# Is there a reasonably cheap way to upgrade from Word 2003 to 2007 or higher? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 28, 2013, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reasonably-cheap-way-to-upgrade-from-word-2003-to-2007-or-higher/674982 "2013-11-28T03:52:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reasonably-cheap-way-to-upgrade-from-word-2003-to-2007-or-higher/674982/21 "2013-11-30T23:46:21Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Thanks for all the suggestions, folks. However, I rather doubt that free software like Kingsoft or LibreOffice are going to satisfy the people I am working with, who are making a fuss about the difference between Word 2003 and 2007. The issue isn’t anything to do with missing features (and I have the free add-on that allows you to import .docx files into 2003). What they say is that there is some sort of minor file incompatibility between Word 2003 and 2007 and higher which occasionally causes some of the spaces between words to be lost when transferring files between different versions. (😕) It sounds unlikely to me (and I have never noticed any problem when I import .docx files), but I have to do things the way they want. So just tell them you now have the new version – how are they going to know different? ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reasonably-cheap-way-to-upgrade-from-word-2003-to-2007-or-higher/674982/22 "2013-12-01T01:13:06Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > So just tell them you now have the new version – how are they going to know different? When and if they find spaces have gone missing, presumably. (I have no reason to think tehy are lying to me about the problem.) Also, although with the compatibility add-ons, Word 2003 can load and edit .docx files, I am pretty sure it still cannot save them. ---
**Author:** ![Duke\_of\_York](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@Duke\_of\_York](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke_of_York)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reasonably-cheap-way-to-upgrade-from-word-2003-to-2007-or-higher/674982/23 "2013-12-01T01:17:57Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > Thanks for all the suggestions, folks. However, I rather doubt that free software like Kingsoft or LibreOffice are going to satisfy the people I am working with, Well, you’ll never know unless you ask them. Why not use one of the free programs and check it out yourself for accuracy? If it seems to pass muster, then send it to them for comment. If these people are so picky that they won’t agree to you testing out cheaper programs, then they are probably not worth working for. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reasonably-cheap-way-to-upgrade-from-word-2003-to-2007-or-higher/674982/24 "2013-12-01T02:46:26Z")
Apart from the difference between .doc and .docx, the file’s metadata will hold information that might show which version could be estimated — certainly which program was used if not MS. It can be altered or deleted, but that would get old pretty quickly. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reasonably-cheap-way-to-upgrade-from-word-2003-to-2007-or-higher/674982/25 "2013-12-01T03:15:26Z")
Probably won’t apply, but if you have a .edu email address, you can get Word for $80 from [Microsoft.](http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/en_US/pdp/productID.275549300?tid=s5X31FR1I_dc&cid=5250&pcrid=26127515693&pkw=microsoft%20office%20student&pmt=b&WT.srch=1&WT.mc_id=pointitsem_Microsoft+US_google_5+-+Office+15+Suites&WT.term=microsoft%20office%20student&WT.campaign=5+-+Office+15+Suites&WT.content=5X31FR1I&WT.source=google&WT.medium=cpc) ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reasonably-cheap-way-to-upgrade-from-word-2003-to-2007-or-higher/674982/26 "2013-12-01T15:05:00Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > I don’t know how many companies this works for, but as a federal employee I’m allowed to buy the same version of Office that we use at work for $10. We had to ask the IT department for the proper link and use a work email, but I was able to get it no problem. My company does this, I downloaded the software and it was “Microsoft Office 365 Home Premium” which does not look remotely like anything else I’ve ever seen (and not in a good way). I uninstalled it because I prefer my older normal version of Office / Word. p.s. – It also prevented me from switching between the old and new versions. I had to uninstall the 365 product to be able to use my old version again. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reasonably-cheap-way-to-upgrade-from-word-2003-to-2007-or-higher/674982/27 "2013-12-01T16:33:22Z")
> [@Duke\_of\_York](#): > > Well, you’ll never know unless you ask them. Why not use one of the free programs and check it out yourself for accuracy? If it seems to pass muster, then send it to them for comment. > If these people are so picky that they won’t agree to you testing out cheaper programs, then they are probably not worth working for. I have asked them. I haven’t got a reply yet but I am not hopeful. I am not in a position to be picky about who I work for. Anyway, their business being what it is, I fully understand why they are picky about anything that would introduce hard-to-spot changes into documents. They are not really being unreasonable in being worried about this issue, I am just surprised to learn that this problem can actually arise just through transferring documents between different versions of Word. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reasonably-cheap-way-to-upgrade-from-word-2003-to-2007-or-higher/674982/28 "2013-12-01T17:17:31Z")
Microsoft Word has _always_ had difficulty reading documents produced by other versions of Microsoft Word. Some people have suggested that it is easier to open, and save, older documents in OpenOffice etc., rather than cope with Word’s idiosyncracies dealing with previous saves. Not that that is an option for you: if your client mandates a certain version for compatibility, for understandable reasons, that’s their right. I do not think this is deliberate ( as say to force upgrades ), nor is part of Microsoft’s War on Standards; just something that doesn’t bother them a lot. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-reasonably-cheap-way-to-upgrade-from-word-2003-to-2007-or-higher/674982.md?page=1)