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Microsoft Office - opening old documents

aachenelf z5 Mpls

13 years ago

I just purchased a new laptop with the Microsoft Office Starter package installed. I thought this would be great because I really don't need the full-blown office package. I use Word and Excel, but not all that much, however I do need them.

When I tried to open all my old documents created in Office 97 (yes I know that's an old version), I couldn't do it. I got a message saying I needed the paid version of Office to open these.

First question: Is that true?

So, what to do next? Should I just break down and purchase Office or is there a free word processing package that might meet my needs. These are the things I need to do:

Open all these old documents for starters. I should mention there are a number of documents created with Word Line Draw. Would any of these free packages open these documents?

I also on occasion need to send people word processing documents. If I use a free package would they be able to open these without too much trouble if they are using Microsoft Office? Also would I be able to open documents people sent me?

Any thoughts?

Kevin

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Comments (6)

bob414
13 years ago
There are at least two free office suites that would fill your needs. Open Office and Libre Office are the ones I'm referring to. If you would rather work in word open the .doc file with one of the above and save it as a .docx file. Here is a safe link for downloading one of the office programs.
owbist
13 years ago
As you get to open your Word 97 .doc files using either program Bob points to you might consider saving them as .rtf (Rich Text Format). That way you have escaped from the clutches of Microsoft plus the documents can be opened by those using a Mac or other Apple products or any other word processing program.
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aachenelf z5 Mpls
Original Author
13 years ago
Thanks so much for the suggestions. I did some quick review reading on both of the suggested office suites and they look very promising. In fact, from the reviews one has to wonder why your average person would even want to shell-out the big $$ for Microsoft Office, but I guess they do.

I guess the only way to see if they will work for me is to try them. Hopefully this weekend, I'll have some time to do so.

Kevin
Elmer J Fudd
13 years ago
Microsoft's main market for Office is employers, public and private sector. The historical investment most places have made in things like forms, macro-driven apps, interfaces with other systems, etc., as well as what happens as new hires come in, make it much cheaper to continue with widely used MS software. Software license costs are small change compared to infrastructure and support expenses. For employers of any size, the fees paid for Office are a small fraction of the retail price an individual would face.

For individuals, a free choice should serve most purposes. For a workplace other than very small, or an employee of a fair sized place who wants work compatibility in using a personal machine, MS is most frequently the choice.
mikie_gw
13 years ago
I've used Kingsoft Word processor.
Its small in size compaired to Libre or OpenOffice (which are HUGE)
... converts lots of MS products,,, and free !

Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.kingsoftstore.com/kingsoft-office-freeware.html
owbist
13 years ago
Thanks Mickie, that looks interesting. I have grabbed it and will install on one of my other computers to see how it goes later on.

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