[rdl6989]

Try open source:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2010005/5-free-open-source-alternatives-to-microsoft-office.html

[thoughtomator]

https://sourceforge.net/projects/openofficeorg.mirror/files/

[FreedomStar3028]

The bit format doesn’t matter.

Download OpenOffice, it’s free and can open .doc and other typical formats.

[ConservativeMind]

Libre Office is free and can easily read your files. A copy of Word can still be used, as well.

You could get a copy of Office for your family at Sam's, which includes Word.

[ButThreeLeftsDo]

Yeah, and your “Enter” button is stuck.

;-)

[Pearls Before Swine]

Your data files will be the same irrespective of whether they were created and written to disk on a 32-bit or 64-bit operating system. So, you’ll have no problem reading them on the new computer.

I assume that your files are mostly text, since you asked about a Microsoft Word alternative, but the above comment applies to other types of files, including pictures.

[Menehune56]

If you want to stay in the Microsoft ecosystem, you can still get a non-subscription MS Office Home & Student at Amazon for $150. It appears to be download only. Hope this helps.

https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Office-Home-Student-Download/dp/B0153V62P2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469667297&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=Office+Home+%26+Student+2016&psc=1

[Secret Agent Man]

open office

[IamConservative]

Google Chromebook...

[CommieCutter]

And just so you know Libre Office and Open Office are basically the same program.

[Vendome]

www.openoffice.org

[TexasRepublic]

I have been using open source software for the last seven years. I first used open office and later libre office. Libre office will run on Windows, Macintosh and Linux computers.

[Klutz Dohanger]

As a quick substitute, you can create a google account, and upload the files to google drive. 32 bit or 64 bit is irrelevant to file formats, only the program you are using.

Office (64 bit) won’t run on a 32 bit machine, but the 32 bit version will run on either 32 or 64 bit machines.

Unless you need the full functionality of Microsoft Office, Google Docs (word processing) or Sheets (spreadsheets) should serve you well, as well as the open source versions offered.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

OpenOffice.org is free and will probably do everything you need, including read and write Word and Excel files.

[Scutter]

The Office file format does not change for 32-bit or 64-bit versions. It did change between versions of Office, although newer versions should be able to read files from any of the older versions.

As mentioned on the thread already, OpenOffice is free, and has the basic features that are enough for many people. Give it a try and see how you like it.

If for some reason, OpenOffice is not meeting your needs, you can get the Home and Student edition of Office for about $150 on Amazon.com. This will include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. When you purchase, Amazon will ship you a card which has an access code on it. You then go to the Office.com web site and use the code to download and install the product. This is NOT a rental version - it's only supposed to be installed on one PC at a time, but once you buy it it's yours to use for life of the PC.

Here's a link to the product on Amazon.com.

Feel free to ping me if you have any follow-up questions or issues.

[Conservative Gato]

Open Office or Libre Office are good free choices like others have mentioned.

If you need to send a document to someone with Microsoft Word, just remember to save the document with the .doc or similar file extension (Open Office and Libre Office have different default file extensions but they will open most office file extensions) and it should be OK on their end.

CGato

[Trot]

If you decide to buy a program, WordPerfect has the best, and it’s on sale often at frys.com.

But you can bing a search for WordPerfect x3 or x4 or the latest (x7) and get it from a vendor for next to nothing.

It comes with a license for three machines.

WordPerfect was the template for the best word processors, and I think it’s still the best.

Good luck.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

If you want to stay with Microsoft Office, find your friend who works at your local schol district or teaches. MS will give you 10% off. Office,will cost you $135 instead of $150.

[Excellence]

Go to Microsoft.com

If you don’t have an account, open one.
Once you’ve done that and are logged in,
go to outlook.com.
Click on the icon in the upper left hand corner and you will find an online version of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote. You can upload your Word files to the OneDrive, and open them in Word.

[minnesota_bound]

TextMaker 2016 - save files as Microsoft file types. I know their Word program when a file is saved as a word doc is identical. Saves as 97-2003 version. Opens in Word 2016 with no issues. http://www.freeoffice.com/en

LibraOffice - save files as Microsoft file types. I know their Word program when a file is saved as a word doc is identical.
https://www.libreoffice.org/

Also if your company participates you can get Office 2016 full version for about $30 with dvd. http://www.microsofthup.com/hupus/home.aspx