On my Mac, do I need to remove an older version of Microsoft Office before installing a new one?
Note: If you are running Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later, UITS recommends using Office 2004 or 2008. Some third-party applications may not be compatible with Office 2008; consult the third-party support resources for compatibility information.
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac OS X
Microsoft maintains that you don't need to uninstall Office 2004
before installing Office 2008. During installation, you'll have the
opportunity to safely remove old versions of Office if you wish. Or,
after installing Office 2008, you can remove an old version with the
Remove Office tool located inside the Additional Tools
folder of Office 2008, which is in the Microsoft Office
2004 folder inside your Applications folder.
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac OS X
Microsoft maintains that you don't need to uninstall Office v.X
before installing Office 2004, but the company does offer software tools
for removing an earlier version of Office from your computer if you
wish. The Remove Office tool is located inside the Additional
Tools folder of Office 2004, which is in the Microsoft Office
2004 folder. With this tool, you can selectively remove Office 98,
2001, v.X, and 2004. Documentation is included in the
Remove Office folder.
Microsoft Office v.X for Mac OS X
According to Microsoft, it is not necessary to remove previous versions of
Office designed to run in the Classic environment. However, the
Microsoft Office v.X CD contains a Remove Office tool. It is located inside
the Value Pack folder. With it, you can selectively remove
Office 98, 2001, and/or v.X. Documentation is included in the Remove
Office folder.
Microsoft Office 2001 for Mac OS
Although Microsoft maintains that you don't need to uninstall Office 98 before installing Office 2001, the company does offer software tools for removing either version of Office from your computer if you wish. You can download the removal tools at the Microsoft Mac Downloads site.
The removal tools are in the "Office 2001" section and are labeled
Microsoft Remove Office 98 and 2001 Tools.
Note: For the removal tools to work properly, the
folders on your hard drive must have the correct names (i.e.,
Microsoft Office 98 or Microsoft Office 2001).
Last modified on October 06, 2008.
