How do I access documents from my old version of Microsoft Word now that the upgrade doesn't support it?

Microsoft does not provide free upgrades between major versions of their Office products (unless you subscribe to Microsoft 365) and older versions of Office are not compatible with macOS Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey or Ventura.

If you have a version of Microsoft Office that is not compatible, you can either subscribe to Microsoft 365 or you can make a one-time purchase. See: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/mac/microsoft-365-for-mac

Or use the free and very good Libre Office https://www.libreoffice.org/

or the free Microsoft Office on the web: https://products.office.com/en-us/free-office-online-for-the-web

or Google Docs: https://www.google.com/docs/about/

or Apple’s Pages and Numbers

flowers70 wrote:

How do I access documents from my old version of Microsoft Word on my Mac now that the upgrade doesn't support it?

You can use any app that can open Word documents such as LibreOffice, Pages, GoogleDocs, etc.

Or, you can upgrade your version of Microsoft Office.