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Windows Worries
May. 30th, 2025 09:37 pmGradually sorting out the transfer to Windows 11 and facing the fact that a lot of my old software is VERY old now.
In particular, I think that it is probably time for me to replace Office 2003 with something a little more recent, but I really prefer something a lot more minimalist than later versions of Office - I really hate the way the menus occupy such a big part of the screen - isOpen Office Libre Office a bit more user friendly than it used to be? And is it fully compatible with older Word, Excel, etc. files? I'm downloading it anyway, but if there are alternatives I should look at please let me know.
- Later: I think Libre Office should be OK for my purposes.
I also need something like Adobe Acrobat pro for PDF file creation - previously using Acrobat X from 2010 - you can create PDFs by printing from a lot of applications, but if you want to replace pages etc. or make the table of contents link to the relevant page etc. or get rid of all the non-displayed bloat that finds its way into documents you need something better. Given the price of later versions I would appreciate suggestions on alternates.
- Update, I may have been panicking over noting - when I summoned up the nerve to try it, Acrobat installed without problems - haven't tried any big documents yet, but it's a good start.
Finally, I gather that Coreldraw 12 is not going to work - it was badly unstable on Windows 10 so I'm not surprised. Inkscape seems to be the recommended alternative and is free, any good alternatives?
- Later: looks like Libre Office is pretty good for this too.
Also, it looks like my scanner is not supported at all - any suggestions for a basic flatbed scanner that isn't hideously expensive?
Sorted; on a hunch I tried installing the last version, for Windows 7, and it works perfectly - in fact I think it was easier than when I installed it on windows 7...
In particular, I think that it is probably time for me to replace Office 2003 with something a little more recent, but I really prefer something a lot more minimalist than later versions of Office - I really hate the way the menus occupy such a big part of the screen - is
- Later: I think Libre Office should be OK for my purposes.
I also need something like Adobe Acrobat pro for PDF file creation - previously using Acrobat X from 2010 - you can create PDFs by printing from a lot of applications, but if you want to replace pages etc. or make the table of contents link to the relevant page etc. or get rid of all the non-displayed bloat that finds its way into documents you need something better. Given the price of later versions I would appreciate suggestions on alternates.
- Update, I may have been panicking over noting - when I summoned up the nerve to try it, Acrobat installed without problems - haven't tried any big documents yet, but it's a good start.
Finally, I gather that Coreldraw 12 is not going to work - it was badly unstable on Windows 10 so I'm not surprised. Inkscape seems to be the recommended alternative and is free, any good alternatives?
- Later: looks like Libre Office is pretty good for this too.
Also, it looks like my scanner is not supported at all - any suggestions for a basic flatbed scanner that isn't hideously expensive?
Sorted; on a hunch I tried installing the last version, for Windows 7, and it works perfectly - in fact I think it was easier than when I installed it on windows 7...
