[AzMrsG]

I have a PC that I am not able to upgrade to Vista (which is OK with me) BUT people I need to work with do have Vista. Do you know of any programs that were in existance before Vista that are compatable, i.e. Word Perfect, The Print Shop, Roxio, Adobe PhotoShop Elements, etc? Any one have any suggestions?

[rgreen4]

I don't know of any application that runs on Vista that will not run on XP. I also do not know of any updated application that runs on XP that will not run on Vista. The main source of problems early one were drivers for "legacy" hardware devices. The biggest problem were very old unique printers and TWAIN driven scanners. More modern scanners and All-In-Ones were fine as drivers came out rather quickly.

I build a PC for someone who wanted Vista, and the only problem we had was with her 5 or 6 year old HP Inkjet Printer. Going to the website it stated that no Vista driver was available, but pointed out that the driver for another printer could be downloaded and would work. It did. Some of the various anti-malware programs had to be updated, but once you have the updated version it will run equally well in Vista or XP.

I was running MS Office 2000 under XP. While it will run under Vista (I have installed it) I decided to upgrade to MS Office 2007, which does have a new interface, but runs equally well in XP or Vista. Files saved in the new extended format (.xlsx instead of the .xls) cannot be easily opened in the older version, but there is an add-in that can be downloaded to help.

If you would tell us which programs and version numbers concern you we can give a more detailed analysis. I am currently running XP and Vista machines and they for the most part have the same applications and use the same printers.

[AzMrsG]

First, let me thank you for your reply. I have never used this type of problem solving before and am so pleased with your reply.

As I said I am the one with a computer that can not be upgraded and since it works fine, I'll stick with XP. It seems that I have been misinformed about Vista. I also think the key words in your reply are "updated application" Do you mean the most current version or a version that is current. I have Word Perfect Office 12, Adobe Photoshop Elements 5, The print Shop 22 and Roxio 7. These would be the programs that I use to create things that need to be sent to a computer with Vista. Can you tell me if they would work?



Laurie

[smax013]

If you want to check programs, there there are a number of options:

http://www.microsoft...ty/default.aspx

http://www.iexbeta.c...dex.php/WindowsVistaSoftwareCompatibilityList

Note: This will tell you if the program might work on a computer running Vista...it will not tell you if the file format that you are using is compatibile with some other program that they might be running on Vista while you run those programs on your XP machine. For that, you need to check what formats any new programs they are using will accept.

[smax013]

rgreen4 said:

I don't know of any application that runs on Vista that will not run on XP. I also do not know of any updated application that runs on XP that will not run on Vista. The main source of problems early one were drivers for "legacy" hardware devices. The biggest problem were very old unique printers and TWAIN driven scanners. More modern scanners and All-In-Ones were fine as drivers came out rather quickly.

And older programs. Not all old programs will run on Vista. Thus, you should check to make sure that any older programs will run on Vista. If it is a relatively new version of the program, then it will most likely run.

Quote

I was running MS Office 2000 under XP. While it will run under Vista (I have installed it) I decided to upgrade to MS Office 2007, which does have a new interface, but runs equally well in XP or Vista. Files saved in the new extended format (.xlsx instead of the .xls) cannot be easily opened in the older version, but there is an add-in that can be downloaded to help.

Files save under the new format CANNOT be read by older versions of Office at all UNLESS you have downloaded and installed the free converter...it is not a matter of easily at all.

[rgreen4]

Checking Google references for Wordperfect 12 shows some have had problems, but others say it runs fine. The same search for Adobe Photoshop Elements 5 refers to an update to 5.0.2 that works with Vista. The issue with Roxio is a little more problematic. Keep in mind that many times the upgrade versions of software is less expensive than purchasing a new retail version. Sometimes you also upgrade software such as Wordperfect and Photoshop Elements in order to get new features and improved usability. With Roxio, many times you can get new versions of such software free when buying an optical drive to upgrade a machine.

Many functions of Roxio, burning and copying CD's and DVD's can be done within both XP and Vista without additonal software. In Vista, you can format a CD-R as a CD-RW and drag and drop files onto the CD. Previously this was only possible with a thirdparty software such as Nero and Roxio.

Unless you are in a hurry to buy a new machine, and it does not sound as if you are, you may also want to wait for Windows 7, possibly due out before Christmas, that apparently has a new XP emulation mode so that it can run many of the software packages that run in XP but not Vista without modification. I do not have details about this, just that it is apparently a new feature of the upcoming Windows 7.

[rgreen4]

smax013 said:

..it is not a matter of easily at all.

Slip between brain and keyboard. Yes, unless you have installed the add-in to Office 2003 and maybe Office XP you cannot read and write the new file formats. Office 2000 can read the files, but has problems. There is also apparently a free Word 2007 reader for those who do not have Word 2007.

