Which way to migrate from Office97

Robert Strickland · 09-03-2006, 12:59 PM

Hello...
I have a long and <very> satisfied history using Office 97 Pro. Does everything I ever needed done. I have extensive VBA code in the Excell module that runs my entire office administration and accounting function, and my amateur radio hobby at home. No networks, no "publish to web," no other "modern" needs or uses. Just plain jane in-office/home accounting, letters, and databases.

But, I'm getting the creeping sensation that I better upgrade to a more recent edition. I just found out that Dragon Natrual Speaking V8 doesn't support Word97 or Access97. That's going to be a problem.

So, how far up the food chain do I "need" to go to be "safe" without trying to be on the very front of the wave? Will all my VBA macros work in a newer edition? Are file formats different, and will I have to somehow migrate 10 years of files to new formats? Finally, can Office XX be activated on two machines: office/home [no laptops]? I read conflicting answers to this last question. Thanks much for any and all advice.

...robert

**Glaswegian** · 09-03-2006, 01:55 PM

Hi Robert

My employer upgraded to XP about 2 years ago from NT4 and Office 97. MS have made changes to VBA throughout each version and I did find a few things that used to work in XL97 that did not run in XP. Office 2007 promises even bigger changes, with XL going to something like a million rows! Kind of knocks on the head the old Range("A65536").End(xlUp) line! I can't speak much for Access but I do know that older databases require conversion before opening in XP.

In terms of which version then, I guess that's up to you - I've used Office XP for several years and find it to be stable and reliable. I've never been one of those that likes to rush out and by a new version as soon as it appears - I prefer to let things settle down for a while and wait till the bugs have been ironed out. Things like Document Recovery in Office XP following a shutdown are very useful.

My understanding of the licensing position is that you can install Office on two PCs, as long as it's to do with your business, but I would check the XP Forum to confirm the position.

Hope that helps.

Robert Strickland · 09-03-2006, 02:35 PM

Iain...
Thanks for your comments and recommendations. I was looking into Office 2000 since it is supported in DNS, no doubt does everything I need it to do, and sells at a reduced price since it is no longer the current edition. I do not know if file formats were changed in that particular edition of Office. Sure would not be nice not to have to deal with that particular hassle.

Some of the comments on the Microsoft activation site seem to make a big distinction between a generic office machine and a "laptop." They say that the EUA is very specific about this; the second machine has to be a "laptop."

By the way, I am running XP-2 as the op system. Just changed that recently.

... Robert

**Glaswegian** · 09-03-2006, 04:02 PM

Hi Robert

Many people like Office 2000. I guess you really need to judge which OS etc MS will drop next? Or will it be all NT based going forward?

I think there were quite a few changes between O97 and O2000 - I know many that regard O97 as merely a beta!

Anyway, good luck whichever you choose.

Robert Strickland · 09-03-2006, 10:00 PM

Iain...

Useful thoughts. You know something of this, so let me ask. I know that W2K is based on the NT kernel. Is this also true for XP? And, I do hear that Vista is XP "extended." So, is one to guess/hope that future MS op systems will keep this "NT-ness" about them? And if so, then - finally - does Office 2000 have some legs left in it for the foreseeable future? Thanks much.

Defend the Highlands!

...robert

**Glaswegian** · 09-04-2006, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Robert Strickland

I know that W2K is based on the NT kernel. Is this also true for XP?

Yes, XP is NT based. I'm not sure about Vista but I believe it is the same.

Quote:

does Office 2000 have some legs left in it for the foreseeable future?

I would say so - but for how long I don't really know. I would suggest going for Office XP - it should be around for a good few years.

Quote:

Defend the Highlands!

I try my best!!

Regards

Robert Strickland · 09-04-2006, 09:33 AM

Iain...
A few quick questions...
Is the release sequence of Office products: Office 2000, Office XP, Office 2003? I have noticed "student" editions of all these products, and somewhere I think I have read that such editions are not always supported by other software programs. Any comments? Finally, when a later editions of office change file formats, do they include some sort of batch utility for converting prior files? thanks for the help.

... Robert

**Glaswegian** · 09-04-2006, 01:24 PM

Robert

I'm not familiar with the Student versions, but I would have thought they were still full versions. I believe that the Student versions are available for a discounted price rather than cut down software versions.

The later editions of Office do not change file formats as such - an Excel file is still an .xls - it's just that as more features are included with later versions, the older versions often can't cope. There is backward compatibility though, so you can save files created, say in Office XP as versions that will work with O97. Some older files will open with the newer versions. I've always worked with Excel and Word and only had problems with macros written in Excel97. It usually turned out to be a few lines of code that was the problem and was solved after some testing.

Hope all my ramblings have helped in some way........

Robert Strickland · 09-04-2006, 06:58 PM

Thanks, Iain. Very helpful. Have a good day and week.

