ubuysa
The BSOD Doctor
Don't ever use the registry cleaner component though. The Windows registry does not need cleaning and unwise cleaning can lead to problem.
Windows 7 / 10 Advice Please, Thank you
- Thread starter slimbob
- Start date
slimbob
Enthusiast
Don't ever use the registry cleaner component though. The Windows registry does not need cleaning and unwise cleaning can lead to problem.
Hi UBUYSA,
I just use the health check scan in CCleaner is that o.k?
Thanks.
Bob
slimbob
Enthusiast
ubuysa
The BSOD Doctor
That's perfectly fine, though the free version doesn't do that much. Most people use the Custom Clean just below - that's safe to use and it will remove most (if not all) of the garbage that builds up over time. Just don't use the registry cleaner (the Registry button) blow that - the Windows registry doesn't need cleaning.
slimbob
Enthusiast
Hi,
I am presently using Office 2003 which works a treat with my current Windows 7. I just found out that it is incompatible with windows 10 unfortunately.
As far as I know Office 2013 onwards should be good.
My question is I have all my projects for the last 5 years on Word 2003 docs and they have lots of bookmarks and hyperlinks to create clickable menus.
Will a future version of word (like for example 2013) open my word 2003 docs as they are fine and allow me to edit and save or will it really make big changes like bookmarks failing and links not working and basically mess up all my projects?.
Online it says Office is backwards compatible, but has anyone had experience with this first hand?
Before I upgrade to Windows 10 I really need to sort this. All my other software is fine to go, any suggestions on what best to do?
I appreciate that probably the best option is get the monthly subscription to Office 365 but I only really use word and a one off investment is much more appealing than stuck on a subscription.
I can get Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 for £71 and as I understand its extended support will finish in 2026
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Office-Home-Business-Download/dp/B01EZU2GZW/?tag=georiot-trd-21&ascsubtag=trd-4583364593907066400-21
Unfortunately I suppose it will take a lot of getting use to from using 2003!!!
Thanks very much indeed for any help or advice.
Bob.
I am presently using Office 2003 which works a treat with my current Windows 7. I just found out that it is incompatible with windows 10 unfortunately.
As far as I know Office 2013 onwards should be good.
My question is I have all my projects for the last 5 years on Word 2003 docs and they have lots of bookmarks and hyperlinks to create clickable menus.
Will a future version of word (like for example 2013) open my word 2003 docs as they are fine and allow me to edit and save or will it really make big changes like bookmarks failing and links not working and basically mess up all my projects?.
Online it says Office is backwards compatible, but has anyone had experience with this first hand?
Before I upgrade to Windows 10 I really need to sort this. All my other software is fine to go, any suggestions on what best to do?
I appreciate that probably the best option is get the monthly subscription to Office 365 but I only really use word and a one off investment is much more appealing than stuck on a subscription.
I can get Microsoft Office Home and Student 2016 for £71 and as I understand its extended support will finish in 2026
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Microsoft-Office-Home-Business-Download/dp/B01EZU2GZW/?tag=georiot-trd-21&ascsubtag=trd-4583364593907066400-21
Unfortunately I suppose it will take a lot of getting use to from using 2003!!!
Thanks very much indeed for any help or advice.
Bob.
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
When you first open the old .doc format in newer version of office, it will pop up and ask if you want to open it in compatibility mode (where it won’t change anything) or if you want to “convert” it to the latest .docx format in which case it will run through and links and stuff and convert them (if needed and the document will then be as if it were created in the latest versions.
Just to be on the safe side, I’d always have a backup copy of the originals saved somewhere just in case, but then I’d try converting each one and make sure they work as expected.
I’ve personally never had a problem in converting a doc file to docx and that’s with some pretty advanced macros and cross spreadsheet formulas, but it’s always best to play safe and have a backup.
Last edited:
slimbob
Enthusiast
Thanks so much Spydertracks for all your help.
That is really helpful information and advice about office and your other recommendation too!
Phew what I relief !!
I am going to look into the Mobisystem’s software you recommend.
