OFFXP: Setup May Remove Earlier Versions of Office

When you run the Microsoft Office XP Setup program, your earlier version of Office may be removed, and you may not receive a message that informs you about this. However, you may see the following message in the Choose the type of installation you need dialog box:

Your earlier version of Office is automatically removed if you click Upgrade Now in the Choose the type of installation you need dialog box.

If you click Custom, Typical, or Complete in the Choose the type of installation you need dialog box, you will eventually see the Remove previous versions of Office applications dialog box. In this dialog box, you see the following options:

• Remove all previous versions
• Keep all previous versions
• Remove only the following applications

Also, each program from an earlier version of Office is listed in this dialog box, with a check box next to the program name.

The Office Setup program detects the following versions of Office programs for removal when you are upgrading to Office XP. NOTE: Although Microsoft does not recommend this configuration, it is possible to install and use more than one version of Office on a single computer. For example, you can install and use both Office XP and Office 2000 on the same computer. For additional information about qualifying upgrade products, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to Remove Earlier Versions of Office

When you install Office, Setup checks to see whether any components from earlier Office versions are installed on your computer. If Setup detects these earlier components, and you select any option except Upgrade Now in the Choose the type of installation you need dialog box, Setup displays the Remove previous versions of Office applications dialog box.

If you select Remove all previous versions, Setup removes the listed programs that are installed from earlier versions of Office. This helps prevent unnecessary files from occupying disk space on your computer.

You can also selectively remove programs from earlier versions of Office by selecting Remove only the following applications and then selecting the check box next to the program name.

If you remove older Office components, other programs that use these older components may not work correctly. For example, assume that you want to install Office XP, but previously you developed custom programs that work specifically in Access 7.0. To use the custom program, Access 7.0 must be available after you install Office XP. Therefore, you should perform a Custom installation of Office XP, select Remove only the following applications, and clear the check box next to Microsoft Access (and any other programs that you want to keep).

How to Keep Earlier Components

Use either of the following methods to set up Office XP and keep earlier versions of Office programs on the same computer.

Method 1: Select "Keep All Previous Versions"

1. Run the Microsoft Office XP Setup program, and then select Custom, Typical, or Complete.
2. In the Remove previous versions of Office Applications dialog box, select Keep all previous versions.

When Setup is completed, the older Office programs will be available.

Method 2: Select "Remove Only the Following Applications"

The Keep all previous versions option is not available if a version of Outlook is already installed on your computer, and you are trying to install Outlook 2002. This is because only one version of Outlook can be installed on your computer. In this case, you can select Remove only the following applications, and then clear the check boxes next to the earlier Office version programs that you want to keep.

How to Install Earlier Versions of Office After You Install Office XP

If you removed the earlier versions of Office, you must reinstall the programs. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Uninstall Office XP.
2. Run the Setup program for each of the older programs, and then reinstall them. Start with the oldest version first, and proceed to the newest version.
3. Verify that the older programs work correctly.
4. Run the Setup program for Microsoft Office XP again, and then select Custom, Typical, or Complete.
5. In the Remove previous versions of Office Applications dialog box, select Keep all previous versions.

After you complete these steps, the older programs and Microsoft Office XP programs will be available.

How to Remove Earlier Office Programs After You Install Office XP

To remove earlier versions of Office programs after you install Office XP, do either of the following:

• Run the Setup program for each of the older programs, and then click Remove All. -or-
  
  
• Use the Microsoft Office Removal Wizard to remove the older components. Follow these steps:
  
  
  1. Double-click Offcln.exe in the \Files\Pfiles\Msoffice\Office10 folder on your Office XP CD.
  2. In the Removal Options dialog box, select Let me decide which Microsoft Office applications will be removed.
  3. Click Next.
  4. In the Applications to Keep column, select the program that you want to remove, and then click <<.
  5. Repeat step 4 for each program that you want to remove.
  6. Click Next.
  7. In the Files You Can Remove dialog box, review the list of files that will be removed. Click Next.
  8. Click Finish to remove the items that you selected.