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Differences between Office 2000 and Office 2003

Updated: July 5, 2007

Applies To: Office Resource Kit

This Office product will reach end of support on October 10, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see , Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

 

Topic Last Modified: 2016-11-14

This topic lists differences between Microsoft Office 2000 and Microsoft Office 2003 that might be relevant to your migration to the 2007 Office system. This is not a complete list of all the changes.

We recommend that you review the changes between Office 2003 and the 2007 Office system, at Differences in the 2007 Office system, to identify additional migration considerations.

Add-ins

Some add-ins are no longer included, because they are no longer necessary or their capabilities are integrated into the Office 2003 application. The following add-ins for Office Excel 2000 are integrated into Office Excel 2003:

  • AccessLinks

  • AutoSave

  • File Conversion Wizard

  • Report Manager

  • Template Wizard with Data Tracking

The Clip Art Gallery has a new appearance in Office 2003.

Clipboard

Office 2003 stores multiple Clipboard entries. A user can press CTRL+C twice to see a new task pane with the Clipboard entries that have accumulated during the current editing session. Users can access previously selected material through this task pane, instead of selecting the material again.

Default folder locations

Important folder locations are different than they were under Office 2000. For example, the STARTUP and XLSTART folders appear under a versioned folder structure, such as:

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11\STARTUP

You should consider these changes before you deploy Office 2003 to users who are using custom macro solutions.

References

The Footnote, Caption…, Cross-reference…, and Index and Tables… options of Office Word 2000 are now in the Insert menu, under References.

FrontPage 2003: Design Time Controls (DTC) no longer supported

Programming calls to methods in the IDesignTimeControl interface are not supported for DTC.

HTML Help differences

If you have custom Help solutions, you may need to adjust a few settings to make the settings compatible with Office 2003. Verify that registry settings point to the locations of customer Help files.

Installation differences

The following information lists the most obvious differences in the setup options for Office 2000 and Office 2003. Some of the setup options that were available in Office 2000 and Office XP are integrated into Office 2003 applications.

Microsoft Office Access

Client Server Visual Design Tools is no longer listed.

Converters and filters

The following converters are removed from the install package:

  • Text Converters

  • Microsoft Excel Converter

  • Word 6.0/95 Export Converter

  • Word for Macintosh 4.0-5.1 Converter

  • Word for Windows 2.0 Converter

  • Works for Windows 4.0

  • Word 6.0/95 for Windows/Macintosh

  • Lotus 1-2-3 Converter

  • Graphics Filters

  • Tag Image File Format Import

  • FPX Import

  • Windows Bitmap Import

  • Enhanced Metafile Import

  • PC Paintbrush PCX Import

  • Windows Metafile Import

  • Kodak Photo CD Import

Some of the more common file converters are integrated into the Open or Save dialogs of Office 2003 applications. Some converters are removed due to obsolescence.

The following converters are only available as a download from the Office Resource Kit for Office 2003, at Office Converter Pack.

File Name Format Open/Save As Converter

WWORD5.CNV

Office Word 5 (Asian equivalent of Office Word 2)

Open, Save As

EXCEL32.CNV

Microsoft Excel

Open

Note: This converter is not used for copy or paste.

LOTUS32.CNV

Lotus 123

Open

MACWRD32.CNV

Mac Word

Open, Save As

Note: Office Word 2003 does not use this converter to open Macintosh files, but other applications might.

W6JEX32.CNV

Japanese Office Word 6.0/95

Save As

W6SCEX32.CNV

Simplified Chinese Office Word 6.0/95

Save As

W6TCEX32.CNV

Traditional Chinese Office Word 6.0/95

Save As

W6KEX32.CNV

Korean Office Word 6.0/95

Save As

WNWRD232.CNV

Office Word 2.0

Open, Save As

Note: Office Word 2003 does not use this converter to open Office Word 2.0 files, but other applications might.

MSWRD632.CNV

Office Word 6.0/95

Save As

WRD6EX32.CNV

Office Word 6.0/95

Save As

WRD6ER32.CNV

Office Word 6.0/95 and 97+ RTF

Save As

WORKS432.CNV

Works 4

Open, Save As

WORKS532.CNV

Works 2000

Open, Save As

TXTLYT32.CNV

Text with Layout

Open, Save As

Microsoft Office Excel

  • Microsoft Map is removed.

  • The following add-ins are no longer included as part of an installation:

    AccessLinks

    AutoSave

    ODBC Add-in

    Report Manager

    Template Utilities

    Template Wizard with Data Tracking

    Update Links

  • Quattro Pro 5.0 Converter is integrated into Office Excel 2003.

  • Samples.xls is included under the Samples folder. The corresponding .DBF files are no longer available.

