Microsoft Office 2007

Software@KU: Provided | Recommended | Training | Labs

Information about Office 2007

KU Information Technology (IT) recommends campus users continue using Office 2003 at this time.

Support for Office 2007 will be provided at the beginning of the Fall semester through the IT IT Customer Service Center. Introductory training classes for Office 2007 will be offered by Instructional Services staff during the Fall semester. IT does not recommend installing or purchasing a new computer pre-loaded with Office 2007 until after support and training is available.

Why wait to upgrade?

Office 2007 is significantly different in both look and functionality from previous versions. Upgrading will involve relearning how to use this software. Additionally, there have been reports that Office 2007 is not compatible with Access 97, which could pose problems for those using older databases.

A few of the challenges of upgrading include:

• Learning how to use the new software. The radical redesign has moved and/or renamed virtually every feature.
• File formats have changed and cannot be read by earlier versions of Office for Windows without a converter.
• File formats can't be read by Mac Office 2004.  Documents saved as Office 2003 should be readable by Mac Office 2004. Microsoft released a beta (test) version of the file format converter for the Mac on May 10. When a final version is released a link will be included on this page.
• There are many new features that require review for campus applicability.

What should I do now?

Wait to upgrade until at Fall 2007 when support will be available. Take a look at the Frequently Asked Questions page which answer the following questions:

I already have Office 2007 installed, what should I do?
I already have Office 2007 installed, where can I get help?
How do I read an Office 2007 document that was sent to me?
I am a Mac user, does this affect me?