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Mac os ms office: Microsoft Office for Mac: Microsoft 365 vs Office 2021 buying advice

5 Ways To Get Microsoft Office For Mac For Free (inc. M1 & M2 Macs)

If you want to use Microsoft Office and apps such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint for Mac but without having to pay a subscription, here we show you how to use Microsoft Office on a Mac for free.

Limited Offer: You can currently get 81% off a Microsoft Office For Mac Home & Business Lifetime License for $39.99 (normally $219.99) or 81% off 2 Lifetime Licenses for $79.99 (normally $439.98) for a limited period.

Here you’ll learn how to use Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Sharepoint, OneDrive and other MS Office apps for free in macOS including on Apple Silicon M1 Macs and M2 Macs.

This will save you $150 in a one off purchase of Microsoft Office for Mac or anything up to $100 per year for a subscription.

Office 365 is now known as Microsoft 365 and will be referred as such here as Microsoft is currently rebranding the entire Microsoft Office line as Microsoft 365.

Note that Microsoft Visio for Mac, Publisher For Mac, Project For Mac and Access For Mac are not available in either Office 365 or Microsoft 365.

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Quick Navigation

  • Is There A Free Version of Microsoft Office For Mac?
  • 1. Download Microsoft Office For Mac Education Edition
  • 2. Sign-up For The Microsoft Office For Mac Free Trial
  • 3. Use Office.com Online
  • 4. Use a Microsoft Home Plan Invite
  • 5. Use Microsoft Office On iOS For Free

Is There A Free Version of Microsoft Office For Mac?

There is no free version of Microsoft Office for Mac although there are a few workarounds to use it for free on macOS which we will show you here.

You can however use Microsoft Outlook for Mac for free now but not the rest of the Microsoft Office suite.

The closest thing to a free version of Microsoft Office on Mac is Apple’s iWork which includes Pages, Numbers and Keynote.

With this in mind, here’s how to use Microsoft Office For Mac For Free in 2022.

1. Download Microsoft Office For Mac Education Edition

If you’re in education, you can download the student version of Microsoft Office. This is because many educational institutions have paid for an educational license which can be used by students.

Many educational institutions pay for Office 365 plans, allowing students and teachers to download the software for free.

Alternatively, you can get student discounts on most Microsoft software.

2. Sign-up For The Microsoft Office For Mac Free Trial

You can sign up for a one-month free trial of Microsoft Office for Mac (now called “Microsoft 365”) which enables you to use all Microsoft Office applications for free during that period.

You will need to enter your credit card details but can cancel your subscription at any time—even so that you don’t get billed.

The free trial of MS Office for Mac allows you to download the desktop version of Microsoft Office for Mac and gives you full access to the Microsoft 365 Home Plan

This includes Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote and 1TB of OneDrive storage in OneDrive.

If you’re a business you can also sign-up for a 30 day free trial of Office 365 ProPlus.

3. Use Office.com Online

Nowadays you can use Microsoft Office.com for free in a web browser. However, the online version of Office isn’t as complete as the desktop version and does not work offline.

You can though still open and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents in any browser on your Mac.

Simply go to Office.com and sign up for a free Microsoft account to start using Word, Excel, or PowerPoint for free on your Mac.

You can also upload files from your Mac into Office.com which will be saved in Microsoft OneDrive.

4. Use a Microsoft Home Plan Invite

If you know a friend or relative that already has a Microsoft 365 Home plan they can share it with up to five other people.

You can simply request that they send you can invite via email in the Office Sharing page in their Microsoft account.

Once invited you can sign-in and download Microsoft Office for Mac which includes 1TB of OneDrive storage.

Alternatively, you could agree to split the $100 Microsoft Office subscription fee between you can 5 others which works out a lot cheaper than buying Office for Mac on its own.

5. Use Microsoft Office On iOS For Free

If you’ve already got an iOS device such as an iPhone or iPad then you can use Word, Excel and PowerPoint on iOS for free.

This is only for non-commercial use though which means non-business related and only for personal reasons.

