Microsoft Office 97 (version 8.0) is the fifth major release for Windows of Microsoft Office, released by Microsoft on November 19, 1996.[3] It succeeded Microsoft Office 95 and preceded Microsoft Office 2000 in 1999. A Mac OS equivalent, Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition, was released on January 6, 1998. Microsoft Office 97 became a major milestone release for introducing new features and improvements over its predecessor.
Developer(s) | Microsoft |
---|---|
Initial release | November 19, 1996 |
Final release | Service Release 2B (8.0.5903)
/ October 7, 1999[1] |
Operating system | |
Platform | IA-32, DEC Alpha (partial) |
Predecessor | Microsoft Office 95 (1995) |
Successor | Microsoft Office 2000 (1999) |
Type | Office suite |
License | Proprietary commercial software |
Website | web |
The suite is officially compatible with Windows NT 3.51 SP5, Windows 95 or later.[a] It is not officially supported on Windows XP or later versions of Windows. It is the last version of Microsoft Office to support Windows NT 3.51 SP5 and Windows NT 4.0 RTM–SP2; as the following version, Microsoft Office 2000 only supports Windows 95, Windows NT 4.0 SP3 or later.
Two Service Releases (SR-1 and SR-2) have been released for Office 97; SR-2 solves the year 2000 problem in Office 97.[4]
Mainstream hotfix support for Office 97 ended on August 31, 2001, while extended hotfix support ended on February 28, 2002.[5] Assisted support options and security updates for Office 97 ended on January 16, 2004.
Office 97 introduces "Command Bars", a paradigm in which menus and toolbars are made more similar in capability and visual design. It also features natural language systems and sophisticated grammar checking.
Office 97 introduces the Office Assistant, an interactive animated character designed to assist users via Office help content. The default assistant is "Clippit", nicknamed "Clippy", a paperclip. The Office Assistant feature is included in its successors, Office 2000, Office XP (hidden by default), and 2003 (not installed by default). It has been removed entirely in Office 2007.
Office 97 is the first Microsoft product to include product activation, albeit limited to the Brazilian editions of Office 97 Small Business Edition and Publisher.[6]
Two Office 97 applications feature easter eggs: a hidden pinball game in Microsoft Word and a hidden flight simulator in Microsoft Excel.[7][8]
Office 97 has been released in five editions: Standard Edition, Professional Edition, Small Business Edition, Small Business Edition 2.0, and Developer Edition. Each has its own selection of included applications.
Office programs | Standard Edition | Professional Edition | Small Business Edition | Small Business Edition 2.0[9] | Developer Edition |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Word 97 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[b] | Yes |
Excel 97 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[b] | Yes |
Outlook 97 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes[c] | Yes |
PowerPoint 97 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Access 97 | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Bookshelf Basics | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Developer Tools and SDK | No | No | No | No | Yes |
Publisher 97 | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Small Business Financial Manager 97 | No | No | Yes[d] | No | No |
Automap Streets Plus 5.0 (1997) [10] | No | No | Yes[e] | No | No |
Publisher 98 | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Small Business Financial Manager 98 | No | No | No | Yes[f] | No |
Direct Mail Manager | No | No | No | Yes[g] | No |
Expedia Streets 98[11] | No | No | No | Yes[e] | No |
Internet Explorer 3.0 | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Internet Explorer 4.0 | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Schedule+ | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Binder 97 | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
FrontPage 97 | No | No | No | No | No |
Project 98 | No | No | No | No | No |
Team Manager 97 | No | No | No | No | No |