Using Word 2004 instead of 2008 to open .doc

[tlw]

Version: 2008
Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger)
Processor: Power PC

I got tired of the slow performance of Office 2008 (especially the load times) and reinstalled Office 2004 (Word Only). I kept Office 2008 installed in case I need to open docx, ppt or xls. However, I want to use 2004 to open .doc and 2008 to open the few .docx I have to work with--is there a way to do this? It seems that you can only use one or the other for all word docs. btw, while I prefer Word 2008's features, Word 2004 "just works" on my G5 imac. I suppose "universal" is more universal for some than others.

 

[CyberTaz]

As long as you have both installed 2008 will preempt 2004 unless 2004 is
already running. The one alternative I'm aware of is to Control+Click the
file & use the Open With command to specify which version to use... But that
has to be done on a file-by-file basis each time you open a file. Using Get
Info> Open With to Change All won't work.

There is no other way [AFAIK] to change the behavior which originated with
the introduction of 2008 - unless someone has come up with some other
process they haven't shared

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac