I would want to install it without storing files on the cloud. Possible?
Do I have to uninstall Office 2010 first?
Has anyone installed it and wishes they hadn't?
Or I could just buy Office 2021 Pro
My hesitancy probably comes from always owning my own Office applications.
1) You can set each Microsoft 365 application to store its documents locally on your PC.
2) Microsoft 365 uses a different way of installing than Office 2010, so if you wish, you can keep Office 2010. As far as I know, you won't be able to use Outlook 2010 anymore, though.
3) The stand-alone version (currently Office 2021) is quite expensive, and you won't get feature updates. When a new version is released (every 2-3 years), you have to pay the full price again if you want/need the new features. Microsoft 365 is probably more cost-effective in the long run.
I tried and kept Office 365 myself. The subscription is not too bad. And with the subscription comes the use of Teams which I really need. I could switch to a different application of course, but still. So far, I like it.
I still have an older suite as well and I could go back to it, but I like the fact the software is kept up to date. This is great for fixes, bugs, and security. Of course this can be a surprise at times when suddenly 'something has changed' such as the location of the calendar in Outlook. But that's easy to overcome.
I don't use the Cloud option for automatic saving, but the cloud is great for other files and to access them on the road.
My question about uninstalling 2010 is still bothering me. Some sites say you can run both versions, some say keeping both will make 365 not operate properly. And one site said, if I uninstalled an older version, I wouldn't be able to reinstall it should I change my mind. I'm not concerned about Outlook, as I don't use it anymore.
If you keep Office 2010 and install Microsoft 365, both will keep on working (except Outlook 2010). Many Microsoft Office MVPs keep several versions installed side by side without problems
If you uninstall Office 2010, then install Microsoft 365, reinstalling Office 2010 might cause problems, so I would not recommend that.
Another benefit of 365 is that each user (1 on the individual plan or up to 6 on the family plan) gets 1TB of OneDrive storage. While you may not want everything stored in OneDrive, it can be very useful for sharing files or backup of important files.