Microsoft Office v.X & 2004 (Mac OS 10.3.x/10.4.x);
Microsoft Office 2003 & 2007 (Windows XP/Vista)

Note: Microsoft Office 2007 for Windows uses new default file formats (examples include .docx instead of .doc for Word and .xlsx instead of .xls for Excel) that other versions of Office for Windows and Office for Macintosh cannot understand. Users of Office XP and Office 2003 for Windows can install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack to read Office 2007 files in their default format; however, release versions of converters for Office for Mac are not yet available, so Office for Mac users can't open Office 2007 files at this time. For more important information on Office 2007 for Windows, see the Computing News article here.

Microsoft's Office is a suite of applications that includes Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for both Macintosh and Windows PCs.

Word is the University's supported and recommended word processing program. It can be used to create, save, retrieve, edit, and print files. Other features include style sheets, merging, tables, customizable toolbars, and glossaries.

Excel is the University's supported and recommended spreadsheet program. It can be used to enter, edit, and format data; write formulas; and print spreadsheets.

PowerPoint is the University's supported and recommended presentation graphics program. It can be used to create overheads, onscreen electronic presentations, high-quality 35 mm slides, and handouts. PowerPoint features customizable templates and the ability to share text, data, and graphics between programs.

Important note: the University also supports the Outlook email and calendaring component of Office for Windows.

Availability

Office is commercial software that can be purchased from the Computer Connection at an educational discount.

Microsoft software is now available to University of Pennsylvania departments through the Microsoft Select Program, a volume license agreement. A detailed description of the Microsoft Program including product information and a FAQ has been prepared by the Office of Software Licensing. All purchases of Microsoft Select software are made through the Computer Connection.

Configuration

Configuration instructions are included with the software.

Keeping Current

Important note: Information Systems & Computing (ISC) strongly suggests checking daily for critical updates to Microsoft Office, in the same way that you would check for updates to Windows or Mac OS.

Prepare to Update

• Get your Office CD-ROM. Some updates require that you insert the same CD-ROM that was used when Microsoft Office was installed on your computer.
• Log in with administrator rights. To check whether your user account has these rights, see the User Accounts control panel (Windows XP) or the Users and Passwords control panel (Windows 2000). Mac OS users, see "Working as an administrator" in Mac Help and see Accounts in the System section of System Preferences.
• Before you start, close any applications (e.g. Microsoft Word) and make sure that you have backups of any critical files.

Perform the Update

Windows users:

1. Visit http://office.microsoft.com and click Check for Updates, which can be found on the right of the page. Go to step 4 below.

Or,

1. Open up an Internet Explorer browser window and select Windows Update from the Tools Menu to open the windows update webpage.
2. Once this page has been loaded select Office Family from the tabs in the top half of this page. This will take you to the Microsoft Office web pages.
3. Select Check for Updates at the top of the page.
4. If you do not already have ActiveX control (the Office Update Installation Engine) you should follow the instructions to install it.
5. Once this has been installed a list of Required Updates will automatically be shown and you should Agree and Install these.
6. Once you have installed the updates you may be asked if you wish to restart your machine. Agree to this and once it has restarted repeat this process until no more updates are found for the version of Office on your computer.

Mac OS users:

1. Visit http://www.microsoft.com/mac/download/
2. Then scroll down to the version of Office you have installed, and select the updates you want.

Or,

1. Launch Microsoft AutoUpdate from your Applications folder.
2. Click the Check for Updates button.
3. Once you have installed the updates you may be asked if you wish to restart your machine. Agree to this and once it has restarted repeat this process until no more updates are found for the version of Office on your computer.

Support

Primary computing support is usually located in the schools, units, and residences, close to the faculty, staff, and students being served. Contact lists are available for:

• Faculty Support
• Staff Support
• Student Support

To look up your local support provider, select your University affiliation above. You may also call First Call at 215-573-4778 to request a referral if you are not sure who to contact.

ISC's Technology Training Services website provides details on preferred Penn pricing and scheduling for classes on this and other common desktop products.

Related resources

• Microsoft's Office web site.
• The Microsoft home page.
• ISC's article on Office XP.
• ISC's article on Office v.X.