I bought a new laptop in November last year. It has Windows 7 installed, and came with a free trial version of MS Office where you are allowed to use it a certain number of times before you are required to insert a product key to show proof of purchase.

In the past, I have never used MS Office on my home computers, as I find Works or Open Office perfectly adequate.

I have now exceeded the number of times I can access MS Office, and when I try to access documents emailed to me, they appear on a blue screen, and I have very little functionality; I don't even appear to be able to copy them into a new document.

I don't want to pay for MS Office. I would guess that to get back to the functionality I had on my previous laptop, which ran Vista, I should just delete the MS Office programs, but I would quite like some confirmation from someone a bit more knowledgeable than me that this is the correct thing to do!

The programs showing as currently installed are Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007, Microsoft Office Power Point viewer 2007, and Microsoft Office Suite Activation Assistant. Should I delete all of these, and if I do, will I be able to access files using Works (it also shows Works as being installed)?

I'd be grateful for any advice.

You should be able to access the files using Works now...or Open Office. You don't need to remove MS Office to open files with another program. Just open the program you want to use (i.e. Works) and open the file once in the program. Or right click on he file and choose "Open With". If Works isn't listed in the submenu, just go to "Choose Program...".

I'm hoping I didn't misunderstand your question.

Dippo, Just a thought but, as you don't need the functionality of of MS Office, have you thought of using Google Docs.

I don't know how it compares with Works or Open Office, but it does have the advantage of being totally internet based.

The problem occurs when I try to open files received via email. If I click on the 'open' option, I seem to be automatically taken into the MS Office function.

Although my memory of XP is fading, I think you may need to change the default program used to open documents... what happens if you right-click on the attachment? If it lets you select "open with..." you should be able to change the default.

Flopsy - I'm not using XP, I'm using 7, IE8, and Yahoo mail. When I get an email with an attachment, I have only two options - open or save. Right click is not possible on either option. If I click on open, I am automatically taken into this trial version of MS Office, where my free usage has expired, and I can't do much with the files received; I can't print or copy them. That's why I think I need to get rid of the MS Office program.

Ah yes, sorry, I should had read the opening post more carefully. Well, in that case... I would suggest that you select a document that's on the hard drive already, right click, and change the default program to Works or Open Office. Then try opening an attachment in Yahoo Mail.

OK thanks, it seems to be working.

You can uninstall these if that is what you want to do. The file attachments in Yahoo will just use your default as you now know. I'm not sure about the power point viewer though...if that is a separate program from MS Office you might not want to remove it. Unless you don't use it at all and know that, then removing it will be fine.

I had OpenOffice installed but always preferred Microsoft's offering. I couldn't justify paying the price for it though because knew I wouldn't use it very much. Then I saw the Home and Student 2007 version. It is only a fraction of the cost of the full office suite, so I got it.