...robert

09-03-2006, 12:59 PM	#1 (permalink)
Robert Strickland Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 37 OS: XP SP2	Which way to migrate from Office97 Hello... I have a long and <very> satisfied history using Office 97 Pro. Does everything I ever needed done. I have extensive VBA code in the Excell module that runs my entire office administration and accounting function, and my amateur radio hobby at home. No networks, no "publish to web," no other "modern" needs or uses. Just plain jane in-office/home accounting, letters, and databases. But, I'm getting the creeping sensation that I better upgrade to a more recent edition. I just found out that Dragon Natrual Speaking V8 doesn't support Word97 or Access97. That's going to be a problem. So, how far up the food chain do I "need" to go to be "safe" without trying to be on the very front of the wave? Will all my VBA macros work in a newer edition? Are file formats different, and will I have to somehow migrate 10 years of files to new formats? Finally, can Office XX be activated on two machines: office/home [no laptops]? I read conflicting answers to this last question. Thanks much for any and all advice. ...robert

09-03-2006, 01:55 PM	#2 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 25,519 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 Pro My System Blog Entries: 10	Hi Robert My employer upgraded to XP about 2 years ago from NT4 and Office 97. MS have made changes to VBA throughout each version and I did find a few things that used to work in XL97 that did not run in XP. Office 2007 promises even bigger changes, with XL going to something like a million rows! Kind of knocks on the head the old Range("A65536").End(xlUp) line! I can't speak much for Access but I do know that older databases require conversion before opening in XP. In terms of which version then, I guess that's up to you - I've used Office XP for several years and find it to be stable and reliable. I've never been one of those that likes to rush out and by a new version as soon as it appears - I prefer to let things settle down for a while and wait till the bugs have been ironed out. Things like Document Recovery in Office XP following a shutdown are very useful. My understanding of the licensing position is that you can install Office on two PCs, as long as it's to do with your business, but I would check the XP Forum to confirm the position. Hope that helps. __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. PC Safety & Security::PC running a bit slow?::Donate::Photographers Corner

09-03-2006, 02:35 PM	#3 (permalink)
Robert Strickland Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 37 OS: XP SP2	Iain... Thanks for your comments and recommendations. I was looking into Office 2000 since it is supported in DNS, no doubt does everything I need it to do, and sells at a reduced price since it is no longer the current edition. I do not know if file formats were changed in that particular edition of Office. Sure would not be nice not to have to deal with that particular hassle. Some of the comments on the Microsoft activation site seem to make a big distinction between a generic office machine and a "laptop." They say that the EUA is very specific about this; the second machine has to be a "laptop." By the way, I am running XP-2 as the op system. Just changed that recently. ... Robert Last edited by Robert Strickland; 09-03-2006 at 02:39 PM.

09-03-2006, 04:02 PM	#4 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 25,519 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 Pro My System Blog Entries: 10	Hi Robert Many people like Office 2000. I guess you really need to judge which OS etc MS will drop next? Or will it be all NT based going forward? I think there were quite a few changes between O97 and O2000 - I know many that regard O97 as merely a beta! Anyway, good luck whichever you choose. __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. PC Safety & Security::PC running a bit slow?::Donate::Photographers Corner

09-04-2006, 01:24 PM	#8 (permalink)
Glaswegian Moderator/ Rangemaster TSF Academy; Analyst, Security Team; Oor Wullie; TSF Surgeon and Resident Comic Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Glasgow Posts: 25,519 OS: Win XP Pro SP3 / Win 7 Pro My System Blog Entries: 10	Robert I'm not familiar with the Student versions, but I would have thought they were still full versions. I believe that the Student versions are available for a discounted price rather than cut down software versions. The later editions of Office do not change file formats as such - an Excel file is still an .xls - it's just that as more features are included with later versions, the older versions often can't cope. There is backward compatibility though, so you can save files created, say in Office XP as versions that will work with O97. Some older files will open with the newer versions. I've always worked with Excel and Word and only had problems with macros written in Excel97. It usually turned out to be a few lines of code that was the problem and was solved after some testing. Hope all my ramblings have helped in some way........ __________________ Iain - Defender of the Haggis and all things Scottish. I don't help by PM - post in the Forums. PC Safety & Security::PC running a bit slow?::Donate::Photographers Corner

09-03-2006, 10:00 PM	#5 (permalink)
Robert Strickland Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 37 OS: XP SP2	Iain... Useful thoughts. You know something of this, so let me ask. I know that W2K is based on the NT kernel. Is this also true for XP? And, I do hear that Vista is XP "extended." So, is one to guess/hope that future MS op systems will keep this "NT-ness" about them? And if so, then - finally - does Office 2000 have some legs left in it for the foreseeable future? Thanks much. Defend the Highlands! ...robert

09-04-2006, 09:33 AM	#7 (permalink)
Robert Strickland Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 37 OS: XP SP2	Iain... A few quick questions... Is the release sequence of Office products: Office 2000, Office XP, Office 2003? I have noticed "student" editions of all these products, and somewhere I think I have read that such editions are not always supported by other software programs. Any comments? Finally, when a later editions of office change file formats, do they include some sort of batch utility for converting prior files? thanks for the help. ... Robert

09-04-2006, 06:58 PM	#9 (permalink)
Robert Strickland Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Syracuse, NY Posts: 37 OS: XP SP2	Thanks, Iain. Very helpful. Have a good day and week. ...robert