How to Run Multiple Versions of Office on One Computer

I received another request on a third party website where I earn supplemental income answering computer and technology related questions. Here is the original request:

“I have discovered that Quick Books will not export to Excel office 365 version. So I would like to install my legal copy of office 2010 on the laptop and use it’s Excel to work with the Quick Books files. Will this work OK, or will the new install somehow harm or delete office 365?”

The quick answer to this question is that yes, you can install multiple different versions of Microsoft Office suite software onto the same computer. This individual was using a computer with Microsoft Windows 10 operating system installed. Here is the rest of my response:

Yes, you can install multiple versions of Microsoft office on the same computer. However, you have to make sure that you change the directory that Microsoft office gets installed on. For example you would want Microsoft Office 2010 installed in a different folder compared to the Microsoft Office 365 installation

C:\Program Files\Office 2010

I would first verify where your existing Microsoft Office installation is located. It should be in one of these two folders:

C:\Program Files
C:\Program Files (x86)

Once you verify where Microsoft Office 365 is currently installed, then try to install Microsoft Office 2010. During the beginning of the installation, it will ask you the where you want to install Microsoft into. This is when and where you change the file path to something different then where Microsoft Office 365 is installed.

You want to make certain you pick a file path that is different otherwise you will overwrite files. You want to install Microsoft office 2010 like this:

C:\Program Files\Office 2010

Not in the downloads folder of your user account, if that is what you meant. If you install Microsoft Office 2010 in:

C:\Program Files\Office 2010

Then make certain that Microsoft Office 365 is currently installed in:

C:\Program Files\Office 365

This is an old school trick that I have known about for quite a few years. You just have to make certain you pick dynamic installation folders. Also, you may want to use a naming convention that is logical and not confusing.

You might want to keep the folder names short and targeted to the versions of Microsoft Office you are installing. If you forget or ever need to remove a version of Microsoft Office then you can just browse to:

C:\Program Files or C:\Program Files (x86). The (x86) folder is for 32 x86 bit applications. The folder without (x86) is where x64 64 bit applications become installed.

As long as you install Microsoft Office in different folders then you will be able to use multiple versions of Microsoft Office on your computer. This individual was able to successfully install both Microsoft Office 2010 and Microsoft Office 365 on the same exact computer without avoiding a major crisis. These instructions were written for a computer with Microsoft Windows 10 operating system installed.

This may seem like a strange request. However, in my time in corporate and government military America, this was a more common request than you might imagine. However, this information can be used for other Microsoft operating systems.

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