I appreciate it says:
OfficeSuite has the familiar desktop interface you know and love. Don’t waste time getting used to a new layout, start working right away.
Do you use this yourself instead of Microsoft Office? In your opinion will moving to this (Docs program) from Office word 2003 not be too bad from a learning curve perspective? Would it actually be easier than moving from office word 2003 to 2016?
Do you know how long the support will last before it becomes obsolete or I need to update like with Microsoft Office products?
Sorry for asking more questions.
I can’t thank you enough.
Best wishes.
Bob.
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
Ah, I’m so sorry, that’s not the link I wanted to share at all, no don’t get that! Sorry, I thought that was normal office.
In that case, yes, grab that 2016 copy you found, it does appear that 2019 is substantially more expensive.
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
Sorry about that, particularly bad of me!O.k thanks so much again for all your help and advice I really do appreciate it
ubuysa
The BSOD Doctor
I use OpenOffice and have done for a good many years. It's open source software so is legally free.
In my experience OpenOffice can open (and edit) MS Office docs. In most cases the docs (and formatting, links, etc.) work ecaxtly the same. If the MS Office doc uses particularly complex formatting that is sometimes not available in OpenOffice and a bit of tweaking of the document is needed.
OpenOffice can save documents in MS Office format, though again complex formatting is occasionally not preserved. I've had no major issues over the years using OpenOffice to collaborate with others using MS Office.
In my experience OpenOffice can open (and edit) MS Office docs. In most cases the docs (and formatting, links, etc.) work ecaxtly the same. If the MS Office doc uses particularly complex formatting that is sometimes not available in OpenOffice and a bit of tweaking of the document is needed.
OpenOffice can save documents in MS Office format, though again complex formatting is occasionally not preserved. I've had no major issues over the years using OpenOffice to collaborate with others using MS Office.
slimbob
Enthusiast
Thank you again UBUYSA!!
Is this the genuine site? https://www.openoffice.org/
There seems a lot of ways to download it and some take you offsite is this the safest link to use to download a full installation?
https://www.openoffice.org/download/index.html
Do you just keep checking for a new release and keep updating to the latest version.
I haven't used this before so I will download it and have a play around. This could be great! especially if it will allow me to view and edit and save my old word 2003 docs. The only things I do is insert images, book mark and hyperlink.
Thank so much again.
ubuysa
The BSOD Doctor
Yes, that's the real site
Yes, download the full installation and the language pack if you use other languages.
Yes, that's what I do. Note that there are two 'branches' of OpenOffice. The original is the one we're talking about, OpenOffice. You'll also come across a newer branch called LibreOffice https://www.libreoffice.org/. Both branches are based on the same code, so you must not have both branches installed at the same time, use one or the other. LibreOffice is updated far more frequently than OpenOffice and it has a few more features and bells and whistles. I've used both over a number of years and both work extremely well. I have found more glitches with LibreOffice however, IMO regular updates means more bugs and so I use OpenOffice because fewer updates means fewer bugs.
Then you should find OpenOfiice does all you need and you'll be able to read and save your Word 2003 docs with no issues.
Since a couple of versions ago, OpenOffice has the ability to turn a ribbon on to make it look like MS Office 2007+ as well. Love it or hate it, you have that option.
It is interesting to have seen the life of the ribbon - I know many, many, people hated it coming from 2003, but for me it was a revelation and most of the stuff I'd always wanted to do but struggled to find was now much easier to get access to.
But by 2016, it was cluttered, took up too much space and things had become buried under multiple layers in sometimes odd places again.
WIth the latest version of Office 365 they've taken great steps to declutter it again which is great.
For anyone interested in such things, MS Office 2019 is the last version MS plan to release that will be non-subscription based. After that, it's a variant of 365 only and I was reading lately that they are dropping the home and student editions. For what, I don't know, but that seems like it would be business suicide if they don't replace them - Office has always been one of their top revenue generators - usually even ahead of Windows.
