If you have a Mac you may never need it, but if you work in an office or with someone who uses Windows, it is difficult sooner or later not to deal with it. We are talking about Office for Mac, a product that for many is synonymous with the professional use of the computer. Throughout its history, Office for Mac has been the cement of the relationship between Microsoft and Apple, becoming the subject of the dispute or calumet of peace. This is not the place to make a history of the relations between Apple and Microsoft, but perhaps it is worth remembering some stages of the story that intertwined the path of the two companies, with Office at the center.
Table of Contents
A Little History Of Office For Mac
Making the history of Office for Mac is very complicated. There are countless passages and versions of this suite. But some passages are interesting to remember
- Word 1.0 for Mac was released with the first Mac, in 1984, before the release of Office
- Excel Mac and Powerpoint Mac arrived in 1985 and 1987, again before Office
- Office for Mac arrived in 1989, before Office for Windows
- The office was the first Mac software on CD
- The development of Office for Mac was suspended due to the legal events that pitted Microsoft against Apple
- Office 1998 was announced (the video is shown below) at the MacWorld in Boston in 1997, entrusted to a special unit of Microsoft that has been developing the Mac versions of Office ever since.
- Office 1998 was the object of an exchange that allowed to pacify the relations between Apple and Microsoft
- Microsoft has released Microsoft Office for Mac 2001, Office for Mac 2004, Office for Mac 2008, Office for Mac 2011, Office for Mac 2016, Office 2019 for Mac, the latest in the Home and Business version and in the 365 version.
Office 365 For Mac
Having said the story, let’s move on to actuality. There are currently numerous versions of Office, but perhaps the most popular is Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), a subscription service that gives you constant access to the latest suite developed by Microsoft.
All Microsoft 365 plans for home and personal use include the latest and greatest versions of the suite’s classic applications, such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel, as well as additional online storage, ongoing technical support at no additional cost, and more.
Microsoft 365 Home For Mac
Microsoft 365 Home includes Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) that can be used by a total of 6 users (Mac or PC). The service includes OneDrive (1TB of storage for a total of five users). The applications can also be used on 5 tablets or 5 phones.
Office 365 Home For Mac Pricing
Officially Office 365 Home costs 99.99 euros for a year, but on Amazon, it is also found at lower figures: at the time of writing it is sold for about 70 euros.
Office 365 Personal For Mac
Office 365 Personal is ideal for individuals. Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook applications for 1 user (Mac or PC). Services include OneDrive (1TB) and Skype (60 minutes per month for Skype calls to mobile and landlines per user). The applications can also be used on 1 tablet or 1 phone.
Most Office 365 plans for businesses, educational institutions, and nonprofits include fully installed versions of the applications, but there are also basic plans with online versions of Office, file storage, and email. It is up to the user to choose the plan that best suits their needs: small businesses, large corporations, educational institutions, or non-profit organizations.
Office 365 Personal Price
It would cost 69.99 euros, but even here on Amazon, it is cheaper.
Microsoft 365 Business
Microsoft 365 Business (for companies) starts at € 4.20 + VAT per user per month and includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneDrive services. The Microsoft 365 Business Premium version costs 16.50 euros + VAT per user per month and includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams cloud services, Exchange, OneDribe, Sharepoint.
Office For Mac 2019
Office 2019 is available for purchase as a one-time copy, which means you pay a single upfront cost to get Office applications that run on a single computer, without paying any subscription. There is no upgrade option, which means that if you intend to upgrade to future new versions when this becomes available, it is necessary to purchase them at full price.
What Is Included In Office Home & Student 2019 For Mac?
Office Home & Students 2016 includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. No services are included and the product can be installed on one computer only.
Office Home & Student 2019 Price For Mac?
Office for Mac 2016 has a list price of 149 euros, but on Amazon, it is sometimes at a discounted price.
Office Home & Business 2019
Office Home & Business 2019 is designed for home businesses and small businesses. Includes full versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook. Office as a one-time purchase does not include the services provided with Office 365. The official cost is 275 euros, but it is possible to have it at a price slightly higher than that of Office for Mac Home & Student
Better Microsoft 365 Or Office Home & Business 2019 For Mac?
Microsoft 365 subscriptions are compatible with both Mac and PC. If, on the other hand, you want to buy a single copy of Office, you must choose Office Home & Business 20169 for Mac or Office Home & Student 2019. The opportunity to choose one or the other depends on the needs and spending power of each.
Better Microsoft 365 If …
- You want to have a constantly updated product
- You want to have online storage
- You want to be able to exchange files easily
- You want to have a volume licensing system
- Different operating systems are used
Better Office Home & Business 2016 If ..
