Word 2007 Backwards compatability....how far back does it go?

[glradk]

I was recently handed the task of updating some systems for a restaurant and realized that they are running MS office 1997. Not a bad thing, but the owner wants me to upgrade them to the most current version and I am worried about the compatability between them. Can word 2007 open/convert these old files? If not, what do I do? There are a few hundred word files scattered all over the system and it would take forever to find/retype them all. Any suggestions?

[Kindovic]

if u're using word 2007, copy one of the files over and see whether u can open the file...

[PC_LOAD_LETTER]

Office 2007 should be able to open nearly any document (some documents with embedded vbscripts might have compatibility issues) created with any version of office from 97-2007