WomenCo.

I have an Acer 1500, which I love. This is my personal computer.

For my teaching assignment, I need to install MS Office 2007 so I can access the editing function used for writing. I have 25% of my capacity available. All coursework and email is sent electronically through the college's server. I need space for grades and attendance only on my personal computer plus class notes I generate.

If I uninstall the MSO 2003 version and install the 2007 version, will I have enough free space left on the laptop to store my grades?  Is there a way to partition my personal and school files?

The bottom line is I want to avoid buying a second, personal computer just for work. Any suggestions are welcome.

Thanks,

Donna

If you use Excel 2003 a lot, be aware that Excel 2007 is entirely reformatted.  So you'll need to re-learn how to do all the things you already know how to do.  Depending on how expert at 2003 you are, you will or won't have a hard time with 2007.

The only part of MSO 2007 I need is the editing function, which highlights corrections in blue or red. Is it possible to load it to a disk or external drive and only use it when I corrected essays?

I'm surprised you need to upgrade in order to use an editing function.

Is this for some special editing software?  MSWord has editing tracking that highlights all edits.  That won't work?

Also, Rasika's and hpeterson's advice regarding not running MSOutlook 2003 and 2007 at the same time coincides with what I have been told by my "trusted computer advisor." 

I'm not a computer expert by any stretch of the imagination but your initial questions concern whether or not you have adquate capacity in order to do what you understand you need to do.  And, whether there is a way to partition your personal and business-related files.

You mention that you have 25% capacity available but you don't state the total current capacity in your computer.  In order to answer that question, one needs to know how much total memory you have, multiply that by .25 and compare your available memory space to the amount you need for your added feature.  (Minus what you'll be removing from your computer related to MS2003.)

Regardless, in all likelihood, you can buy extra memory for your current laptop for a lot less money than a 2nd computer would cost.

As for segregating files, that's pretty simply to do by establishing a folder for each program (Word, Excel, etc, ) which is called "Work-related Files" and put all your business files in that folder, with appropriate sub-file names.

I don't think you'll be sorry.  What kind did you buy and how much memory does it have?