What version of word for windows 10?

[Nath911t]

Any recommendations to which version to get? Been a bit of a numb nut on new tech, I asked a relative who said buy a code from ebay or somewhere like that. Problem is I'm unsure which one to get. I don't need the Pro or Office version as it will be used on a personal laptop (I recently bought for my wife) for things like opening up word documents, editing, etc.

Any recommendations?

[Who me ?]

One for the IT blokes, but you need to look at a version of office that can open office 1997-2003 docs and newer. I think that MS changed the system after 2003 so that newer docs are saved with a new file extension . Of course there's always https://www.libreoffice.org/
which is a nice price =FREE.

[Mr Pointy]

Well you don't buy Word, you buy Office & the different versions Student/Home/Pro/Business just have different programmes included. They all have Word, Excel & Outlook though. You can sign up for MS (Office) 365 for £60 a year or you can try a previous version licence from Amazon, ebay or sites like this:

https://softwarebase.uk/office-2019

[xeny]

Nath911t said:

Any recommendations?

You say you need Word. Guessing you don't need Access, do you need Outlook, and do you want to make a one time purchase or pay a subscription?

If you want to make a single purchase, you want Office 2019, and there's a handy table of what you get with each edition here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Office_201...

[Nath911t]

Thanks for the replies. Just after a version that will work with the Dell on W10. Will look at the links. Thanks again

[Derek Smith]

[quote=Who me ?]One for the IT blokes, but you need to look at a version of office that can open office 1997-2003 docs and newer. I think that MS changed the system after 2003 so that newer docs are saved with a new file extension . Of course there's always https://www.libreoffice.org/
which is a nice price =FREE.
[/quote]

I write for money. I used Libre for a couple of years or so. The only reason I stopped was MS Office being a requirement for a job and I was given access to a corporate one. Still going strong after years. Nothing between the two of them. I didn't take to the then new MS interface, but have gotten used to it. If I lost access to MS Office, which is possible I'm told, then I wouldn't particularly mind, although the change of interface might be a bit of a pain.

The worst thing about Libre is that it is free and therefore looked down upon. For the majority of people who need a WP, even those who need one for their job, it's perfect.

In a previous job I completed a course on MS Word 2003, which was then new. We were introduced to all the involved aspects of it. It's ever so clever. It had some really useful routines, but only for those who would find them useful. I made copious notes, which were binned when we moved, ten years ago, as I’d not opened the notes since 2003. One of the seretaries, probably more than one, had the full set of instruction books for MS Office. There must have been more than a couple of thousand pages all told. I worked out a spreadsheet using Excel for a friend running a fantasy football league and he got the manual for Excel 2013 for me. 1218 pages. If you need to go into that depth, perhaps MS is a requirement. I don't know, but I got the FFL up and running with probably no more that 10 pages being bothered.

Looks impressive on a bookshilf though.

[Paul Drawmer]

I'm not a Windows user, but I found a free word editor in a friend's installation of W10. I think it has Wordpad for free, which is OK for letters and ornery stuff.

[ARHarh]

[quote=Who me ?]One for the IT blokes, but you need to look at a version of office that can open office 1997-2003 docs and newer. I think that MS changed the system after 2003 so that newer docs are saved with a new file extension . Of course there's always https://www.libreoffice.org/
which is a nice price =FREE.
[/quote]

Can't understand why people spend so much on software when opensource stuff is just as good for free.

[mmm-five]

ARHarh said:

Can't understand why people spend so much on software when opensource stuff is just as good for free.

Maybe it's an education thing...after all I can't understand why people spend so much money on public school when state schools are just as good for free.

Most people could get by without a car, but find having one more handy than relying on public transport.

...and yes, I have, and do, regularly try the alternatives on Mac & Windows (NeoOffice, LibreOffice, OpenOffice, etc.) - even Apple's built-in iWork suite (which Windows doesn't offer) - and they're getting better all the time and are good enough for most users - just not for everyone...whether you can understand that or not.

For some/most home/professional users with limited requirements, open source is fine, even if it's not perfect (assuming your "just as good" means 100% perfect, not just 75% perfect).

For some/few home/professional users with specific requirements the small inconsistencies, incompatibilities and missing features/functions/interoperability are worth a few £ per month.

The same people who'd never use the full feature set of MS Office are probably the same people who'd never use the full feature set of an open source alternative.

• If you only need to write a shopping list, then it's pointless to buy MS Office or install an open source version when Notepad will do;
• If you only need a spreadsheet to add up your shopping list, then it's pointless to buy MS Office or install an open source version when Calculator will do;
• If you never need to create a slide deck that can be shared/opened/edited by multiple people whilst retaining 100% of the intent, then it's pointless to buy MS Office or install an open source version when MS Paint will do.

---

As to the OP's question, you can just sign up for the free Microsoft Office for the Web.

Edited by mmm-five on Sunday 8th August 11:29

[Mr Pointy]

ARHarh said:

Who me said:

One for the IT blokes, but you need to look at a version of office that can open office 1997-2003 docs and newer. I think that MS changed the system after 2003 so that newer docs are saved with a new file extension . Of course there's always https://www.libreoffice.org/
which is a nice price =FREE.

Can't understand why people spend so much on software when opensource stuff is just as good for free.

A colleague sent me a Visio file so I thought "everyone onPH says LibreOffice is great, I'll give it a go".

It was crap. Standard MS .vsdx file & LO just displayed it with large blue boxes over the elements. That's why people pay money for MS software - when you exchange files, it works.

[xeny]

mmm-five said:

• If you never need to create a slide deck that can be shared/opened/edited by multiple people whilst retaining 100% of the intent, then it's pointless to buy MS Office or install an open source version when MS Paint will do.

