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Article contributed by John McGhie, Bob Buckland and Dave Rado We reduced the level of detail on this page and expanded the explanation because it was becoming a maintenance problem keeping it all up to date! We hope you will forgive us for believing that really it’s Microsoft’s job to keep track of all the versions of Word and their fixes! Microsoft Word is a large program that has recently received a lot of updating attention. For the latest, follow the links below directly to the Microsoft web site. You will always find the latest information for Word on the PC here. If you are looking for a specific update, go here. For Word on the Macintosh, look here. How should I apply updates?If you have Word 2000 or later on a PC, the best way to update is simply to go to the link above. The Scan my computer utility is the easiest and safest way to ensure that you get all the updates you need, in the correct order. It is also the quickest. For other versions of Word, you need to study the page carefully and apply the updates that it offers. Generally, a “Service Release” or a “Service Pack” is complete in itself. It will contain all the fixes that have been released for your version of Office up to the date the Service Release was issued. Apply the latest Service Release offered, and then go back to the page and apply any updates that have been released since the service release. Note: it is risky to apply things out-of-sequence, you may be left unable to start Word. It is critically important to keep your operating system up-to-date also. Generally you should ensure that your operating system is fully up to date before you update any of the programs that run on it. In Windows, start an update session by running Windows Update. In Macintosh, run Software Update first. Macintosh customers with later versions of Mac OS or OS X will sometimes find that Software Update will also provide updates for Microsoft Office, but you should always visit the Mactopia Website afterwards to make sure you have everything. What kinds of updates are there?There are Service Releases, Service Packs, and Hotfixes. There are also Administrative Updates. A Service Release is usually available as a full set of replacement files. These are huge: normally several hundred megabytes. They are intended for System Administrators, who download them once and update multiple computers from their own network. They can also be ordered on CD. Since a Service Release is generally a fully-installable new copy of Office, you may find that Microsoft requires you to prove that you own the software before offering it to you. You should be aware that a Service Release will not install any products that you have not already paid for: it will examine your current installation and install only the products for which it finds a current license. If you run any of your Office programs from the CD, you need a full Service Release. Note:When installing a service release or a service pack on a PC, it is important that you have already installed Windows Installer 2. Every copy of Windows contains an Installer program that enables software to be installed. Windows Installer 2 is a smarter version that can download only the files that it needs. It will dramatically reduce the download time needed to apply a service release or pack. The Scan my computer utility will offer this to you first if you do not have it. A Service Pack is just that: a pack. It is not a complete replacement. It contains only the files that have been changed. Most Service packs can also be ordered on CD, but generally this is not worth the cost and delay. A Hotfix is an urgent repair. It usually fixes only one or two specific issues. However, the issues are usually serious: either security problems or bugs that cause a loss of data. All the hotfixes issued prior to a service pack are rolled into that service pack. You need to install any hotfixes that have been released since the service pack. An Administrative Update can be any of the above, but it is specially packaged to be loaded onto a network, from which all of the computers on the network can help themselves to whatever they need. Administrator updates
Administrator
updates for Office 97 through 2002 Support lifecycleMicrosoft’s support policy used to be “n minus 2”. This meant support for any product that was two versions back from the one that was currently on sale. Recently, they announced a change to this policy to support products “for five years plus 2”. Unfortunately, this really changes only the wording. You can read the details here. The exact dates for the end of support are here for the PC and here for the Macintosh. For recent versions of PC Office, there is more detail here. The date you are interested in is the date at which “mainstream support” is retired. That is the date at which Microsoft will cease to issue fixes to the product. Product Support will continue to answer questions about it for two years after that, and information will remain on the website almost indefinitely, but there will be no more service downloads. Windows versions
Microsoft Word 2000 and
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