Do you want to use two or more different versions of Microsoft Office suite on same PC? A user may want to install and use Microsoft Office 2007 and Office 2010 on single computer. Technically this is possible, however it is not recommended due to resulting conflicts and related issues with different versions of Office software on Windows computer.
Manual way to install multiple Office versions
Multiple versions of Microsoft Office software can be successfully installed, if you install earliest version of Office first. Following order of installation should allow error free usage of multiple Office software versions.
First – Microsoft Office XP
Second – Microsoft Office 2003
Third – 2007 Office suites and programs
Fourth – Microsoft Office 2010 suites (32-bit versions only)
Above order applies to installation of whole Microsoft Office suite and also individual Office programs on single Windows PC.
Use Virtualization on Windows
You can avoid conflicts that may arise in using above manual method of installing multiple MS Office software versions by using virtualization on Windows. Download Virtual PC for Windows 7 to able to use install and use multiple Office versions on same Windows computer.
Also, you can use Remote Desktop Services or Terminal Services to host the installation on a server to which clients can connect to provide a complete Windows environment. Resulting in systematic access to different Office versions software on specific Windows PC.[via Microsoft Support]
Compatibility packs to avoid multiple versions
Ideally, latest version of Office software support almost every feature and format used in previous versions. However, same is not true for older versions of Office software. You can use various workarounds and compatibility packs for adding support in older versions of Office software.
Download compatibility packs to able to open Office 2010 files in Office 2003 & 2000 and deal with docx file format. You can also save Office files in different formats and even add support for old Office 97 files.