I'd say here from bitter experience that everyone needs to stick to the the same editor - that doesn't need to be Office, but ultimately for distribution you probably want to export to pdf.

[ARHarh]

Mr Pointy said:

colleague sent me a Visio file so I thought "everyone onPH says LibreOffice is great, I'll give it a go".

It was crap. Standard MS .vsdx file & LO just displayed it with large blue boxes over the elements. That's why people pay money for MS software - when you exchange files, it works.

But the OP wanted it to open the odd word document not some top end graphic designer type power point show and tell. Still cant see the point in spending £100's on software for the odd word doc. 90% of users will not even understand formatting a word doc so that is far more likely to be the issue with sharing docs.

[mmm-five]

ARHarh said:

But the OP wanted it to open the odd word document not some top end graphic designer type power point show and tell. Still cant see the point in spending £100's on software for the odd word doc. 90% of users will not even understand formatting a word doc so that is far more likely to be the issue with sharing docs.

But your point was "open source software is just as good"!

You didn't claim it was "just as good for people who only need a small subset of the available features and don' t need to collaborate".

We're simply pointing out that claiming open source software is 'just as good', but then having to caveat it with disclaimers about the scenarios that it is not, is a bit of a misnomer!

[Mr Pointy]

mmm-five said:

ARHarh said:

But the OP wanted it to open the odd word document not some top end graphic designer type power point show and tell. Still cant see the point in spending £100's on software for the odd word doc. 90% of users will not even understand formatting a word doc so that is far more likely to be the issue with sharing docs.

But your point was "open source software is just as good"!

You didn't claim it was "just as good for people who only need a small subset of the available features and don' t need to collaborate".

We're simply pointing out that claiming open source software is 'just as good', but then having to caveat it with disclaimers about the scenarios that it is not, is a bit of a misnomer!

Exactly so. The original comment was:

ARHarh said:

Can't understand why people spend so much on software when opensource stuff is just as good for free.

Well, I tried it & it's interoperability with MS Visio failed miserably. I pay £100 a year for Office because I know when someone sends me a Visio or Excel file that I'll see exactly what they sent. If you're a stand-alone user then it's great that LO works for you, but please don't slam the rest of us who need to exchange files with others & do have to care about details like formatting. It also costs me almost nothing because I stopped paying for Dropbox as I have 1TB of Onedrive storage included with the Office subscription.

[Derek Smith]

mmm-five said:

ARHarh said:

But the OP wanted it to open the odd word document not some top end graphic designer type power point show and tell. Still cant see the point in spending £100's on software for the odd word doc. 90% of users will not even understand formatting a word doc so that is far more likely to be the issue with sharing docs.

But your point was "open source software is just as good"!

You didn't claim it was "just as good for people who only need a small subset of the available features and don' t need to collaborate".

We're simply pointing out that claiming open source software is 'just as good', but then having to caveat it with disclaimers about the scenarios that it is not, is a bit of a misnomer!

The OP asked for Word, and in answer to his question, Libre Writer is in no way inferior to MS Word. When I changed, I felt the interface in the former was more user-friendly, but that's personal. For high-end stuff, compatability with other bits of MS Office may well be less than 100%, but as a piece of software, Libre Writer is as good as MS Word. Libre does not contain a small subset of the available [presumably on MSOffice] features. Libre's Writer includes vastly more than most offices need, and most of those working in offices ever use.

I prefer Libre in one particular way. I do a completely new installation of Windows every time I feel it slowing or getting clunky. I've put it off recently as I will loose a couple of bits of software for reinstalling too often. One might well be MS Office. With Libre, no problem. It also worked for free on a laptop running Ubuntu.

Like it or not, Libre Writer is a very effective piece of software for the vast majority of users, providing more than they will ever want.

[Dave.]

I’ve started using google docs/sheets recently rather than the “free suites”.

No installing and the cloud file storage means I’m always sync’d and don’t have to mince about with dropbox etc.

[Condi]

Office Professional Plus 2019 for £7.

https://www.gamekeydiscounter.co.uk/microsoft/micr...

Totally legit, entirely legal. Download the software from the MS Office website, then you'll probably have to activate by phone, but it's an automated process and takes about 5 mins.

No monthly subscription, no ongoing costs. Simple and easy. Office 365 is the biggest rip off going.

[Derek Smith]

Dave. said:

I’ve started using google docs/sheets recently rather than the “free suites”.

No installing and the cloud file storage means I’m always sync’d and don’t have to mince about with dropbox etc.

My daughter-in-law runs a business with a considerable number of contributors spread out about the country, although a lot are in London. She supplies SEO and similar copy for websites. She runs it entirely on Google Docs. Takes a little bit of instruction to anyone new to Google, but once set up, the system is slick and easy to check.

She tells me I'm living in the past using MSOffice installed on my computer.

[CanAm]

Nath911t said:

Thanks for the replies. Just after a version that will work with the Dell on W10. Will look at the links. Thanks again

I bought a Dell a few weeks ago and got the Office 2019 version for £35 from Amazon, and it’s fine.
I’d previously used an open source spreadsheet but it was used to spread information between a number of users and not everyone was able to open the free version, so the Amazon package saved me a lot of time.

[sgrimshaw]

Mr Pointy said:

Well, I tried it & it's interoperability with MS Visio failed miserably. I pay £100 a year for Office because I know when someone sends me a Visio or Excel file that I'll see exactly what they sent. If you're a stand-alone user then it's great that LO works for you, but please don't slam the rest of us who need to exchange files with others & do have to care about details like formatting. It also costs me almost nothing because I stopped paying for Dropbox as I have 1TB of Onedrive storage included with the Office subscription.

Full blown Visio is not part of Office, it's still a separate license.