Does PM 7 work on a Win 7 computer (64 bit)?

[Laurie]

Hi there!

Does anyone know if PageMaker 7 will work on a Windows 7 64-bit computer and if so, did you encounter any difficulties?

I do not have an XP compatible version of Windows 7, but it does have a folder called "Program Files (x86)" and I have been able to run several old computer programs.

Although all recent work of ours is done in InDesign, we need to edit something that was created in PageMaker 7 and that would take a lot of work to convert to InDesign, so I'd love to be able to make the edits in PageMaker.

Thanks!

Laurie

[ktinkel]

Hi, Laurie,

According to this thread on the Adobe forums, you can try it. Some claim to have success, and if you just need to edit a single document, it might work for you.

Nothing venture, nothing gain.

If it doesn’t work, maybe you can borrow an old PC somewhere just for this one task.

Good luck. Let us know how you fare.

[Laurie]

Hey, Kathleen.

I might try installing it (even though most replied in that thread were skeptical about the possibility of PM7 running under Win 7), and if I do, I'll let you know if it worked. I only need to edit a few text pages.

We actually have PM7 on an older PC here, so if PM7 doesn't work with Win 7, I'll take it out of storage and use it to make the corrections.

Thanks.

Laurie

[ktinkel]

Sounds like a good plan.

I grapple all the time with old files and formats; I too was a PageMaker fan, but beyond that, I have text files on ancient disks, PageMaker files on several old formats, etc.

Wonder how anyone will read our pearls of wisdom in 2050?

[Laurie]

Kathleen,

Speaking of old files and formats, I still have a DOS computer and use it for a few functions.

In the end, we had to put the book into InDesign CS4.

My old computer with PgMkr is hard to access (have to rig it up with a power supply sitting outside the computer and do a few other things). We have another retired computer with PgMkr, but I felt insecure about the PgMkr pdf presets saved on that computer.

Turns out, the book loaded nicely into InDesign CS4. There were not too many things I had to do. One chapter is damaged so we'll have to recreate it. There is also a problem with a header behaving strangely; I posted a question about that in a separate thread.

Thanks!

Laurie

[ktinkel]

Glad that it is working out.

Too bad about the damaged chapter, but that sort of thing is one of the (many) reasons PageMaker has been retired! I loved the program, clung to it for many years, but do see the wisdom of moving on. It took me forever, though — for a long time I set up new jobs in PM (margins, styles, etc.), then opened them in ID to continue.

[Hugh Wyn Griffith]

If you do try installing it, try right mouse clicking on the exe file that starts the program andd select Properties / Compatibility TAB and set the Compatibility back to the version you know it runs on; and check the box at the bottom for Run As Adminisstrator and see if that helps.

[JVegVT]

I disagree slightly with Hugh. Try to install it the usual way before you try any compatibility settings or Run as Administrator. If those don't work, THEN try Run as Administrator or Compatibility or both together.

I've never had any luck with Compatibility in either Windows 7 or Vista. If the program is truly incompatible, it won't magically become compatible by picking an earlier OS in compatibility settings. Run as Administrator, however, is sometimes necessary with older programs that can't deal with an administrator/user distinction.
--Judy M.

[Hugh Wyn Griffith]

Up to each ... I've never had any problems with using Run as Administrator. There's nothing wrong, so far as I know, with not setting compatibility and then doing it later; I don't remember it being grayed out once you install.

However in this case my suggestion was against the background of a concensus that it would not run ....

[ktinkel]

Oh, good — you have a spirit of adventure.

Good luck.