If I have a licence for MS Office 2007, can I legally run an older version of Office under it? I looked around Microsoft’s site but they only seem to want to talk about the shiny new version.
(Sorry to post yet another slightly dull computer question in GQ, but Google/Microsoft.com have failed me and there always seem to be GQers who know this sort of stuff.)
It is my understanding from my reseller’s rep that a 2007 license allows you to run either 2007 or 2003. Now this is for an Open License agreement, so I don’t know if this applies to single box editions.
Do you mean a paper license or a license key? If the latter, I doubt it will work; if the former, it’s how we have to buy our licenses for older software at work. Of course, I work for Big Business so different rules may apply.
Yeah, I mean the actual license, be it in paper form or not, not any particular key. And retail licences, not OEM ones. We’re installing Office 2007 on some PCs and 2003/2000 on others for compatibility reasons, with a view to going all-2007 in maybe six months. We just want to buy all-2007 licences now rather than faff about upgrading some of them later, and we want it all to be by-the-book legal.
If you’re installing from a MS Select license, you should be OK.
The term you’re looking for is Downgrade Rights. Microsoft has a chart and short FAQ on these here (Warning: direct link to Word doc).
Also note that Student Select licenses count for this.
Thanks, that’s just what I need to know. I think they mean “customers who have licensed Office under volume licensing are eligible to downgrade”, as others have said. I was wondering how boxed retail copies of Office could be cheaper than volume licences, in our quantities, but perhaps that explains it.