You can download Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook for free from the iOS App Store on your iPad or iPhone.

You can create, edit and print documents for free although you will need to create a Microsoft ID to do so first.

Note that unfortunately, this doesn’t work on the iPad Pro as the free version for Microsoft Office for iOS does not support screens bigger than 10. 2 inches.

You can however use Microsoft Office on the iPad Pro with a Microsoft Office 365 subscription.

Office for Macs: Microsoft 365 for Mac: What’s Different?

Lesson 1: Microsoft 365 for Mac: What’s Different?

What’s different on a Mac?

If you use a Windows computer or a Mac, Microsoft 365 is designed to work the same way on both systems. However, there are some differences to point out, and we’ll go over them in this lesson. To access Microsoft 365, you can purchase an online subscription. With it, you’ll have the ability to access your saved files from any device because they are stored in the cloud. Later on, we’ll talk more about this and how it works for Word and PowerPoint.

Watch the video below to see how using Microsoft 365 is different on a Mac.

Note: If you are new to Microsoft 365, check out our in-depth tutorial here.

Home window

When you first open Word or PowerPoint on a computer, you’ll see the Home window. From here, you can easily open a new blank file or select a recent file to quickly access it.

On the left side pane, New will give you more template options, Recent has a longer list of files that you have worked on previously, Shared lets you see what people have shared with you, and Open lets you find a file from your OneDrive or computer.

For this example, we’ll click New followed by selecting the Menu template. Then, we’ll click the Create button.

File menu

One of the main differences between using Office for Mac versus a Windows computer is that the File menu is located on the application toolbar at the top of the screen. Depending on which application you are using, the File menu options change accordingly. For example, Word says New Document while PowerPoint would say New Presentation. Generally, this menu is where you can create a new file, open a file already created, save the file you are working on, and print your current file. If you are logged into your OneDrive account, you can easily share a file by saving it there.

Keyboard shortcuts

Many of the keyboard shortcuts you may be used to on a Windows computer still work on Mac, but instead of using the Ctrl button, you use the Command button on your keyboard. For example, to select all, you’ll hold down Command+A on a Mac. When switching devices, you can use many of the same shortcuts using the Command key.

Word

Word for Microsoft 365 opens without the ruler at the top and side of the page on a Mac. To enable it, click the View Tab; then, check the checkbox for Ruler. Now, you can easily make adjustments to your margins.

Another feature that could help you create your document is Developer mode. Don’t let the name make you nervous because it is simply used to make documents more interactive. To open it, click Word to have the drop-down menu appear, then click Preferences.

Within Word Preferences, click Ribbon & Toolbar.

Scroll down and check the checkbox for Developer followed by the Save button.

The Developer Tab lets you input checkboxes, date selection calendars, and text boxes.

PowerPoint

For PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, these are the main differences. First off, what some may know of as the Dictate feature on the Windows version is not yet available for the Mac version. You’ll have to use Mac’s built-in voice-to-text setting instead located in System Preferences.

Under the Slide Show Tab, in order to present with Presenter View, click the Presenter View button.

To show the ruler to help you align objects on your slides, you can enable it by going to the View Tab; then, check the checkbox for Ruler.

Quitting without saving

For any Microsoft App on a Mac, when you quit without saving, the dialog box is slightly different. If you are logged into your OneDrive account, the default saving place is OneDrive. Using OneDrive frees up your local hard drive space for files that you don’t want to store on the cloud.

If you simply want to save the file to your Mac, click the On My Mac button.

You can fill out and make your selections as you normally would to save your documents.

If you are worried about compatibility, don’t be. As long as you are using Microsoft 365 apps, any files you create will always work on both systems.

As you can see Microsoft 365 for Mac may have some slight differences, but most of the regular functions and features are located on the same tabs and work the same. To learn more, you can check out our other Office lessons and easily follow along using your Mac or MacBook.





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macOS – Compatibility – Apple (UK)

It’s important for everyone to be able to get along with others. For a computer, too. macOS gives you the ability to work in Microsoft Office, connect to standard printers, cameras, and PC networks, and even run Windows.

