best install option for Office 2007

[Prof Matt]

My laptop is running XP Home and Office 2003, and I use Outlook 2003 for my
email. I was able to sign-out an MS Office Enterprise 2007 DVD from the
college where I teach. I got to the second or third screen during the install
where I was asked if I wanted to "Upgrade" or "Customize." Well, I was not
sure so I exited the setup and have been researching that for the past three
days. Are there pros and cons to both installations? Is there a recommended
procedure? In my mind, a clean install would seem more stable, but I cannot
find any PP, PDF, or Flash showing me what steps to take (choices and
recommended options), and I want to do it right!

I would greatly appreciate feedback on this matter.

Thanks.

 

[DL]

The upgrade would replace the 2003 components that are included in
Enterprise,
Customise would allow you to install in parallel, excepting Outlook as only
a single version can be installed - probably a messy option

 

[Prof Matt]

But the upgrade does not remove Office 2003, right? During the Customize
option I have the choice to remove old versions of Office. Wouldn't that be
the most stable install option? That is the procedure that I have not been
able to find any support for.

MK

 

[Earle Horton]

If you are absolutely sure that you want to do away with Office 2003, remove
it first from Control Panel, Uninstall a Program (Vista) or Programs and
Features (Classic View). Then install Office 2007 as a fresh install. Your
custom templates and other user settings should be preserved. Reasons exist
to keep 2003 around. The spell checkers in 2007 are incompatible with
several e-mail clients. The user interface is different and takes some
getting used to. It it breaks your e-mail spell checker, don't panic. Just
install the Proofing Tools from Office 2003.

Earle

 

[Prof Matt]

Earle,

If I have the Office 2003 Professional CD, is that even all the more reason
to unistall 2003 before installing 2007? In this case, would the install be
very straight forward (i.e., no customizing during the install)?

Thanks!

 

[Earle Horton]

You will still have the option to customize during install. There is also a
screen for keeping install files on your hard disk. Most users select that
option, unless free space is an issue. Selecting "customize" is a way to
ensure that you are getting all the features you need. Many people in the
English speaking world don't need Japanese font support, for example, but
some do. Most people can do a default install without experiencing problems
(having to rerun Setup) later. Unless you know that you need something not
included in the default install, then you probably don't.

Earle

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi Matt,

DL is correct -- the "upgrade" choice will overwrite (which is equivalent to
removing) the entire Office 2003 installation. You will then have only Office
2007.

The Customize choice allows you to tell the installer which pieces of Office
2003 to keep and which to remove. Earle's parallel reply explains some reasons
you may want to keep some parts of 2003. The only restriction is that if you
install Outlook 2007, you can't keep Outlook 2003.

A "clean install" is yet a third path -- you manually remove Office 2003 through
the Add/Remove Programs dialog, and then install Office 2007. I don't think
there's a lot of difference between that and the upgrade choice, but I've seen
enough gotchas to know that what "should" be equivalent isn't always identical.

In each of these scenarios, your documents and customized templates won't be
removed -- but it's always a good idea to make sure your backups are up-to-date
before starting the installation.

If you want to keep both versions of Word, there's a little something you should
take care of after the installation to keep the two versions from fighting over
the registry entries they both use. See
http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com/2007/04/15/word-2007-and-word-2003-coexisting/.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all
may benefit.

 

[Meebers]

In times like this, I would;

Make a complete backup or image of your hard drive as you see fit
Uninstall the 2003 version and do a clean install of 2007.
Depending on your outcome, run with what you have,
customize the install with different options,
if not happy...revert to starting point with your backup/image.