14 for many years now. Time to upgrade for the "latest & greatest" features. I've subscribed to MS 365. What are the thoughts of this group, should I uninstall the old stuff first then the new? Or the opposite?

About a year ago someone posted a site where you could download a full MS Office (2021 version) including all the business parts not available on the home version for a one-time payment of 39.95. I didn't do that until a few months later and when I did go on the site, the price had dropped to 29.95. I downloaded it and recently downloaded it for a second computer. It works perfectly and there is no annual charge. My guess is that what you receive is a one-time key, so it will only work on one computer for as long as you maintain the computer as is. If you replace the hard drive or, for some reason format your hard drive, you will have to repurchase the program. My wife had been bugging me to set her computer up with MS Word but I hesitated because of the annual fee. I downloaded a couple of other programs and while they worked and were compatible with MS, they lacked the intuitive features MS has. Office Libre is a good free program, but if you have been a long-time user of MS, you will find it lacking.

ecblackiii Loc: Maryland

Bridges wrote:

About a year ago someone posted a site where you c... (show quote)

There's another potential glitch in buying standalone versions. I bought lightroom stand-alone (on a disc) several years ago, but when I tried to load it on a replacement computer, the key did not work. When I called Adobe, I discovered that Adobe had cancelled both the registration and the key, so the software would no longer work. But they would be happy to sell me a subscription! To me that was illegal, but they can get away with it.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

ecblackiii wrote:

There's another potential glitch in buying standalone versions. I bought lightroom stand-alone (on a disc) several years ago, but when I tried to load it on a replacement computer, the key did not work. When I called Adobe, I discovered that Adobe had cancelled both the registration and the key, so the software would no longer work. But they would be happy to sell me a subscription! To me that was illegal, but they can get away with it.

I pointed that out -- it's a one-use key. If you try to move it or if you format the computer you lose it and have to repurchase it.

Schoee Loc: Europe

Daryls wrote:

Johanna,

I have both installed with no issues. I use MS Office 2019 for my personal stuff and MS Office 365 for work activities. Since 365 works over the Internet, and MS Office 2019 does not need the Internet to work, this setup is most convenient for me. It should work for you too.

Daryl

MS 365 does not need internet to run. You still install the programs on your machine.
One of the great aspects of 365 is OneDrive where you have 1TB of cloud storage. You can setup folders so the document or whatever is on your hdd but also gets a synchronized copy in the cloud. So that is an instant off site back up. Also you can then log in from your tablet, phone or computer to access the copy in the cloud. If you edit it then it will synchronize with your pc next time you log on there. Well worth learning about OneDrive if you have not had it until now