Technology
Help Desk
Compatibility with Windows Vista & Office 2007
For those of you on the yellow brick road: Tin Man needed oil for his journey. Your software may need a similar tune up. Take heart: this page will walk you through how to check your software, so you can continue on your journey. In the end, Windows Vista/Office 2007 will feel like home. For more information about Leopard and Vista and Office—Oh
My, click the ruby mouse.
Before you begin using Windows Vista or Office 2007, you need to be sure all of your software is compatible. If you use any Simmons computers, you can check the migration timeline to see when Vista/Office will affect you directly. Except that because people in the Simmons community, in particular students with new computers, are already using Office 2007, it is only a matter of time before you receive a file saved in an Office 2007 format (if you haven't already)!
Software I use
If you use software that is not part of the Simmons standard suite, perhaps specific to your department or field of study, please begin investigating whether the version you have is Vista-compatible, because over the next 2 years we expect all Simmons-owned PCs to be running Vista. If your software is Vista-compatible, great, you're set. If it isn't, you must obtain an upgrade (some upgrades are free, others are not), or switch to another product. This applies to staff and faculty who use applications outside the standard suite (supported as Academic/Accepted), and also to faculty and staff who request that Technology install specific applications on general access, lab or classroom computers (see important note for fall 2008 requests). All general access, lab, and classroom Windows computers will all run be running Windows Vista/Office 2007 at the beginning of the 2008-2009 academic year.
As is true whenever there is a software upgrade, you may find you need to share files with people still using an older version. Think about with whom you share files and begin conversations with them about the Vista migration and the timing of your software upgrade. You may even need to upgrade some of your software before your computer is replaced. Please feel free to speak with a Help Desk technician or manager about these (or any other) issues (617-521-2222, option 8).
Is the software I use compatible with Microsoft Windows Vista?
The standard suite of Simmons software is compatible with Windows Vista. There are two minor issues with Meeting Maker, the Simmons standard electronic calendaring system, which will be addressed by the next Meeting Maker upgrade.
If you use any software that is not part of the Simmons standard suite, (a.k.a. accepted/academic software) please check below to see if the Help Desk has tested your software, or check with the manufacturer.
What about opening Office 2003/2004 files with Office 2007 and vice versa?
Office 2003 for Windows: all Simmons computers running Office 2003 have a "compatibility pack" installed so that you may open files someone has saved using Office 2007. You cannot access any features only available in 2007, but you can edit and save documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. Download the compatibility pack here.
Office 2004 for Macintosh: unfortunately, you cannot open "native" Office 2007 documents using Office 2004. However, Office 2007 users may "save as" an Office 97-2003 format, which you can open.
Office 2007 for Windows: by default, all Simmons computers are set to save Office 2007 files in the standard Office 97-2003 formats (Word 97-2003, Excel 97-2003, PowerPoint 97-2003), to make it easier for community members to share files across-platforms and versions. If you save an Office 2007 file in its native format, see above for what options users of other versions of Office have.
Here is a visual example of saving a Word document to a file format that users of earlier versions can open
Software installed on many Simmons computers
The Help Desk has investigated the following software to determine its compatibility with Windows Vista. If you do not see your software on this list, please consult the manufacturer's web site directly. The links that appear on this list are to the manufacturers' Vista-compatibility pages.
Audacity
Version
1.2.6 is fully compatible with Windows Vista.
Adobe Acrobat
Acrobat Standard version 7 is compatible with Windows Vista, but has the following known issues:
- Issue: During uninstall the Acrobat 7 installer alerts that Acrotray.exe and Explorer.exe files are in use and must be closed before continuing installation.
Solution: Click ignore during the uninstall to proceed with removing Acrobat 7. You may need to restart your system after you finish uninstalling Acrobat 7. - Issue: Command under Help > Detect and Repair is unavailable as protected Administrator or User.
Solution: Use Detect and Repair feature in Control Panel > Add/Remove programs. - Issue: Right click context menu is not available for PDF conversion.
Solution: Convert file inside Acrobat 7 or original application. - Issue: Web capture button in Internet Explorer 7 is not available in a new tab view.
Solution: Capture site from first tab or use Acrobat 7 to capture site.
Acrobat Standard version 8 is compatible with Windows Vista after you apply the 8.1 update. For licensing and cost reasons, the "key-served" version of Acrobat Standard installed on all Simmons computers is version 8. Departmental "stand-alone" copies of Standard may be more recent.
Neither Adobe Acrobat Professional 7 nor 8 has been tested by the Help Desk. Adobe indicates both work with few or no issues.
Adobe Creative Suite
CS3 is fully compatible with Windows Vista. On Simmons computers, CS3 includes Photoshop, ImageReady, and Dreamweaver (formerly owned by Macromedia).
Adobe indicates that no version of Adobe software released prior to Spring of 2007 is officially supported on Windows Vista. Most versions of CS2 will install with few or no known issues. Adobe PageMaker 7.x will not install or run on Windows Vista.
FastTrack Schedule
FastTrack Schedule 9.2 is certified for Windows Vista. Technology does not know how previous versions will work with Vista.
FileMaker Pro
FMP 8.5 is compatible with Windows Vista, but has some known issues. There was an update in
March 2007 to address 2 of them.
"FileMaker does not recommend the use of any other FileMaker product on Windows Vista."
MiniTab 15
15.1.0 is compatible with Windows Vista.
Palm
Despite known issues, Windows Vista users should upgrade to Palm Desktop version 4.1.4. Known incompatibilities Palm Desktop 4.1.4 and Windows Vista (check the Palm site for up-to-date information):
- LifeDrive Manager (for LifeDrive) and File Transfer (for Tungsten T5), the desktop applications that simplify file synchronization between your handheld and PC, are currently not compatible with Windows Vista.
- Third-party desktop applications, including those found on your Palm Software Installation CD (such as carrier-branded Dial-up Networking - DUN - desktop software and other applications), may not be compatible with Windows Vista.
- Help files (.hlp files) found in some versions of Palm Desktop software may not be supported in Windows Vista. Instead, please reference your user guide or visit the support page for your product.
Chapura PocketMirror, the third-party software that lets some Palm devices sync with Outlook, may require an update from its developer.
Quark Express
Quark Express 7.2 is supported on Windows Vista. The company says there are no plans to support previous versions of QuarkXPress on Windows Vista.
SAS
9.1.3 is compatible with the SAS 9.1.3 SP4 update.
SPSS
15.0 is compatible, as long as you apply the Vista Hotfix patch. This patch is included on Simmons Windows Vista computers.