When you try to install Office 2003, earlier versions of Office are removed during the setup process

When you run the Microsoft Office 2003 Setup program on a computer where an earlier version of Microsoft Office is installed, your earlier version of Office may be removed and you may not receive a message that informs you about this.

Note You may see the following Description in the Type of Installation pane of the Microsoft Office 2003 Setup dialog box when you click Upgrade:

By default, your earlier versions of Office are automatically removed if you click Upgrade in the Type of Installation pane of the Microsoft Office 2003 Setup dialog box.

If you click Custom Install in the Type of installation pane of the Microsoft Office 2003 Setup dialog box, you eventually see the Previous Version of Office pane. In this pane, you may see the following options depending on your situation:

• Remove all previous versions.
• Keep all previous versions.
• Remove only the following application(s).

Also, each program from an earlier version of Office is listed in the Previous Version of Office pane, with a check box next to each program name. The Office Setup program detects the following versions of Office programs for removal when you upgrade to Office 2003.

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Office 2000
• Microsoft Office XP
• Microsoft Works
• Microsoft Works Suite

Note Although Microsoft does not recommend this configuration, you can 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 2003 on the same computer.

For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

How to Remove Earlier Versions of Office

When you install Office, Setup checks to see if any components from earlier Office versions are installed on your computer. If Setup detects these earlier components and you select any option except Upgrade in the Type of Installation pane, Setup displays the Previous Version of Office pane. If you select Remove all previous versions, Setup removes all earlier Office programs that are installed. 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 application(s), and then selecting each program that you want to remove. 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 2003 but previously you developed a custom program that will only work in Microsoft Access 97. To use the custom program, Access 97 must be available after you install Office 2003. Therefore, perform a Custom Install of Office 2003, select Remove only the following applications, and then click to clear the check box next to Microsoft Access (and any other programs that you want to keep).

How to Keep Earlier Programs

Use either of the following methods to set up Office 2003 and keep earlier versions of Office programs on the same computer.

Method 1: Select "Keep All Previous Versions"

Run the Office 2003 Setup program, and then select Custom Install. In the Previous Version of Office pane, select Keep all previous versions. When Setup is completed, the earlier Office programs will be available.

Note The Keep all previous versions option will only be an available option when there is not an earlier version of Microsoft Outlook installed. This issue occurs because only one version of Outlook can be installed on your computer.

Method 2: Select "Remove Only the Following Application(s)"

Run the Office 2003 Setup program, and then select Custom Install. In the Previous Version of Office pane, select Remove only the following application(s), and then click to clear the check boxes of the programs that you want to keep.

How to Install Earlier Versions of Office After You Install Office 2003

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

1. Remove Office 2003.
2. Run the Setup program for each of the earlier programs, and then reinstall them.
   
   Start with the oldest version first and continue to the newest version. Verify that the older programs work correctly.
3. Run the Setup program for Office 2003 again, and then select Custom Install.
4. In the Previous Version of Office pane, do one of the following as appropriate for your situation:
   • Select Keep all previous versions.
   • Select Remove only the following application(s), and then click to clear the check boxes of the programs that you want to keep.

After you complete these steps, the earlier Office programs and the Office 2003 programs will be available.

How to Remove Earlier Office Programs After You Install Office 2003

To remove earlier versions of Office programs after you install Office 2003, do either of the following:

• Run the Setup program for each of the earlier Office programs, and then click Remove All.
• Use the Microsoft Office Removal Wizard to remove the earlier programs. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. On your Office 2003 CD, double-click the Files folder.
  2. Double-click the Pfiles folder.
  3. Double-click the Msoffice folder.
  4. Click the Office11 folder.
  5. In the Office11 folder, double-click the Offcln file.
  6. In the Microsoft Office Removal Wizard, click Next.
  7. In the Removal Options pane, click Let me decide which Microsoft Office applications will be removed, and then click Next.
  8. In the Applications to Keep column, select the program that you want to remove, and then click the << button.
     
     Repeat this step for each program that you want to remove, and then click Next.
  9. In the Files You Can Remove pane, review the list of files that you can remove, and then click Next.
  10. In the Remove Now pane, click Finish to remove the selected files.