[smax013]

rgreen4 said:

Slip between brain and keyboard. Yes, unless you have installed the add-in to Office 2003 and maybe Office XP you cannot read and write the new file formats. Office 2000 can read the files, but has problems. There is also apparently a free Word 2007 reader for those who do not have Word 2007.

Add-in/converter definitely works for both Office 2003 and XP (aka 2002)...never tried it with Office 2000.

[rgreen4]

I have and it has problems. It will open most files but not save after changes. I was going to upgrade anyway, so I didn't experiment to much.

[Foxylady48180]

I think her problem is that she is running programs on XP and send the end result to a computer running on Vista. She wants to know if there will be a problem running what she sends. (using the programs she mentioned)

[smax013]

Foxylady48180 said:

I think her problem is that she is running programs on XP and send the end result to a computer running on Vista. She wants to know if there will be a problem running what she sends. (using the programs she mentioned)

Other than the Roxio stuff, there is no "running what she sends"...they are all data files. The person with Vista would just need a program that can read that data file, which need not be the same program and version as what created it.

The except would be the Roxio software as it can be used to create DVDs or CDs. In general, if they are CD-R or DVD-/R data disk, then they should be fine on any computer. If they are CD-RW or DVD-/RW that uses Roxio's software to format them and use them like "floppy disks", then the other computers will need compatable Roxio software to read/use them most likely.

[AzMrsG]

Actually, the Roxio program is not as important as the others. I know that If I create a document in Word Perfect and send it to someone who uses word, it will not convert it to a word document so I am careful to change it before I send it. What I wanted to do, is install Word Perfect Office 12 & The Print Shop 21 or 22 on my friends computer so that I can continue helping her with projects. (She is an Activity Director for a Senior Center) That way, I can create the documents and send them to her with no problems. I also want to keep her computer undated with the info I create so she has a complete file. The many replies to my query indicate that this might be possible? Am I correct?

[smax013]

Word can open Word Perfect documents...you must have the converters installed in Word, which I don't believe is done by way of the default M$ Office installation.

As to installing those programs on another computer, that more than likely would violate the EULA/license unless you bought another license...in which case, it would be against the Community Standards to assist with that.

[AzMrsG]

I appreciate your answer. I am aware of the license situation but I was just trying to help a non profit Senior Center. I did not know about the "word Converter" as I really don't use Word but I will check into it and maybe that will solve my problem.

It is possible that her new computer will have something compatable to The Print Shop and I can work around Word (I think).

Thanks for all your suggestions -- Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks. You helped an Old Lady with a problem

[rgreen4]

If the Center is a recognized 501c3 non-profit organiziation (that's the IRS sub-chapter that makes contributions tax-deductible) then many software companies have special deals for them where they can purchase software very inexpensively. Microsoft for example has special deals for teachers and students where Office is available at a very low price. In addition, they offer to anyone the MS Office 2007 Home and Student edition. This package includes Word 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007 and One-Note. The package is available to anyone from Newegg for $99.95. It also includes a license so you can install the software on THREE machines. I went this route as I have a lot of files I trade back and forth with our local Scout office and they got the Professional packages for everyone for a reduced price.
It does take getting some used to however, and may be more of a learning curve coming from WP than it was for me coming from Office 2000. But then I had to convert from WP to Word and from Lotus 1-2-3 to Excel a little over a decade ago when my employer standardized on MS Office for all machines. I will say that my old copies of WP had features (text art for one) that Word does not have to this date.
Corel offers an upgrade package to WordPerfect Office X4 ($150 at Newegg) and a Home & Student version (for $105 from Newegg) as well. But it is unclear on how many machines you can install it.
But, if all you are doing is basic word processing, such as typing letters and memos, then Open Office which has version 3 out may be a FREE alternative. It does not do mail merge and the spreadsheet will not save a password protected Excel file, but it may be worth a look. All you have to do is download the file from OpenOffice.org which will download the install file. Simply click on the install file and it will install. It's fairly basic, but its really really cheap (as in free). I have used it a bit in the past, but I am not sure how compatible it is with .wpd files, as it has mostly concentrated on .doc files.

[LincolnSpector]

AzMrsG said:

First, let me thank you for your reply. I have never used this type of problem solving before and am so pleased with your reply.

As I said I am the one with a computer that can not be upgraded and since it works fine, I'll stick with XP. It seems that I have been misinformed about Vista. I also think the key words in your reply are "updated application" Do you mean the most current version or a version that is current. I have Word Perfect Office 12, Adobe Photoshop Elements 5, The print Shop 22 and Roxio 7. These would be the programs that I use to create things that need to be sent to a computer with Vista. Can you tell me if they would work?







Laurie

I can personally vouce for Photoshop Elements 5. I use it with Vista. I think I had to get a patch for it (it's been a couple of years, now), but it's fine.



Lincoln