- The main, almost unique reason: if you want to spend as little as possible
- If you have basic needs (writing, spreadsheets)
- There is no need for product support
Download And Install Office 365 Or Office 2019
Before downloading and installing Office, you need to verify that the Mac or PC meets the system requirements (at the bottom you will find the dedicated paragraph but in principle, you need a Mac with Intel CPU, OS X 10.10 or later, 4GB of RAM and at least 6GB of free disk space). Products intended for individuals include a Product Key (an activation key); obtained the code after purchase, you need to log in to office.com/setup, indicate your Microsoft account details (if we don’t have one, we can create it for free), enter the product key, specify the country or region and the language. At this point you need to select Install Office> Install if you are logged in with a Microsoft account or Install Office apps> Office 2019 if you are logged in with a work or school account.
Install Office
Once the download is complete, you need to open the Finder, open the Downloads folder and:
- Double click on Microsoft_Office_2019_Installer.pkg (the name may be different in some cases).
- On the first installation screen, select “Continue” to begin the installation process.
- Review the software license agreement and click Continue
- Select Accept to accept the terms of the software license agreement.
- Choose how you want to install Office and click Continue
- Check the disk space requirements or change the installation path, then click Install.
- Enter your Mac login password, if required, and then click Install Software. This is the password you use to log into your Mac.
- The software installation starts. When finished, click Close.
Activate Office For Mac
At the end of the installation, it is possible to start one of the programs of the suite, for example, Word, by starting it from the Applications folder or from the Mac Launchpad (it is obviously possible to add the icons in the Dock at any time) At the first start of Word (or other application of the suite ) the “News” window opens automatically. Click Begin to start activation.
What Is Office Online?
Office Online is the free version of Office that can be used for free in the web browser, without installing anything, by creating a Microsoft account. Formerly known as Office Web Apps, it offers anywhere access to lightweight (web-usable) versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. The service (accessible from ww.office.com) includes Outlook.com, Perone, Calendar and OneDrive, and more. The documents you create are stored on OneDrive and are therefore accessible anywhere.
Office For iOS (iPad and iPhone)
Microsoft Office Mobile apps ( Word, Excel, and PowerPoint ) have the classic look of Office but are designed to be used with the touchscreen of the iPhone, iPad, and iPad Pro. You can view, edit and create documents on the go and quickly access documents in the cloud whenever you need them. Office documents retain the same formatting on computers and mobile devices. You can easily share documents with others by sending an attachment or hyperlink via email.
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are available for free for download, but the free version can only be used on devices with screens up to 10.1 “inches. IPads with the largest screen require an Office 365 subscription that offers access to various functions for up to five desktop machines, including Mac and PC, as well as other devices such as iPhones and iPads.
The apps of the Office suite in the App Store have the express purpose of bringing back on the screens of Cupertino devices the exact user experience provided on PC and Mac. As regards Word documents it will be possible to work with images, tables, graphs, SmartArt, footnotes, and equations, just like in their respective desktop version. Word documents will be displayed perfectly and you will be able to view e-mail attachments and access all your Word documents even from OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint. Furthermore, a really important feature, especially in the workplace, is the ability to leave any job halfway, being able to pick it up where you left it, given that Word for iPad stores the latest version of the document, regardless of the device you are using. Even the Excel spreadsheets present to the user all the typical functions of the homonymous application available for some time on PC and Mac. It will be possible to work with formulas, tables, graphs, comments, hyperlinks, sparklines, and conditional formatting. Again, you will be able to access your files directly from OneDrive and leave your work at any time to resume it from another device. The same goes for PowerPoint for iPad, which will allow you to work with images, tables, graphics, SmartArt, transitions, and animations, just like in the desktop version. You will be able to work with formulas, tables, charts, comments, hyperlinks, sparklines, and conditional formatting. Again, you will be able to access your files directly from OneDrive and leave your work at any time to resume it from another device. The same goes for PowerPoint for iPad, which will allow you to work with images, tables, graphics, SmartArt, transitions, and animations, just like in the desktop version. You will be able to work with formulas, tables, charts, comments, hyperlinks, sparklines, and conditional formatting. Again, you will be able to access your files directly from OneDrive and leave your work at any time to resume it from another device. The same is true for PowerPoint for iPad, which will allow you to work with images, tables, graphics, SmartArt, transitions, and animations, just like in the desktop version.
Office For Mac On The Mac App Store
Apple in the context of WWDC 2018 announced the availability of Office for Mac also on the Mac App Store. The choice falls within the context of the renewal of the Apple application store as a result of which important programs should be put on sale.
Also Read : Apple Announces Faster, More Powerful Non-Intel Macs