Word XP and 97 coexist?

[Jeff Malka]

I use Office 97 in an XP Home system.

1. Can I install Office XP to co-exist with 97 or will the 2 conflict? I am
especially concerned about the two Words not conflicting, at least until I
am comfortable with the new office suite.

2. Will there be problems sharing Word XP documents with my wife who uses
Word 97 on a Windows 98 system? I assume Office XP will not work in her old
W98.

(Approximately how much space does Office XP need?)

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam
(e-mail address removed)
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

 

[Beth Melton]

Hi Jeff,

Yes they will co-exist. Some features in Word 97, such as ClipArt,
will use the version for Word 2002 but that isn't necessarily a
problem.

The main issue is when you switch versions the Windows Installer will
surface. This is to register the version you are using as the 'current
version' of Word. Not really a problem but a nuisance to wait on the
Installer.

There shouldn't be a problem sharing documents between Word 97 and
Word 2002 since the file format is the same. However there are some
features in Word 2002 that are not available in Word 97. (Nested and
floating tables for example). This will not prevent the documents from
opening but they will display differently.

If this is an area of concern then in Word 2002 to Tools/Options/Save
and turn on "Disable features introduced after Word 97".

The same is true for all Office apps except for Access. The file
format for Access did change and you can not share an Access database
with Access 97 and Access 2002.

Here is a KB article on the system requirements. The disk space
depends on which version of Office you are installing:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=285342

Also note, when you install Word 2002/Office XP make sure you change
the default installation path so you are able to retain the previous
version.

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Jeff Malka]

Thank you very much indeed. Very helpful.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam
(e-mail address removed)
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG