MS Word 2003 vs MS Word 2007

Discussion in 'Software' started by mdietz39, Sep 3, 2010.

  1. mdietz39

    mdietz39 Private First Class

    I am thinking of getting a laptop which will have Windows 7 and MS Office 2007 on it. I have a desktop with Windows XP and MS Office 2003. I have many documents which I continually work on in Word 2003 and must continue to work on with the desktop (Word 2003 if possible).

    What problems, glitches, etc, can I expect if I upload a document from the desktop to the laptop, work on it in Word 2007, and then download it back to the desktop which has Word 2003?

    Thank you for your time and attention to this.
    Mike
     
  2. Just Playin

    Just Playin MajorGeek

  3. md2lgyk

    md2lgyk I can't follow the rules

    The biggest problem you'll have is that the user interface for Word 2007 is totally different. Virtually every command you commonly use is located in a different place than it is in 2003 or in a few cases, no longer exists. It will be very frustrating for a while. I've had 2007 for 6 months or so and still hate it.
     
  4. DavidGP

    DavidGP MajorGeeks Forum Administrator - Grand Pooh-Bah Staff Member

    Hi

    The Compatability pack works really well for opening the newer .docx etc file formats of O2007, but you can also manually change the default saving format of the Office apps files like .docx to .doc just go into the File > Options > Save > and in the dropdown choose Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc) option and all files will be saved in that older and widely used format. Do same for the other Office apps.

    But do grab the updated SP2 of the Compatability Pack HERE as it covers some updates that the older original one doesnt and some users have said the older one doesnt work well.


    As for the Ribbon, its a very intuitive menu and icons are much easier to look at to find an option than a menu and then a sub menu then another sub menu, but you can use some addons like Ribbon Customizer to add the old menus back.

    Office 2010 menus while like Office 2007 ribbon are a much better intuitive set.
     
  5. Imperfect1

    Imperfect1 Private First Class

    It does take some getting used to, (and I came to Office 2007 kicking and screaming), but I have to admit, once I got used to it and after I made a MAJOR customization, I really like it a lot. The main customization I made helped me to access and use many of the 2003 tools that I'm used to. What I did was to customize the QuickAccess Toolbar (that's just below the Ribbon) to add all of the links/icons to the QuickAccess Toolbar that I had located in my 2003 Toolbars. In that way, I could quickly access all of the tools I need + use frequently. In addition, I always keep my Ribbon minimized, so that it doesn't take up so much room on the screen. The combination of the two really helps making Office 2007 more user friendly for me. There are tons of other customizations -- you just have to be patient and try to learn your way around. Also, here's a website that has not only the Ribbon Customizer that Halo provided above, but also has the Toolbar Toggle that brings the Office 2003 Toolbars to your Office 2007: http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/CustomizeRibbon.htm
     

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