How best to retain access to old MS Office docs

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How best to retain access to old MS Office docs

I recently upgraded my 2013 MacBook Air to Catalina, the newest OS compatible. However, I cannot now open Word docs/Excel spreadsheets without upgrading MS Office 365 (reluctant to do as only a light/infrequent user). I've set up Google Drive but docs cannot be transferred over - can that be done and, if so, how ? Maybe I can download a newer (but not the latest) version of MS Office 365 ? Any suggestions or experience of this issue would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks.

MacBook Air 11″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Jan 19, 2023 10:08 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 19, 2023 10:39 AM in response to Braysie8

Your Office documents/spreadsheets can be opened with a new version of Office, Office 365 Online, Google Docs, LibreOffice, etc.

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Answer 2

Braysie8 Author

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Jan 19, 2023 10:49 AM in response to BobTheFisherman

Many thanks. I tried with Google docs but old docs would not sync with Google, presumably because they are an old version which cannot be opened on Catalina (and I’m reluctant to uninstall Catalina and then install Mohave which I believe would be compatible with the older version of MS Office 365). Would Libre be able to open the older docs given that it was not possible with Google docs?

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Answer 3

Jan 19, 2023 10:52 AM in response to Braysie8

The age of the Office documents is irrelevant.

Neither Microsoft Office nor Googe Docs are Apple products. If you are having an issue opening Office documents with Google Docs, maybe ask Google or Microsoft how to proceed.

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Answer 4

Jan 19, 2023 1:42 PM in response to Braysie8

I've use Microsoft Office and Google Docs for years. I have documents from 20 years ago. There is no issue opening old documents in newer versions of Microsoft Office, Google Docs, LibreOffice, etc. If you are having an issue you may have a corrupted document.

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Answer 5

Braysie8 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 19, 2023 1:38 PM in response to BobTheFisherman

Thank you for clarifying that Google and Microsoft are not Apple 😊. I was advised by Apple Support to post this issue on this community on the basis that someone may have had a similar experience.

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How best to retain access to old MS Office docs

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