  • Quick Tips MSQRY32.HLP, GRTIP10.HLP, XLTIP10.HLP, and XLTMPL8.HLP are no longer available due to the removal of Quick Tips support in a previous version of Office.

  • Japanese templates PURCHASE.XLT and SALESQUO.XLT are no longer available due to security issues associated with XL4 macro language.

  • Text to Speech is added.

Microsoft Office FrontPage

Office FrontPage is not included in Microsoft Office 2003 Professional.

Microsoft Office InfoPath

Office InfoPath is a new product.

Office Tools

  • Alternative User Input is added as an installable feature.

  • Clip Gallery is changed to Clip Organizer.

  • Microsoft Binder is no longer available.

  • Microsoft Graph is removed.

  • Microsoft Handwriting Component (handwriting recognition) is added.

  • Microsoft Office Download Control is added.

  • Microsoft Photo Editor is replaced by Microsoft Office Picture Manager.

  • Microsoft Query is removed.

  • New and Open Office Documents Shortcuts are added to replace Office Shortcut Bar.

  • Office Server Extensions Support is removed.

  • Scanner and Camera add-in is integrated into Office 2003 application.

  • System Information is integrated into Office 2003 application.

  • More changes exist for this section of the feature tree.

Microsoft Office OneNote

Office OneNote is a new product.

Microsoft Office Outlook

  • .NET Programmability Support is added.

  • Address Book Control is added.

  • Electronic Forms Designer Runtime is no longer supported.

  • Integrated File Management is removed.

  • Junk E-mail is removed.

  • Net Folders is removed.

  • Symantec Fax Starter Edition (Internet Mail Only Configuration) is removed.

  • More changes exist for this section of the feature tree.

Microsoft Office PowerPoint

  • .NET Programmability Support is added.

  • Genigraphics Wizard support is removed.

  • Some converters or translators are removed due to obsolescence or security concerns. The following translators are still available as downloads, but these translators are not recommended due to the security risks they present:

    • Harvard Graphics 3.0 and 2.0 for DOS

    • Lotus Freelance 1.0-2.1 for Windows

  • Send To | Routing Recipient menu option is removed due to security concerns.

  • Pack and Go menu option is replaced by a more robust feature named Package for CD.

  • Presentation Broadcasting is removed due to security concerns. You can download it at Online Broadcasting Service (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=93534).

  • Custom Soundtracks (PowerPoint 97/2000 add-in) does not play in PowerPoint 2003 slide shows because it is no longer supported.

Microsoft Office Publisher

Office Publisher is not included in Microsoft Office 2000 Professional.

Microsoft Office Visio

Office Visio is not included in Microsoft Office 2000 Professional or Microsoft Office 2003 Professional. Office Visio is available as a Standard or Professional stand-alone release only.

  • Data Flow Model Diagram Model Explorer is removed from the Data Flow Model Diagram template.

  • The Forms template is removed.

  • Import Project Data Wizard can no longer import Office Excel data, .txt, or .mpx files into a timeline or convert data between a timeline and a Gantt chart by using the Import Project Data Wizard. You can still import Microsoft Office Project data by using the new Import Timeline Data Wizard. You can also use the Import Project Data Wizard to create Gantt charts. The Import Data Wizard is available on the Gantt Chart menu.

  • The Import Flowchart Data wizard and Organization Chart 5.0 conversion utility are removed. To import data into a flowchart in Microsoft Office Visio 2003, open the file in any previous version of Visio that supports the feature. Save the file in the native format for that version. You can then open the file from within Office Visio 2003.

  • The Auto-discovery Feature is no longer available, and was removed in a previous version.

Microsoft Office Word

More templates and wizards are available. Only one known wizard is removed.

  • .NET Programmability Support is added.

  • Repair Broken Text is added.

  • Some converters are removed, but many are still available as downloads from the Office Resource Kit Web site. See the Office Converter Pack (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=93535) for more information.

  • Text with Layout Converter is removed.

  • The Web Pages wizard is removed due to low usage and outdated results.

Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar (msoffice.exe)

The Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar is no longer an installable feature of Office. It is replaced by the New and Open Office Documents Shortcuts feature. This feature conflicts with the Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar due to differences in the installed applications that are available for each version of Office after Office 97. A potential problem arises when Office 2003 is installed on a computer where a previous version of Office is installed.

New and Open Office Documents shortcuts

The New and Open Office Documents shortcuts are now optional. These shortcuts will probably not be available in future releases of Office. The shortcuts replace the previous Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar.

To avoid potential problems, remove previous versions of Office before you install Office 2003. If the New and Open Office Documents shortcuts feature is not installed, the Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar remains on the computer if previous versions of Office are not removed. The symptom of this issue is an empty template list in the Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar tab windows for the respective application, if the application was removed.

