Conference rocks::uk_digital

    there is a mirror site in REO
    
    
    http://www-ccs.reo.dec.com/NT/Kits/Office97/

    A bit of a "cracked mirror".  There a lots of bits missing and things
    that don't work on the mirror site.

Also try

\\WELPCP\OFF97

Alan

Recently we had problems with the network being swamped because of people 
transferring large files around.

So, we then put a vaery large software kit on general release at sites 
around the world, the closest to the UK being Geneva.

*Good* plan.

Should one install from a remote site or copy the kit to your own PC first. 
:-)

Brian.

    I tried for 3 consecutive weekends to copy the Office97 kit over a
    wide-area network link.  I tried to be a good netizen by avoiding
    business hours and despite having the whole Easynet to myself,it never
    completed successfully - failing on one or two huge file containers.
    
    The Office97 kit is >700Mb.  DON'T COPY IT OVER THE WIDE-AREA NETWORK -
    find a friend with a CD-ROM or install it from LAN server on your site.

WELPCP is in the UK.

Alan

    I meant that the mirror site has bits missing, i.e. pictures, pages. 
    Not that the Office97 kits has bits missing.
    
    /tmp

>    Digital has negotiated rights for Microsoft Office 97 Professional from
>    January 1, 1997 through the end of Q3 FY98 (March
>    1998). Proof of purchase is not required. If the installation program
>    asks for a CD Key, use the value 1112-1111111.
    
    Hi Greg, 
		What does this mean? I take it to mean that within Digital we 
	can all install office and make free with it. I  question  this  
	becaause I have asked two organisations that shhould  know what the score is,
	However, IS (3030) say it's OK we have a corp license, ENGIS (6666) say  
	one needs an existing Office license!

	Who is  correct?

R.

As I understand it the product key mentioned in previous notes is the same
as is available on Pirate Copies of Office-97. I was in Moscow recently and 
the customer there had purchased a CD for $7.00 with Win95, Office97 etc and
the key on the CD was the same. The accompaning README file indicated that
it had been 'acquired' from a Computer Manufacturer and thay MS were aware
of this and they were  going to refuse all Support calls with numbers derrived
from that Key.

Perhaps someone might like to comment on this. The customer asked me about this
and I said that if you by a pirate copy then don't expect and support.

Also beware moving WORD docs between Office-95 and Office97 and back again. You
could run into problems. The customer in Moscow did this with a document I
created and he lost all formatting ! I had to courier anothe copy to him.

Stephen Davies
  

> Also beware moving WORD docs between Office-95 and Office97 and back 
> again. You could run into problems. The customer in Moscow did this with a 
> document I created and he lost all formatting ! 

This is why MCS UK are not yet implementing Office 97. True/false?

Mike

Ref .6:

Alan, I don't wish this to sound unappreciative of your efforts.

The point I was making is that no foresight went into:

- providing more local distribution sites before making it available, to 
avoid net overload

- advising on end user system requirements - disk space, processor speed 
memory etc.

- researching incompatibilities and recommending methods to minimise support 
issues

The sort of things that you'd expect of a professional support organisation 
that is adequately funded and resourced by a company that values the 
integrity of its infrastructure and the satisfaction of its employees...errm 
*resources*.

It's a bit like rolling out a new email backbone but not planning the 
capacity requirements of the gateways required to keep user communications 
working efficiently during the transition.

I could go on.

Brian

Regarding the formatting issues:

I have been a Beta tester and now a regular user of Office97 and have *NEVER* 
had any problems with compatibility between versions as described.

Perhaps what you experienced was the issue that the default file save format 
is '97? You can change the save format to be '95 compatible both from the 
Save As.. dialog and also from the options menu.


Apologies if my entry is longer than 80 characters, I'm just returned to the 
fold and I have forgotten how to set it up, I'll do better next time!

Regards,
Stuart Hatto
NSIS Internet Security Consultant
DTN 851-1100

    Well I tried out MS Office 97 this weekend on my Windows 95 system at
    home & I found that it crashed whenever I tried to import a text file
    into Excel. I also found that it sometimes crashed when I wanted to use
    the new Office Assistant....  I was not impressed. 
    
    It may be more robust on Windows NT, but I'll be waiting for the first
    service pack before I run it on Windows 95.   
    
    Cheers,
    
    	Rick.
    
    

re plan. Point taken - the server is for my 'personal' use and I happen to 
have office 97 on it.

re key. That number is what the beta testers were given to use. I assumed 
that it had some reference to a company so MS could track it. The RC1 and 
RC3 kits needed THAT key - the SSB release will actually take any normal MS 
key (divide by 7)

Alan

M$ have issued an open letter re compatibility problems.

http://www.microsoft.com/office97

Stuart

Sorry got that URL wrong.

http://www.microsoft.com/corpinfo/press/1997/May97/ServicePr.htm


Stu