Installation
Office 2007 for the PC and Office 2008 for the Mac will no longer be available for installation on personally owned computers. This is a result of our latest Microsoft Campus Agreement.
Those who need a copy of MS Office can purchase Office 2010 for PC or Office 2011 for Mac from Varsity Buys via a special deal for $19.95. The license is good for up to 2 computers.
When people ask, link directly to the Varsity Buys website or to this page on the Knox Website.
See also: Wiki Instructions on getting Office 2010/2011
File Types
Office 2007 introduced new file types for projects produced by the software called Office Open XML. They included the docx (for Microsoft Word), xlsx (Microsoft Excel), and pptx (For Microsoft Power-Point). These new files types use a ZIP container to slightly compress the file, while also allowing for some of the newer formatting options and displays introduced in Office 2007.
All Office software after 2007 can read these file types out of the box. Versions of office prior to this (Notably Office 2003 and 2004) can download compatibility packs which will allow them to open and edit these files, however, new features and formatting options introduced in Office versions after 2007 may be lost.
Alternatively, Versions of Office after 2007 can also choose to save in the old file type extension related to the program. For example, Word 2007 can still save as a .doc file. Users can decide what file type to use from the save-as menu.
It should be noted at docx, xlsx, pptx, etc are the defaults for Office 2007 and later. For users without the compatibility pack (or for users who are using a different Word Processor such as Pages, which can't open docx file), docx files can be opened in a web browser, including Google Docs. Note that xlxs files may get corrupted or generally not appear as intended when translating in straight html --recommend using Google Docs.
It is recommended that users of Office 2003/2004 install the compatibility pack.
Versions
Office 2003 and 2004
Office 2003 (For Windows) and Office 2004 (For Mac). There aren't very many users who still have this version, though some do because they prefer the old User Interface.
Office 2007 and 2008
Office 2007 (Windows) and Office 2008 (Mac). Until the summer of 2012, students and faculty could obtain and install this software as a part of being at Knox. The license agreement for this has since expired, however. If users ask about this, direct them to the Varsity Buys deal for 2010/2011.
Office 2010 and 2011
Office 2010 (For Windows) and Office 2011 (For Mac). This is the most recent version of Microsoft Office released. Most of the interface is the same as 2007/2008 and most common problems can be resolved the same way as they were in Office 2007/2008 and even Office 2003/2004. It's a good idea to know what version you're dealing with.