This guest post was sent in by a TechRepublic member who would like to be known as, “The Doctor is in… that will be 5 cents please.”

Did you know that you can use Microsoft Office 2007 Add-ins in Microsoft Office 2010? All you need is the Creative Commons Primary Interop Assemblies (PIA). I’m running Windows 7 Ultimate, and it works with Microsoft Office Ultimate and Microsoft Office Professional Plus.

Make sure you follow these steps in the order they appear:

  1. Install Microsoft Office 2007 by first selecting the customized installation option “Installed on First Use.” If Windows Update has any updates, proceed with those regardless.
  2. Go back to the installation options and select “Run all from My Computer.”
  3. Make sure that everything in Office 2007 is check-marked for automatic Windows Update.
  4. After this installation, reboot.
  5. Keep updating Windows Update until it’s complete.

The next step is to install the “Creative Commons for 2007” PIA. In order for this to work, you must open Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 in Trust Settings (Word must be opened first). Here’s how:

  1. Click the Office button, and select Word Options
  2. Select Trust Center and then Trust Center Settings
  3. In the Macro Settings section, make sure that “Disable all macros except digitally signed macros” and “Trust access to the VBA project object model” are selected
  4. In the ActiveX Settings section, make sure that “Prompt me before enabling all controls with minimal restrictions” and “Safe mode (helps limit the control’s access to your computer)” are selected [Note: The “Safe mode” is equivalent Office 2010’s Data Execution Prevention (DEP) mode, and it’s imperative that both are enabled, otherwise the goodies, eggs, and features won’t function properly between Office 2007 and 2010.]
  5. In the Add-ins section, select “Require Application Add-ins to be signed by Trusted Publisher” [Note: This step is not required, but it’s strongly recommended so that certificates are valid (not expired) and recognized from reputable sources.]
  6. In the Message Bar section, select “Never show information about blocked content” and make sure that “Enable Trust Center logging” at the bottom is NOT selected. Logging has to remain unchecked for Office 2007 and 2010 to work together.
  7. In the Privacy Options section, check everything under Privacy Options, plus “Store random numbers to improve Combine accuracy” and “Make hidden markup visible when opening or saving” under Document-specific settings. You can select the Translation Options and Research Options accordingly to your own preferences.

Now, download the Creative Commons for 2007 (PIA) and install it. You will receive a Microsoft Warning, but since the configuration is already pre-set for “trusted,” you don’t have to worry about this.

Take a few minutes to install several Add-ins, such as Math 3.0, Math 4.0, and Excel for Microsoft Office 2007.

[Note: If you already have both Office 2007 and 2010 installed, that’s okay. Just go back to the Office 2007 installation options, select “Run all from My Computer,” and then follow the steps provided above. When you get to the Office 2010 installation options, select “Run all from My Computer,” and then follow the remainder of the steps listed below.]

Next, follow the same procedure for Microsoft Office 2010:

  1. Install Microsoft Office 2010 by first selecting the customized installation option “Installed on First Use.” If Windows Update has any updates, proceed with those regardless.
  2. Go back to the installation options and select “Run all from My Computer.”
  3. Make sure that everything in Office 2010 is check-marked for automatic Windows Update.
  4. After this installation, reboot.
  5. Keep updating Windows Update until it’s complete

To install the “Creative Commons for 2010” PIA, you must open Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2010 in Trust Settings (Word must be opened first). Here’s how:

  1. Select Options
  2. Select Trust Center and then Trust Center Settings
  3. Clear all of the boxes in File Block Settings except for the very last option “Open selected file types in Protected View and allow editing.” Click Ok, and then go back to Options | Trust Center | Trust Center Settings
  4. The Message Bar has nothing to do with the eggs, so set it to your personal preference
  5. In the Protected View section, make sure that everything is selected
  6. In Macro Settings, “Disable all macros except digitally signed macros” and “Trust access to the VBA project object model” must be selected in order for Office 2007 and 2010 to work together.
  7. In ActiveX Settings, select “Prompt me before enabling all controls with minimal restrictions” and “Safe mode (helps limit the control’s access to your computer”
  8. In the Add-ins sections, select “Require Application Add-ins to be signed by Trusted Publisher”
  9. In Trusted Documents, select “Allow documents on a network to be trusted”
  10. In Privacy Options, make sure that everything is selected under the Privacy Options heading, plus “Store random numbers to improve Combine accuracy” and “Make hidden markup visible when opening or saving” is selected under Document-specific settings (Excel and PPT are slightly varied, but you will catch on easily).
  11. Click Ok

[Note: It takes time to install Creative Commons into Word, Excel, and PPT – especially in Office 2010, because it configures both 2007 and 2010 together.]

See the photo gallery “Combine the power of Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010” for screenshots of the Trust Center settings.

Creative Commons will open up with a PDF file in Word 2007 and sometimes in 2010 with an explanation about how it works, and I strongly recommend that you keep, print, or save this file for future reference.

I also urge people to not only download and install, but to save their files. Hog all the Add-ins you desire and then save them to a CD/DVD. Why so many Add-ins? Is there a big difference in the versions? Yes, absolutely! What isn’t available in the new version would be available in the old version, or vice versa.

If you dig through the Program Files, you’ll see what appears to be duplicate files, but never ever delete those! They are required for MS Office 2007 and MS Office 2010 to work together properly.

Add-ins create some new Program files of their own, which can be confusing to a user. All the ones I highlighted in the accompaniment image are Add-ins, including the “Microsoft Creative Commons Add-in” (PIA for Office 2007) and “Microsoft Research” (Creative Commons PIA Add-in for 2010). So, why have three Microsoft Math Add-ins? The first Add-in for Word 2007 is actually the old original version, the Microsoft Mathematics and Mathematics Add-in is 3.0, and the newest one is 4.0.

You can actually work in both Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010. For example, if you’re working in Word 2010 and don’t like the templates, you can use the templates in 2002/20003 and 2007. Just remember, you’ll have to be patient since Office 2010 is still new and the configuration mode bounces back and forth.

Also, don’t be surprised when Windows Update begins to include new Office 2010 Add-ins! When you go to Office 2010 in Windows 7, you may notice additional features you can Add-in that will also work in 2007. Isn’t that the biggest EGG ever?

Here’s one that appears to be an optical illusion. After having Office 2010’s features and functions, and you decide to revert back to Office 2007, you‘ll notice (it will do this every time if you bounce back and forth between Office 2007 and 2010) that it will re-configure itself. For example, if you had Excel configured, suddenly the ribbon appears to “shrink” and the special key codes and options available in 2010 actually work in 2007 (and vice versa) in the cells.

Even PowerPoint looks better because you now have the ability to combine both Office 2007 and 2010 to make an explosive presentation. You can include Excel in your presentation with mind-blowing 3-D “dia-graphics.” However, do not save it under the 2007 format (uncheck that) and keep the thumbnails or all images will be lost. The same applies to Excel.

Enjoy all these eggs galore, and may your basket be overflowing in the Microsoft Offices.