It is interesting to have seen the life of the ribbon - I know many, many, people hated it coming from 2003, but for me it was a revelation and most of the stuff I'd always wanted to do but struggled to find was now much easier to get access to.
But by 2016, it was cluttered, took up too much space and things had become buried under multiple layers in sometimes odd places again.
WIth the latest version of Office 365 they've taken great steps to declutter it again which is great.
For anyone interested in such things, MS Office 2019 is the last version MS plan to release that will be non-subscription based. After that, it's a variant of 365 only and I was reading lately that they are dropping the home and student editions. For what, I don't know, but that seems like it would be business suicide if they don't replace them - Office has always been one of their top revenue generators - usually even ahead of Windows.
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
Their goal is to make the whole Microsoft experience cloud based, so even windows will be accessed through the browser in a virtual azure desktop, and office 365 can be accessed through the browser too, so everything will be subscription based and platform independent. Even Dynamics is now browser based.Since a couple of versions ago, OpenOffice has the ability to turn a ribbon on to make it look like MS Office 2007+ as well. Love it or hate it, you have that option.
It is interesting to have seen the life of the ribbon - I know many, many, people hated it coming from 2003, but for me it was a revelation and most of the stuff I'd always wanted to do but struggled to find was now much easier to get access to.
But by 2016, it was cluttered, took up too much space and things had become buried under multiple layers in sometimes odd places again.
WIth the latest version of Office 365 they've taken great steps to declutter it again which is great.
For anyone interested in such things, MS Office 2019 is the last version MS plan to release that will be non-subscription based. After that, it's a variant of 365 only and I was reading lately that they are dropping the home and student editions. For what, I don't know, but that seems like it would be business suicide if they don't replace them - Office has always been one of their top revenue generators - usually even ahead of Windows.
I've been contributing to a reasonable sized design for a technology refresh for a council.
All of the documents are stored in Teams which backs off to SharePoint online.
The browser based editing was functional but not really full featured enough.
Word becamse very very flaky once it hit about 175 pages - it suddenly kept saying there were save conflicts and you'd lose work when it refreshed or it simply failed to save at all whether manually or via autosave.
<200 pages is not a big document and it wasn't full of weird formatting either. It was prior to the lockdown as well.
When it works, there are benefits - backed up to OneDrive (which itself relies on SharePoint online) with changes tracked and version recovery which can automatically help against encrypting malware but if you are pushing the cloud, subscription-based, services then it has to work all the time in every published way.
That said, Teams has coped with the surge incredibly well.
All of the documents are stored in Teams which backs off to SharePoint online.
The browser based editing was functional but not really full featured enough.
Word becamse very very flaky once it hit about 175 pages - it suddenly kept saying there were save conflicts and you'd lose work when it refreshed or it simply failed to save at all whether manually or via autosave.
<200 pages is not a big document and it wasn't full of weird formatting either. It was prior to the lockdown as well.
When it works, there are benefits - backed up to OneDrive (which itself relies on SharePoint online) with changes tracked and version recovery which can automatically help against encrypting malware but if you are pushing the cloud, subscription-based, services then it has to work all the time in every published way.
That said, Teams has coped with the surge incredibly well.
SpyderTracks
We love you Ukraine
Oh yes, they've definitely got a way to go, but I think that's the direction that Microsoft are aiming for in the long term, plus everyone else really. Google were the first to adopt that strategy with their Chromebooks, but whilst they're a pretty abysmal experience for most power users, for those who are embedded within the google ecosystem using google docs, it's actually an incredibly viable product. It's still obviously a very niche userbase, but it works very well for that userbase. I think google are way beyond Microsoft though with O365 online vs Google Docs. Apple did start the move to cloud based back with the release of IOS 9, but they seem to have completely halted on development of it since then.
ubuysa
The BSOD Doctor
'Cloud computing' was envisioned as the way forward back in the 1990's I remember, though we didn't use that term. Back then we talked about 'thin clients' as the end user device. The key reason it didn't go anywhere back then was that the network speeds (and bandwidth) weren't up to it. I wouldn't have believed it would take another 20 years to begin to make it work though....