Office For Mac 2016: First Look
Microsoft Office for Mac 2016 combines Windows and Mac interfaces with built-in cloud storage.
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Microsoft is getting ready to launch another version of its productivity suite for Apple's OS, five years after its release of Office for Mac in 2011. The newest version of Office is now available for preview by Mac users.
This is the latest in a series of efforts by Microsoft to broaden its services among competing platforms. An iPad-compatible version of Office launched in 2014, followed by Office for Android tablets and Outlook for iOS and Android in early 2015.
Beyond the updates to iOS and Android, a slew of Office-related news has been coming from Redmond. Microsoft recently gave Windows Insiders the opportunity to test Office for Windows 10, revamped Office Online, and broadened cloud integration for its line of Office apps. It also teased new details on Office for Windows 10 at this week's Mobile World Congress.
As per CEO Satya Nadella's "mobile first, cloud first" strategy, Office 2016 for Mac is driven by the cloud. It's designed so that documents are accessible across OneDrive, OneDrive for Business and SharePoint across personal and work devices by signing into an Office account.
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This preview of Office for Mac 2016 includes upgraded versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, and OneNote. It's free to test, but when it launches later this year, Office 2016 will require a subscription to Office 365 or purchase of an individual package if users want to do more than read or print Office documents.
Opinions on the 2016 platform note that the current Office for Mac 2011 looks outdated in comparison to a new design that resembles a mix of the older Office and fresh Windows interface. In a blog post on the announcement, Microsoft wrote that the new apps offer full retina display support and thousands of retina-optimized graphics.
The redesigned Ribbon UI now fits with the theme of OS X. It also offers a new task pane interface that organizes features so they can be easily located. The new OS is required for download, which should be welcome news to Apple as it gives users another reason to upgrade to OS X 10.10 Yosemite.
Let's take a closer look at the updated Office for Mac apps and what each has to offer. Check out the features on the following pages, and then tell us what you like most (and last) about Microsoft Office for Mac 2016 in the comments section below.
The updated Word 2016 for Mac resembles Word in iOS and Windows. This version allows co-authoring, so multiple users can edit the same content on different devices. Authors can also track comments aligned with relevant text to see who made changes and when. An "Updates Available" alert indicates when someone has changed the document.
Microsoft has also added a new navigation pane to flip through pages of content, a style pane to choose and review styles that apply to the whole document, and enhanced dictionary support to improve understanding.
Excel for Mac received a major upgrade with a wealth of new features. The new version includes keyboard shortcuts that are consistent with the PC edition of Office. Previous Mac combinations will still work, but users switching from Mac to PC will have an easier time doing so. Microsoft has also added the ability to print to PDF, enhanced autocomplete and a full formula binder.
Additional tools include a new Analysis Toolpak, which provides statistical functions. PivotTable Slicers, a useful data analysis tool, let users repivot information to spot patterns and gain insight.
Updates to PowerPoint for Mac 2016 include new slide transitions and an overview of all animations on the slide deck. An updated presenter view displays the current slide, in addition to relevant notes; shows the next slide so the presenter can prepare; displays a timer; and makes a collection of slides visible across the bottom of the screen.
The newly released Outlook for Mac is also part of the preview suite. It includes push mail support to facilitate consistent inbox updates, an improved conversation view that automatically organizes threaded conversations, and new message preview that shows the first sentence of an email below the subject line. It's a useful app for those familiar with Outlook who rely daily on Microsoft Exchange.
OneNote isn't technically new to Mac users; it has been free for about one year. But users need an Office 365 subscription to gain access to SharePoint notebooks. It's the final member of the Office for Mac 2016 preview suite.
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