Office 2003 and backward compatability?

[TourGuide]

I've tried looking for this answer in a variety of places but I suspect it is hidden deep by Microsoft on purpose.

Does anyone know how the compatability of the new Office 2003 is with previous versions of the Office suite, like 2000? Have they broken this, or can you still save docs in Office 2000 formats?

I work in an environment that still uses 2000 and I'm not upgrading if they FUBARed this.

 

[T2T III]

You should not have any issue with backwards compatibility. I recall when Office XP was released and Microsoft wanted to eliminate backwards compatibility, but the users revolted. Sure enough, the "fix" was put back in during the next service release to allow such an option.

* I believe this was with Office XP and not Office 2000. However, it was one of those versions.

 

[TourGuide]

Thanks.

Has anyone else had a chance to check this?

 

[SKORPI0]

Office 2003 Editions Frequently Asked Questions

Q.Are Office 2003 Editions file formats compatible with previous versions of Office programs?

A. Yes. Since document formats in Office 2003 Editions are the same as those in Office XP, Office 2000, and Office 97, they are compatible with those versions.

Specifically:

? Binary File formats for Excel 2003, PowerPoint 2003, and Word 2003 remain the same and are compatible with previous versions dating to Office 97.

? An Outlook Personal Folders file (.pst) can now be saved as a new binary format, which uses Unicode and increases the storage limit to approximately 20 gigabytes (GB). An Outlook 2003 .pst file is not compatible with previous versions of Outlook, but the old format is the default.

? Access 2003 has no change to the file format as previous versions, so you can open Access 2003 files in Microsoft Access version 2002. Note There is an Access 2000 file format, in addition to Access 2003 and Access 2002 file formats. The Access 2000 file format is the default, but users or administrators can change the default to Access 2003 or Access 2002 formats.

 

I cant wait till my school gets office 2k3.....

 

[dullard]

You are supposed to be able to save it. But I have lots of experience in mixed Office environments. It just isn't worth the trouble. It leads to all kinds of trouble down the road. There is nothing in Office 2003 that most people would miss if they were forced to use Office 2000 (yes there are some nice features, but most people are fine without them). So I'd HIGHLY suggest going with Office 2000 until the rest of your environment switches.

 

[TourGuide]

Originally posted by: dullard
You are supposed to be able to save it. But I have lots of experience in mixed Office environments. It just isn't worth the trouble. It leads to all kinds of trouble down the road. There is nothing in Office 2003 that most people would miss if they were forced to use Office 2000 (yes there are some nice features, but most people are fine without them). So I'd HIGHLY suggest going with Office 2000 until the rest of your environment switches.

Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I will hold off on the upgrade for now.

Thanks Skorp for that quote. MS's website is often like the rest of their stuff, lots of chaff to wade through in order to get the kernels you need. I should have known to go for the FAQ first. Thanks again.