There are two ways to install Office 2007 on to your machine running Windows Vista:

1. By installation disk; or
2. By downloading it from the internet.

In either case make sure what you have obtained is licensed by Microsoft.

If installing Office 2007 via installation CD put this into your computer's CD-ROM drive, and follow the instructions on the screen. Once you insert the CD, the application should begin running automatically and you will be prompted for confirmation and password, if it does not then normally you can double click on the CD drive icon by going to My Computer.

When the installation wizard begins to run it will guide you through the process.

If you are downloading Office 2007 from the internet, after paying you will be given access to a Download button. The installation will run from there. Please note if the installation does not run then check the top of your browser as it may be prompting you to run Active-x controls which is normal.

If in any doubt do not proceed further and contact Microsoft online or your CD provider.

If the program does not install, check the program's help information. Or if installing from a CD, browse the contents of the disc, and open the Office 2007 setup file. The setup option is commonly called the Install.exe or Setup.exe. Once you have found this, double click to start the installation process.

If you have just purchased a new PC with Office 2007 already installed, you will simply have to register the software and type in your product code when prompted.

When running any Office suite it is best to keep an eye out on the Microsoft website or sign up for alerts to know when the latest service packs for your operating system needs to be installed. Service packs are updates which keep everything current so when you go to upgrade the applications e.g. to Office 2010, then your operating system will support it.

Support for Windows Vista without any service packs installed ended on April 13, 2010. To continue receiving security updates for Windows make sure you're running Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (SP2). For more information please refer to the Microsoft Vista web page.

By Kelly Foxhall