Office 365 for Mac users might well be confused about compatibility with their MacOS. Some Office 365 for Mac users might not be getting the latest and greatest features. Microsoft has a might be accurate, but it doesn’t exactly shine with clarity. The situation appears confusing, so we’ll try to break it down for you. In short: Office 365 for Mac gives you the latest features and updates if you have the latest MacOS (Mojave 10.14) or the two before (10.13 High Sierra or 10.12 Sierra).
Since 2019 isn’t released yet, we’ll be discussing the basics of Office 2016 (which 2019 is the nest version) so we can expect relatively similar options in 2019. How each version is paid for: A big difference between Office 2016 (and soon Office 2019) and Office 365 is the way it’s paid for.
Office 365 for Mac needs Mojave, Sierra or High Sierra The ‘subscription’ Office 365 for Mac available now needs the MacOS released in the last two years. That’s version 10.12 (Sierra) or later. If your computer has 10.11 (El Capitan) or earlier, Office 365 for Mac will still work and get Microsoft’s mainstream support. But no updates, because those updates need the more recent Mac OS.
What happened back in September 2018? Back in September 2018 there was a mostly hidden switch in Office 365 for Mac software. The code base for the product changed depending on the version of MacOS being used. Office 365 with Sierra 10.12 or later.
These customers moved to the same code base as Office 2019 for Mac. That means both Office 365 for Mac and Office 2019 for Mac users share common code. The difference is that Office 365 users get new and updated features while Office 2019 is fixed and doesn’t get updated features. Office 365 with El Capitan 1.11 or earlier. The existing ‘Office 2016 for Mac’ code base is kept, for compatibility with older MacOS.
As a result, there’s no feature updates. Most Mac users update their MacOS relatively soon after an update comes out. Cautious ones might wait a few months before updating (just like Windows users). Unless there’s a specific reason for keeping an older MacOS running, Office 365 for Mac customers should do proper backups then upgrade to at least Sierra 10.12 if not the latest MacOS Mojave. Disk Compression and MacOS Outlook for Mac is a big disk space hog.
It’s method of saving data on the disk is wasteful and quite different to the PST/OST system in Outlook for Windows. One way to reduce the disk space used by Outlook for Mac was the disk compression see https://office-watch.com/2017/reduce-disk-space-used-outlook-mac/. One major difference in High Sierra 10.13 is the switch to Apple File System APFS which does NOT support disk compression. Older machines with ‘Mac OS Extended’ (aka HFS+) drives will still work but newer Mac’s come with APFS and no compression option. MacOS versions vs names Apple gives each major MacOS release a name but there’s also a version number.
The latest MacOS is officially version 10.14. Most people and Apple itself calls version 10.15 ‘Mojave’ instead. So, naturally, Microsoft doesn’t use those names and instead reverts to the numbering Maybe Microsoft sticks with numbers because that’s what they do in Windows. Windows releases are promoted with names like ‘Creators Edition’ or ‘October 2018’ but those names are notably missing in Windows itself.
Go to Windows, Settings About and you’ll see a version number but not the name. / You can find your MacOS version at Apple About This Mac. The Mac name and version number are clearly displayed. A practice Microsoft Windows could well learn from. A Brief History of MacOS To help you navigate Microsoft’s Office for Mac compatibility, here’s a recent history of Mac OS versions and names 10.14 Mojave, released in September 2018. The latest MacOS 10.13 High Sierra, released September 2017 10.12 Sierra, released September 2016 10.11 El Capitan.
Ignite 2018. The preview period is over. Microsoft is making. Office 2019 is the successor to Office 2016. It's the 'perpetual,' on-premises version of Microsoft's Office suite and includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Project, Visio, Access and Publisher.
Microsoft released. Also: As Microsoft officials have said previously, the Office 2019 feature list is a subset of what Office 365 ProPlus subscribers get. The 2019 release adds some of the key Office features that Microsoft already has rolled out to its Office 365 subscribers over the past three years. The Office 2019 release won't get feature updates; it will get security updates and fixes only.With Office 2019, users will get Morph and Zoom for PowerPoint; new data-analysis features for PowerPivot; Learning Tools like Read Aloud and Text Spacing for Word and Outlook; various security updates across the suite and more. Credit: Microsoft.
Microsoft plans to roll out the, including Exchange Server 2019, Skype for Business Server 2019, SharePoint Server 2019 and Project Server 2019 'in the coming weeks.' Also: TechRepublic Just a reminder: Office 2019 will only run on Windows 10, not Windows 7/8.1 and in the case of the server apps, Windows Server 2019. The Office 2019 client apps also will be released as only. Microsoft won't be providing a MSI option for Office 2019 clients, but will continue to do so for Office Server products.
Update (September 24): Microsoft officials also confirmed today that there will be another on-premises, perpetual version of both its Office clients and servers after Office 2019. (Before today, all we could get was a 'maybe.' ) Microsoft isn't providing any timing guidelines as to when the successor to Office 2019 client and server will be available, but they are definitely on the roadmap, as a result of customer feedback.
MORE FROM IGNITE: Microsoft recently relented on some of its previously stated support cut-off dates for Office on various variants of Windows. In addition, Microsoft is going to provide five years of mainstream support and approximately two years of extended support so as to align with the extended-support end date for Office 2016 (which is Oct.
1 - 5 of 22 Previous and related coverage: Microsoft's much-hyped free upgrade offer for Windows 10 ended in 2016, right? The GWX tool may be gone, but all the other upgrade tools still work.
The end result is an apparently valid digital license, and there's no evidence that the free upgrades will end any time soon. Here's everything you need to know before you repair, reinstall, or upgrade Windows 10, including details about activation and product keys. You've just upgraded to the most recent version of Windows 10. Before you get back to work, use this checklist to ensure that your privacy and security settings are correct and that you've cut annoyances to a bare minimum. You've got a new PC running Windows 10 Home.
You want to upgrade to Windows 10 Pro. Here's how to get that upgrade for free. All you need is a Pro/Ultimate product key from an older version of Windows. Related stories:. Related Topics. By registering you become a member of the CBS Interactive family of sites and you have read and agree to the,. You agree to receive updates, alerts and promotions from CBS and that CBS may share information about you with our marketing partners so that they may contact you by email or otherwise about their products or services.
You will also receive a complimentary subscription to the ZDNet's Tech Update Today and ZDNet Announcement newsletters. You may unsubscribe from these newsletters at any time. ACCEPT & CLOSE.