Which office for Windows 8?

davidvoyage

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Hi,

I'm currently running Windows 8 but without office, since office 2013 won't be RTM until november.
Probably it's just me but it seems unreasonable to install Office 2010 on windows 8, and then uninstall/install office 2013 when it become available? I have a feeling that it may not remove office 2010 entirely and may conflict with office 2013.

Probably I should install open/libreoffice for now?
Which office are you using for your windows 8 at the moment?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
I'm not using any copy of Office at the time being because I find the product too expensive for my basic needs.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
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    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
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    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
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    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
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    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
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    Corsair 620HX modular
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    Antec P182
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    stock
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    ABS M1 Mechanical
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    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
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    15/2 cable modem
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    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
There's an Office 2013 preview that works quite well.

If you have Office 2010, don't be afraid to install it. Office versions are designed to work side-by-side. You can actually install multiple versions simultaneously, or you can install parts of one version of office and parts of another.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    CPU
    Intel i7 3770K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77X-UD4 TH
    Memory
    16GB DDR3 1600
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTX 650
    Sound Card
    Onboard Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Auria 27" IPS + 2x Samsung 23"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440 + 2x 2048x1152
    Hard Drives
    Corsair m4 256GB, 2 WD 2TB drives
    Case
    Antec SOLO II
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
    Mouse
    Logitech MX
Yes, Office 2013 customer preview is fairly stable and fine to use. I haven't had any issues yet, it's pretty stable to use. Office 2010 can be used just as well and can be uninstalled if you choose to upgrade to 2013.

Actually, if you don't desperately need ALL of the Office features (since you're considering openoffice/libreoffice) you can try out the new Office Web Apps, they're like Office 2013's design, and with features that was in Office Starter 2010.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
I would agree with Coke Robot that going with the web apps route is a good idea. Personally, I like to install as little as possible on my computers. The fact that you can run an office app without installing anything is certainly appealing to me.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
I second using Office Web Apps. I've used them quite a bit (the only thing that currently has me not using them as my primary office suite is the preview of Office 2013). If you don't need MS Access or the full version of Outlook, you really shouldn't have any problems with the online suite.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Server 2012 Standard w/Hyper-V
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP ProBook 4430s
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-2310M
    Memory
    16GB DDR3
    Hard Drives
    80GB Intel 320 SSD
    500GB Samsung Momentus
I second using Office Web Apps. I've used them quite a bit (the only thing that currently has me not using them as my primary office suite is the preview of Office 2013). If you don't need MS Access or the full version of Outlook, you really shouldn't have any problems with the online suite.

outlook.com is a good client, but offline office is a huge improvement, but $300 dollars more
 

My Computer

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  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro, iOS 7.1, Elementary OS
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    Tablet
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    Apple
    Memory
    1 GB
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    2048x1536
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    iPad Air
docx format is a way of telling 2003 users to "buy new stuff"

I would have thought that Office 2003 being EOL without security updates would be the way to tell users to "buy new stuff."

outlook.com is a good client, but offline office is a huge improvement, but $300 dollars more

For people who would ordinarily just purchase the Home and Student edition of MS Office, I think the web apps can serve as a replacement. If you need the full version of Outlook, Access, etc., then naturally you'd want the software suite.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Server 2012 Standard w/Hyper-V
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP ProBook 4430s
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-2310M
    Memory
    16GB DDR3
    Hard Drives
    80GB Intel 320 SSD
    500GB Samsung Momentus
I would have thought that Office 2003 being EOL without security updates would be the way to tell users to "buy new stuff."
I'm not sure that most people are concerned with security when it comes to using Office. It's not like you surf the web with Word.

If you need the full version of Outlook, Access, etc., then naturally you'd want the software suite.
Yes, but it's also quite costly. If you own a previous version, 2003/2007/2010...it would seem hard to pony up the money again for the upgrade.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
I'm not sure that most people are concerned with security when it comes to using Office. It's not like you surf the web with Word.

That's one of those areas where I believe the general public needs to be educated. Unpatched applications are still vulnerabilities.

