CHART v 2003 and the end of Microsoft Excel 2003 support

PRIMIS will ‘freeze’ CHART v2003 for users following the end of support for Microsoft Excel v2003

PRIMIS has taken the decision that it will discontinue upgrades for the version of CHART that works with Microsoft Excel 2003 after April 2015.

This coincides with the end of the one-year extension that the Crown Commercial Service agreed with Microsoft to “provide eligible UK public sector organisations with the ability to download security updates to Windows XP, Office 2003 and Exchange 2003 for one year until 8 April 2015”.

What this means for CHART v2003 users

You can continue to use CHART v2003 with existing audit tools. However, no new updates to improve this version of CHART will be released and new and updated audit tools may not work with v2003 post April 2015.

PRIMIS recommends that all practices upgrade their Microsoft Office/Excel software wherever possible as officially unsupported software will not receive patches or upgrades and will leave the software vulnerable to security breaches. 

Following any upgrade to a newer Excel version, CHART v2003 will need to uninstalled and upgraded to the latest version (for either Excel 2007 or 2010). Installer files are available within PRIMIS Hub and guides on installation can be found both in the Hub and on the CHART webpage.

Information on the end of support for Office 2003 can be found on the Microsoft website

Please note: this does not affect CHART v2007 or CHART v2010.