Replacing Powerpoint 97 SR-2 on M/S Office 97 Pro Edit on Win XP

[RichardH]

I dread asking this in case someone descends on me like a ton of bricks and
says the answer is in the posts already! - but i I have never used the PP 97
which came with the MS Office 97 Pro Edit I have installed on my computer
which uses Win XP with Ser Pack 3.
I am about to embark on using PowerPoint for the FIRST time and wonder
whether I should, before anything else, acquire a more up to date version
first - and one that will work problem free with my XP - which version should
I go for and will it, on loading, overwrite and replace the Powpoint I
already have and still operate with the rest of the Office 97 Pro Edit
components I have installed?
Thanks , Richard H.

 

[LVTravel]

I dread asking this in case someone descends on me like a ton of bricks
and
says the answer is in the posts already! - but i I have never used the PP
97
which came with the MS Office 97 Pro Edit I have installed on my computer
which uses Win XP with Ser Pack 3.
I am about to embark on using PowerPoint for the FIRST time and wonder
whether I should, before anything else, acquire a more up to date version
first - and one that will work problem free with my XP - which version
should
I go for and will it, on loading, overwrite and replace the Powpoint I
already have and still operate with the rest of the Office 97 Pro Edit
components I have installed?
Thanks , Richard H.

No one should jump on you for this question. PPT '97 should work problem
free on XP SP3.

While there are newer editions of PowerPoint (PPT) available since you
already have the '97 edition I would start with that version unless you have
the great desire to learn the Ribbon user interface for Office 2007 or the
again-changed ribbon in Office 2010 or absolutely need one of the new
features in the later versions (remember that PPT 2000, 2002 and 2003 are no
longer generally available as they are no longer produced by Microsoft. You
would have to purchase a used or new version that has been "left on the
shelf.")

PPT 97 will create almost any presentation that you would want to create at
a learner level. It's presentation files will run on any newer version of
PPT or PPT viewer. I have access to all versions of PPT from 97 up to and
including 2010 beta. If I am creating a simple presentation, I start up my
PPT 97 and create it. If I need really fancy work or animation effects that
PPT 97 doesn't have then I use a later version of the software.

Should you purchase a newer version of either just PPT or an office suite
(which includes Word, Excel, etc.) then you have the option of overwriting
the 97 programs or leave them and install side-by-side with 97 and use one
or the other programs. You could, of course, just install PPT '07 and
either overwrite PPT '97 or a side-by-side install without touching any of
your '97 programs.

Hope this helps. Anything else please free to post back.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

I dread asking this in case someone descends on me like a ton of bricks and
says the answer is in the posts already! -

Not likely; any posts about '97 probably scrolled off years ago. ;-)

As LVTravel says, PPT 97's still a fast, lean machine and it'll work fine on XP.

If you don't need to stay compatible with PPT 2007 users, ignore everything
below this line:

===============================

The only caveat I'd add is that if you need to exchange presentations with PPT
2007 users and both sides need to edit the work, I'd seriously consider getting
2007. Moving the presentations back and forth can cause messes.

Creating presentations in 97 and playing them back in 2007 should be fine.

If you get presentations from PPT 2007 users, you'll have to get them to save
the presentations to PowerPoint 97-2003 format. If you have PPT 2000 and up you
can download a free converter that enables you to open the PPT 2007 files, but
the converter won't install into PPT 97.

 

[LVTravel]

Not likely; any posts about '97 probably scrolled off years ago. ;-)

As LVTravel says, PPT 97's still a fast, lean machine and it'll work fine
on XP.

If you don't need to stay compatible with PPT 2007 users, ignore
everything
below this line:

===============================

The only caveat I'd add is that if you need to exchange presentations with
PPT
2007 users and both sides need to edit the work, I'd seriously consider
getting
2007. Moving the presentations back and forth can cause messes.

Creating presentations in 97 and playing them back in 2007 should be fine.

If you get presentations from PPT 2007 users, you'll have to get them to
save
the presentations to PowerPoint 97-2003 format. If you have PPT 2000 and
up you
can download a free converter that enables you to open the PPT 2007 files,
but
the converter won't install into PPT 97.

Just installed Office '97 Professional on a Win 7 Pro laptop I am setting
up (from Win XP Pro SP 3) and it runs great (all programs except Outlook) as
long as you use the compatibility for Win XP SP3. Could not get it run
reliably on Vista Ultimate. No problem, just a comment.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Win7 - bring it on.
,-)

 

[RichardH]

Win7 - bring it on.
,-)

.
Thanks for your advice which was most helpful - RichardH