Yes, but it's also quite costly. If you own a previous version, 2003/2007/2010...it would seem hard to pony up the money again for the upgrade.

I upgrade frequently for a few reasons: being a tech junkie, working in the industry, and having (legal) access to software via Dreamspark and TechNet. Having said that, I understand not wanting to shell out large amounts of money for upgrades, especially ones you may not need. But once the product is no longer being supported, at that point, I think it's time to upgrade or switch.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Server 2012 Standard w/Hyper-V
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP ProBook 4430s
    CPU
    Intel Core i3-2310M
    Memory
    16GB DDR3
    Hard Drives
    80GB Intel 320 SSD
    500GB Samsung Momentus
That's one of those areas where I believe the general public needs to be educated. Unpatched applications are still vulnerabilities.
Definitely true if you are sharing files back and forth with other people. If on the other hand, you are using excel spreadsheets for your own use only...nowhere near as much of a concern really.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7, Windows 8 RP
There is one compelling reason not to install Office 2003 on Windows 8 RTM: it breaks Windows 8 Update. See this post:

http://www.eightforums.com/software-apps/8692-office-2003-windows-8-pro-x64.html

As an addendum to that information, I have just confirmed that the Microsoft's Metro Apps will not be listed or updated automatically after the partial (compromise) fix for Office 2003 is applied, namely switching off the check for other installed Microsoft applications. However, it is possible to run a manual update of the Metro apps:

How to update Windows 8 Apps


And the procedure above does work.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center x64
Docx. file format is there because of advanced formatting in Office 2010 and 2013 that 2003 doesn't understand correctly. I've seen issues when converting a docx. file into Word 2003, but not when it's done in Word 2010.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
    CPU
    AMD FX 8320
    Motherboard
    Crosshair V Formula-Z
    Memory
    16 gig DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS R9 270
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Seagate Barracuda (starting to hate Seagate)
    x2 3 TB Toshibas
    Windows 8.1 is installed on a SanDisk Ultra Plus 256 GB
    PSU
    OCZ 500 watt
    Case
    A current work in progres as I'll be building the physical case myself. It shall be fantastic.
    Cooling
    Arctic Cooler with 3 heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K750 wireless solar powered keyboard
    Mouse
    Microsoft Touch Mouse
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, but I might go back on KIS 2014
My concern is that most schools/colleges today still require students to submit their assignment in .doc format instead of .docx.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
Davidvoyage: Truly no need for concern — not only can Word 2007 and later 'Save As' to doc format, but this old Word format can also be made the default and docx then becomes a 'Save As' option.

Your original post suggests that you have Office 2010. If so, install it in Windows 8 and enjoy. For many versions now, going back to Office 2000 I think, the Office upgrade option to remove a prior version has worked extremely well. (Of course, the transition from 2003 to 2007 was a nightmare because of the then new RIBBON and the introduction of docx, so that many individual settings, macros, templates, etc. required much careful attention and tweaking.) But the transition from 2010 to 2013 should be comparatively straightforward, so that if it turns out 2013 offers compelling grounds for you to upgrade, you will be able to do so confident of not screwing up you Windows 8 system.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro with Media Center x64
I have successfully installed the Office 2013 customer preview on my Windows 8 test PC, and it is much like 2010 (I normally use Windows XP and Office 2003, so Windows 8 and Office 2013 would be quite a jump, if I decide to go that way when they are properly released). In fact, one improvement over Word 2010 which Word 2013 does not have, which annoys me, is proper small caps support. Quite a few OpenType fonts also contain proper small caps, with the same weight as the regular characters, but Word 2013 - like its predecessor - does not use them; it shrinks the caps instead, which looks sloppy. Publisher, on the other hand, does support true small caps - as does Publisher 2010. So why not Word 2013? Sloppy, Microsoft, sloppy!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Shuttle SD11G5
    CPU
    Pentium M
    Motherboard
    Shuttle SD11G5
    Memory
    plenty
    Graphics Card(s)
    on-board (Intel 915GM)
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