Free Viewers for Microsoft Office Files
No doubt you've heard of Microsoft's widely-used Office Suite of applications — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. And, if you use different office productivity applications, you may already know that your import and conversion wizard isn't always compatible with native Office file formatting. The result of this incompatibility is that there are times, usually when it's most inconvenient, that you are unable to read and/or print MS Office documents. At these times, it's easy to convince yourself that you need to purchase MS Office to guarantee file readability, however, not only is this not true, but the solution comes from Microsoft itself, and it's free.
Microsoft offers free software called viewers (also known as readers) for use with its current and older-version Office applications. Links to these viewers are available from its Office Online File Converters and Viewers page. Viewers are simple programs that perform just two functions: display and print. You can not create a new or modify an existing file with a viewer. Microsoft notes this distinction between converters and viewers: converters allow the opening of files created by different versions of Office programs, whereas viewers allow those who don't have the Office applications to view and print Office files.
Below are links to viewers for MS Office 2003 applications:
Installing viewers and converters is straightforward. Click on the name of the tool to install, then click on the Download button. You then choose between saving the installation software or running it. Since you'll only run the install process once, it's reasonable to select Run. The tool you've selected will be automatically installed when the download completes.
As with most software installs, you'll need to accept the license terms, and either accept or change installation options, such as the folder into which the software will be installed. By default these programs are installed into the folder Program Files/Microsoft Office. You can then run them from the Start/Programs menu or create desktop shortcuts for them. The program can be removed via the Control Panel "Add Or Remove Programs" tool.
While you're visiting the main Converters and Viewers Web page, take the opportunity to explore other Microsoft resource links (listed in the left-hand column). The Templates collection is extensive and provides many useful sample layouts in the following categories: Business and Legal (including material in Spanish); Calendars, Labels, Planners, and Stationery; Educational material for teachers, parents, and students; Healthcare and Wellness; download links for Office Programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.); greeting cards for Holidays, Occasions and Events; Home and Community; and resources for Your Career (resumes, cover letters, interview letters and tools, and more).
Other resource links include Clip Art and Media, which offers images ranging from the abstract to Web elements, and Downloads, which offers frequently-updated set of utilities, add-ons, and upgrades for Office applications as well as a very useful tool called Office Update. Most PC users know that Microsoft offers Windows fixes and patches via Windows Update. The Office Update is similar, providing free fixes and security enhancements for the MS Office Suite. It's worth running this update each month.
In addition to the viewers, these and other links, such as Office Marketplace and Work Essentials, are offered by Microsoft as free and useful tools intended to improve the "product experience" for those who work with MS Office applications.
AARP does not recommend or endorse any of these products or web sites. Please be advised that there are other similar products and web sites available which were not reviewed and are not listed here.
