At the high school, we are beginning to use Microsoft Office 2007 in our BCIS courses and in some secretary areas. Most of our computers run Microsoft Office 2003 which includes Word, Excel, Access, Power Point, Publisher, Producer, and Photostory. We do not support or run Microsoft Works here but those files do open in Microsoft Office 2007.
This being said, often we find problems opening files made at home especially if they were made on a Mac computer or using a version of Office not supported at school.

If you use something other than Microsoft Office at home for your office application, please consider uploading your files into one of these online resources for use at school:

http://docs.google.com - Google Documents would be my first recommendation. Within Google Documents, you can edit and share word processing documents, spreadsheets, and their newest tool lets you create visual presenations similar to Power Point. The best feature of Google Documents is that you can share and work with a large group of people on the same document at the same time. It also allows you to "go back" if you made a revision you no longer want to use. Using Google Documents allows you to manage your documents in one location so you don't have to use a thumb drive or use the home folder system at school. http://zoho.com/ - My second recommendation would be to look online at Zoho. Zoho is the biggest competitor with Google for the same purpose of creating and managing online documents and presentations. Zoho was faster with making an online presentation tool. Zoho works similar to Google Documents. It allows you to create and manage your files online. No more thumb drives, burning CDs, or dreadful floppy disks!! Plus, like Google it's FREE!


Some people don't like or trust the Internet. So, there are options for you as well.

1) Purchase Microsoft Office. This is going to cost you a pretty penny and the current version is Office 2007. If you buy this, expect your files not to open in every circumstance. Also, expect to spend your time "saving down" - meaning you have to save your file to open in the Office 97-2003 environment. In short, the Office 2007 files save with a four digit extension instead of the usual 3 digit extension found in other versions. For example, in Word 2003 a file saves as a ".doc" file; in Word 2007 the same file saves as a ".docx" file. This distinction causes issues between the two programs. You can purchase this and run with it. But also know that there is a learning curve associated with the new look of Office 2007.

Oh and here's a tip: The big round button in the top left of all Office 2007 windows is where you will find your Menu items like File, Edit, and Print. Click that big round Windows button and those menu options appear.

2) Download a FREE Office Mimic.

http://openoffice.org - Go here to access a free desktop program that will do virtually the same as Microsoft Office. Did I mention that its free? It is.

or
http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/index.jsp - Star Office is similar and is supported by Sun Microsystems. It's free too.