Coexisting Office versions

[silverback]

Will Office 2010 and Office 2003 co-exist on a Windows XP Professional Service Pack 3 platform?

I would like to be able to use both Access versions as required i.e develop DBs on one version and test compatibility on the other.

Thanks
Silverback

[HansV]

It's possible (many Access developers have Access 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010 and 2013 installed side-by-side), but it will have some minor side effects.

The general rule is that you must install the oldest version first, then the newer one. If you do it the other way round, the newer version probably won't function correctly.

If you also want to install other Office components: You can install only one version of Outlook, so you have to decide which version you prefer/need.

[Rebel]

To supplement Hans' reply, this MS article has additional information.

[ChrisJakarta]

I'd strongly recommend the alternative of installing Office 2003 on a Virtual Machine. With the free VMware Player, for example, you could still cut and paste between the two versions. I have done this with Office 2000, and find it works well.

You will of course need another legal copy of Windows XP for this, but many have an 'old' version from a retired computer. Or I think they can be bought quite cheaply...

Chris