Microsoft Office 2007

Introduction

OIT Desktop Support has recently made the install of Microsoft Office 2007 available. MS Office 2007 is the latest office product from Microsoft. This release includes Word 2007, Excel 2007, Access 2007, Outlook 2007, Groove 2007, InfoPath 2007, OneNote 2007, PowerPoint 2007, and Publisher 2007.

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How do you upgrade to Microsoft Office 2007

First, you need to realize that for now, the change to Microsoft Office 2007 iscompletely optional. If you'd rather not upgrade to Office 2007 right now, you may skip this process and continue to use Office 2003 until Office 2007 becomes mandatory. This installation will become mandatory in the future (1 - 2 months) so you're encouraged to find some time to do this installation before it gets pushed forcefully.

The next thing to know is that the upgrade happens in 2 parts. Part 1 is downloading the Microsoft Office 2007 Installer Program. Part 2 is installing the Microsoft Office 2007.

PART 1: Downloading Microsoft Office 2007 Installer Program

1. Users will receive a notice in their system tray (right hand side of your task bar) that new software is available.
2. Double click on the notice to open Add/Remove programs. Find the Office 2007 installation and click "Add".
3. This launches a download window, leave the "Run program automatically when download completes after download" UNCHECKED then click "Download"
4. The Office 2007 program will now start to download, this process usually takes 15-45 minutes. You will be able to continue working on your computer while the download is taking place. The download program is intelligent enough you can physically move your computer and the download will restart where it left off the next time it is connected to the network.

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PART 2: Installing Microsoft Office 2007

1. After download, you will be notified that the program is ready to install. At this time,please make sure you closeany and all office applications that are still open i.e. Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.
2. Click the notification, and then click on the "run" button. You can move this screen to the bottom of your monitor and continue working on non-Office applications.
3. A progress screen will be displayed showing you the status of the install. PLEASE BE PATIENT, this install can take up to 2 hours. During this time you will NOT be able to use any Microsoft Office applications.
4. After install is complete, you will be prompted to reboot your computer. Please save all remaining work and reboot.

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Office 2007 Installation Video

A how toInstallation Video Tutorial is available to assist you through the installation process.

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Recommendations for a successful install

To help ensure a successful install and good experience, Desktop Support Services recommends the following:

1. Start the download part around noon. This should allow ample time for the download part to complete.
2. Then start the install part around 4:30 pm. Since the install takes a long time, you can get it started, and it will continue with the install after you leave work for the day. It isimportant that youdo not interrupt the installation part. So instead of logging out of the computer when you leave, choose to lock it instead. Press the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys all at once and click the "Lock Computer" button. The next morning, you will (unlock) login to the computer and will be prompted to reboot the computer, please do so. Once your computer has rebooted and you log in, you will have the MS Office 2007 applications installed.

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What the install does

There are several known issues with running multiple versions of Microsoft Office on your computer. With this in mind, the install of Microsoft Office 2007 Enterprise will also UNINSTALL all previous versions of office on your computer. This does not, however, delete your personal email or application files that you might use.

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Potential issues & solutions

1. Issue: You do not receive the advertisement.
   Solution:View the Office 2007 installation troubleshooting video.
2. Issue: Download fails or errors out.
   Solution: Attempt the download again.
3. Issue: Adobe add-ons are no longer available.
   Solution: Adobe Acrobat Professional will need to be at version 8.1 or higher for the Adobe add-on's to function in Microsoft Office 2007. Please go tohttp://www.alaska.edu/keys for Adobe 9 or the Adobe 8.1 patch.
4. Issue: The notification icon went away in the system tray.
   Solution: If this happens you can open up the control panel, click Add or Remove Programs, then click on the Add New Programs (on the left hand side) You can then select the MS Office install on the right and click "Add."

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What to do if you have issues

If you experience problems installing the software, please contact the OIT Support Center at x8300 and have them put in a ticket and a technician will be in touch to assist you.

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After the install

Attention Outlook Users

The first time you open Outlook 2007 after the installation is complete, Outlook2007 will attempt to import your existing Outlook 2003 mail and settings. If you have large mail box, it will takea long time to import it into Outlook 2007 the first time you open outlook. Please be patient, andDO NOTcancel the import. Cancelling will result in your needing to have a technician come and manually do the import again, which again, will take a long time.

There are several boxes that will pop up the first time you open office, some based on the email client you were using before the upgrade:

1. If you have used outlook before as your email client, the first time you open up outlook, you will receive an IMAP Search Folders warning. Check the box next to "Please do not show me this dialog again" and hit OK.
   
2. If you use Outlook Express or Windows Mail, you will see a Microsoft Office Outlook warning when you open outlook. At this time, OIT Desktop Support Services recommends you continue to use Outlook Express or Windows Mail, so click "NO"
   
3. You may or may not see the following warning. OIT Desktop Support Services recommends you click "NO" on this box as we've had issues with some programs becoming unresponsive as this install can 'hang up.'
   
4. When you receive the Welcome message below, OIT Desktop Support Services recommends leaving the first box checked, this should be the default.
   

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How to save in older formats

Note: The instructions were written using Word as an example. The procedure is similar in other Office products.

If you need to save a file in Office 97-2003 format (.doc, .xls, etc.) you can easily do this by:

1. Open up the file you wish to save in compatibility mode.
2. From the Microsoft Button, choose "Save As" and select "Word 97-2003 Document"
   
3. Choose the name and location of the file and click save.
4. If you want to save files in compatibility mode by default, click the Microsoft Button, then select "Word Options"
5. Click Save in the left hand side, then select the format you wish to save in.
   

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Conversion Tool for Microsoft Office 2003 (Win) and 2004 (Mac)

For those that have other computers, such as home computers, or secondary computers, that won't be upgrading to Office 2007, there are updates available for opening, and modifying, Office 2007 documents (docx, xlsx, pptx, etc.) with Microsoft Office 2003, for Windows, and Microsoft Office 2004, for Mac.

Note: Be sure that your installation of Office, 2003 or 2004, has been updated to the latest version before installing the respective compatibility update.

Office 2003 Update (Windows) - Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats

Office 2004 Update (Mac OS) - Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 1.0

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Training Available

After MS Office 2007 is installed, we are pushing some help files in the background to your machines that will give you a 'Get Started' tab up in your file menu area at the top of your Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications. This menu will assist you in finding where the features are in Office 2007 based on where they were in Office 2003.

Please check the current training schedule for Office training at http://www.alaska.edu/oit/training/index.xml.

Specialized training is available on a first come, first served basis; contact sytrain@email.alaska.edu to schedule a session.

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