Free Office 2007 To Office 2010 Upgrade Period Starts Today

Microsoft plans to release the final version of Microsoft Office 2010 on June 15 and is - as always - offering free upgrades for users who happen to have purchased the previous version of the Office suite shortly before the release date.

Microsoft announced over on Technet that the free upgrade period for Office 2007 to 2010 upgrades starts today. This means, that anyone who purchases Office 2007 from today on will be able to upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010 when the new version comes out.

The process works the following way:

• Purchase Office 2007, or a new PC with Office 2007, and activate it between March 5, 2010 and September 30, 2010.
• Have, or create a Windows Live ID.
• Redeem your Tech Guarantee before October 31, 2010 by visiting www.office.com/techg.

The Microsoft Office 2010 upgrade will be delivered to the user as a download or by DVD for a fee. It has to be noted that not all retailers are part of the free Office 2010 upgrade program, and that there is a limit of 25 upgrades per customer.

Also, it is important to note that customers will get a specific version of Office when they take Microsoft up on the offer.

The full list of upgrade paths is as follows:

Upgrade Paths:

Office Ultimate 2007 - Office Professional 2010
Office Professional 2007 - Office Professional 2010
Office Small Business 2007 - Office Professional 2010
Office Standard 2007 - Office Home and Business 2010
Office Home and Student 2007 - Office Home and Student 2010
Office Basic 2007 - Office Home and Business 2010
Word 2007 - Word 2010
Excel 2007 - Excel 2010
PowerPoint 2007 - PowerPoint 2010
OneNote 2007 - OneNote 2010
Access 2007 - Access 2010
Outlook 2007 - Outlook 2010
Outlook with Business Contact Manager 2007 - Outlook 2010
Project Standard 2007 - Project Standard 2010
Project Professional 2007 - Project Professional 2010
Publisher 2007 - Publisher 2010
Visio Standard 2007 - Visio Standard 2010
Visio Professional 2007 - Visio Professional 2010

Additionally, only the following languages are eligible for the free upgrade:

Eligible Languages:

Brazilian, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English/International English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, Turkish

Note: The language of the qualifying Office 2007 purchase will determine the language of the Office 2010 product.

Microsoft notes that the upgraded Office version will have the same language as the Office 2007 version.

Check out the faq to read up on all the frequently asked questions. It is recommended to check with the retailer to get a confirmation whether the Microsoft Office 2007 copy is eligible for the free upgrade to Office 2010 before you make a buying decision.

Update: The FAQ page and the blog post announcing the free upgrade offer are not available anymore. Furthermore, the free upgrade period has expired.

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