Opening word documents with works 8.5

[Pruitskickingoff]

Just bought new PC with Vista home premium (which only seems to have
Microsoft works 8.5). The problem is, all my word documents are saved onto
USB but were done on Microsoft word on an older version of Windows. I've
found a way of opening them on my new PC via Works 'Word Processor' but it
doesn't always retrieve the whole document. This is likely to cause me lots
of problems, since the PC I use at work is not Vista and I need to be able to
work with the same documents both at work and at home. Can anyone help?

 

[alexB]

Microsoft has a free download. It is called Microsoft Word Reader. It won't
allow you to edit the document but you can read them.

Also WordPad which is a part of your system MUST open all word documents
(.doc). It will allow you to edit them.

 

[Mike Cawood, HND BIT]

Just bought new PC with Vista home premium (which only seems to have
Microsoft works 8.5). The problem is, all my word documents are saved onto
USB but were done on Microsoft word on an older version of Windows. I've
found a way of opening them on my new PC via Works 'Word Processor' but it
doesn't always retrieve the whole document. This is likely to cause me
lots
of problems, since the PC I use at work is not Vista and I need to be able
to
work with the same documents both at work and at home. Can anyone help?

If you haven't got Word, try www.openoffice.org this is an open-source
office suite that is compatible with MS Office documents.
The suite is entirely free to use i.e freeware not shareware.
Mike.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Just bought new PC with Vista home premium (which only seems to have
Microsoft works 8.5). The problem is, all my word documents are saved onto
USB but were done on Microsoft word on an older version of Windows.

The fact that they were created with an older version of Windows is
irrelevant.

The issue is that your older computer had Microsoft Word installed,
and your new Vista computer does not have Word installed.

If you thought Vista came with Word, let me explain that neither
Windows Vista, nor any other version of Windows, has ever included
Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access, or any other significant application
software. Such programs have to be bought, either by themselves or as
part of Microsoft Office.

If your previous computer, running an older version of Windows, came
with Word, it was because the vendor who sold it bundled it as part of
the package he sold you, not because that version of Windows came with
it. Some, but not all, vendors do the same with Windows Vista.

I've
found a way of opening them on my new PC via Works 'Word Processor' but it
doesn't always retrieve the whole document.

No, Works is not an appropriate program to open Word documents in.

This is likely to cause me lots
of problems, since the PC I use at work is not Vista and I need to be able to
work with the same documents both at work and at home. Can anyone help?

Again, the fact that your Work computer is not Vista is completely
irrelevant. This is an application issue, not an operating system one.
You need to buy and install a copy of Word (or Microsoft Office, which
includes Word) on your home computer. There is a free Word Viewer available, but that won't let you create or modify files, which is apparently what you need to do.

Note that some people may recommend that you use the free OpenOffice
instead of Word. You can certainly try that (or other compatible
programs like WordPerfect), but be aware that if there is any
complexity to the formatting of your documents, a different program
may render that formatting in a different way. If you need this for
work, it's probably best to buy the same program you use at Work. It's
even safest to buy the same *version* of Word you use at work.

 

[Andre Da Costa[ActiveWin]]

You need to have Microsoft Office installed which is a separate brand
product sold by Microsoft and is not included with Windows Vista.

 

[ray]

Just bought new PC with Vista home premium (which only seems to have
Microsoft works 8.5). The problem is, all my word documents are saved onto
USB but were done on Microsoft word on an older version of Windows. I've
found a way of opening them on my new PC via Works 'Word Processor' but it
doesn't always retrieve the whole document. This is likely to cause me lots
of problems, since the PC I use at work is not Vista and I need to be able to
work with the same documents both at work and at home. Can anyone help?

Try OpenOffice.org - it's a free download and should handle all your
documents flawlessly.

 

[Airman Thunderbird]

You can try this:
http://www.abisource.com/tour/
works well, opens and edits Word docs, freeware, and a lot smaller than
Open Office. (5mbs) Opens lots faster, too.

 

[Chris Game]

Get your work to supply you with MS-Office so you can work at home.