The problem does not occur if the New and Open Office Documents Shortcuts feature option is installed with Office 2003. The New and Open Office Documents Shortcuts feature replaces the Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar program. Users will no longer see an empty templates list.

Normal.dot

Due to differences in language settings, we recommend that you use the Normal.dot file that was created by Office Word 2003. Change the previous Normal.dot into a global template to retain macros that were created in Normal.dot in previous versions of Office Word.

You can use the same Normal.dot file if you are upgrading from Office Word 2000 to Office Word 2003. The settings are upgraded in the template file. However, you might experience problems if you copy an Office Word 2000 Normal.dot file from one computer to another computer that is running Office Word 2003.

Office Assistant

The Office Assistant (Clippy and friends) are being phased out. The Office Assistant is still available with Office 2003, but users must choose to activate it. Users can continue to ask natural language questions in Help, but the Office Assistant is no longer required.

Outlook 2003 Object Model Guard

Office Outlook 2003 inherits the Office Outlook 2002 object model guard behavior. This enhances a user's ability to determine if the Body or HTMLBody of an e-mail is trustworthy before the user opens the e-mail. This change forces a display of security warnings in existing COM add-ins that attempt to access the Body or HTMLBody properties of items. You can avoid displaying a security warning from a COM add-in by deriving all objects, properties, and methods from the Application object that are passed to the OnConnection procedure of the add-in.

The following properties are blocked by Office Outlook 2003:

  • ContactItem.IMAddress

  • MailItem.HTMLBody

  • ContactItem.Body

  • MailItem.Body

  • PostItem.Body

  • AppointmentItem.Body

  • TaskItem.Body

  • TaskRequestItem.Body

  • TaskRequestAcceptItem.Body

  • TaskRequestDeclineItem.Body

  • TaskRequestUpdateItem.Body

  • DistListItem.Body

  • JournalItem.Body

  • MeetingItem.Body

  • ReportItem.Body

  • RemoteItem.Body

  • NoteItem.Body

  • DocumentItem.body

Office PowerPoint startup

Office PowerPoint 2003 startup is different than startup in Office PowerPoint 2000. Templates and wizards are now in the New Presentation task pane.

Shortcut placement

Office shortcuts appear on the Start | Programs menu on computers that are running Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows 2000, and versions of Office that are prior to Office 2003. The shortcuts appear on the Start | All Programs menu on computers that are running Windows XP and versions of Office that are prior to Office 2003.

Shortcuts appear in the Microsoft Office folder for Office 2003. The folder installs by default to the Start | Programs menu on Windows 2000 and the Start | All Programs menu on Windows XP.

Shortcuts that were placed in non-default locations might not be removed during upgrade.

Straight quotes and smart quotes

Both Office 2000 and Office 2003 contain the smart quotes feature. Users may experience similar issues with both versions. Plain text editing programs might not convert smart quotes to straight quotes if the programs do not include the necessary conditional code. In such cases, we recommend that you either modify all custom solutions that may encounter smart quotes, or disable smart quotes in the Office application if the text will be processed by a program that expects standard quotes.

Styles and Formatting pane

The Styles and Formatting task pane is new in Office Word 2003.

Task pane

Office 2003 uses task panes instead of dialog boxes to display options or procedural steps for some menu options. For example, Word 2003 provides task panes when the user selects File | New…, File | Search…, Edit | Office Clipboard…, Format | Styles and Formatting…, Format | Reveal Formatting…, and others.

Tools menu folder

Office 2003 contains tools that are new to Office 2000 users, including:

  • Digital Certificate for VBA Projects

  • Microsoft Office 2003 Save My Settings Wizard

  • Microsoft Clip Organizer

  • Microsoft Office Application Recovery

  • Microsoft Office Document Imaging

  • Microsoft Office Document Scanning

  • Microsoft Office Picture Manager

Track Changes

Office Word 2003 can emulate the change tracking methods that are used in previous versions of Office Word. We recommend use of the new default settings. If necessary, you can demote the configuration to be like Office Word 97, Office Word 2000, or Office Word 2002.

When a user views a document in Print Layout in Word 2003, the document displays in the Final Showing Markup view. In this view, comments and change tracking information displays in the right margin. To hide the balloons and see the document margins, change the Display for Review setting to Final before you print a document.

The Comment pane no longer includes a button to close it. Instead, users must click the Reviewing Pane toolbar button on the Reviewing toolbar to close and open the Reviewing pane. Because there is no longer a Comments option on the View menu, users must use the Reviewing pane or Print Layout to see changes and comments.

A UNC-based link can become problematic if the linked file moves from one server to another. There are no tools that currently support redirecting UNC-based links.

If at all possible, do not move files after you create a link. If a file is moved due to a server replacement, use the same server name for the new server and include the same folder structure and share name. A mirror image of the original server eliminates broken links.