Switching from PC to new Mac? Consider the job already done.

macOS allows you to transfer everything from your old PC to your new Mac. The built-in Windows to Mac migration feature in macOS automatically transfers all your documents, music, contacts, calendars, and email accounts (Outlook and Windows Live Mail) into the appropriate folders and apps on your new Mac. Everything is elementary.

If you purchase a Mac from the Apple Store, the Personalization Service will help you get everything ready to go.

Collaboration with any users.

Every Mac comes with Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, Apple’s powerful office apps that let you create great documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. In any of these applications, you can open and edit files together with other users – alone or with a whole team. You can work on the same document from different parts of the city or from different parts of the world. Plus, you can open, edit, and save Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, which means you can easily collaborate with others on both Mac and PC.

Microsoft Office for Mac. Support for Microsoft Exchange Server.

Fun fact: There is a version of Microsoft Office designed specifically for the Mac. You can use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on a Mac just like you can on a PC.

In addition, macOS supports the latest version of Microsoft Exchange Server. This means that you can easily use familiar applications on Mac, as well as work mail, calendar and contacts.

With iCloud, your documents are available to you from anywhere.

Your Mac also comes with iCloud Drive, which keeps all your presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, images, and many other file types securely in iCloud. They will be available to you from any device, including iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac and PC. 1

Sets the industry standard.

With support for standard formats, macOS works with almost all email services and websites. The system also supports most common file types, including Office and PDF documents, images, text files, MP3s, videos, ZIP archives, and other file formats.

Whether you’re transferring files from a PC or your friends and colleagues send you files, you can be sure that they will open easily on a Mac.

Don’t worry. Your camera, printer and mouse work too.

Almost any device that connects to your computer via USB, audio cable, or Bluetooth will work with your Mac. This applies to digital cameras, external hard drives, printers, keyboards, speakers, and even mice. In addition, macOS uses technologies such as AirPrint and various class drivers. Just plug in your devices and get started—no manual download required.

You can even run Windows on a Mac.

Do you sometimes need to work with Windows applications? No problem. With Boot Camp, any new Mac can install Windows and run at full speed.

The installation process is simple and safe for files on Mac. You can run a Mac running macOS or Windows, your choice. And if you need to run both Windows and Mac apps at the same time without restarting your computer, you can install Windows using VMware or Parallels software. 2

Connect to a PC over the network.

In addition to browsing files on your Mac, Finder allows you to easily find files on other computers on your home network—Mac and PC. Computers that share files automatically appear in the Shared section of the Finder sidebar. There you can open files and folders that you have permission to view.

macOS compatible

  • Microsoft Office for Mac and Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents created on a Mac or PC.
  • Windows operating system using Boot Camp or third party software.
  • Access to Microsoft Exchange Server via Mail, Contacts, and Calendar.
  • Almost all postal services.
  • Popular file types including PDF, JPG, ZIP, MP3, PSD and more.
  • Digital cameras, printers, hard drives, mice and keyboards with USB connection.
  • Wi-Fi hotspots and Windows networks.
  • Text messages in Skype, Facebook, WeChat, LINE and many other applications.

How to Install MS Office on Mac – Cloud Service Provider

Mar 25, 2019 | Office 365

Despite the competition between the two largest US corporations, most of the software products they create have well-developed compatibility. Microsoft’s proprietary office applications as part of the Office package appeared on MacOS a relatively long time ago. Some users, of course, had questions about the quality of work due to compatibility, but Microsoft has always actively monitored comments and reports. Fixes have always been made at a frequency that rivals the release of product updates for the native Windows operating system.

Relatively recently, Apple’s collection of applications for OSes has been replenished with the long-awaited version of the office suite with the prefix 2019. It includes all the additions and fixes from the 365 system, including: updated design, improved technical component and new templates for Word, Publisher, PowerPoint. Next, we’ll walk you through how to purchase, download, and install Office on a Mac without the hassle.

Buying right

IT piracy is an age-old problem of developers and the state, so we will not consider ways to illegally download programs and install them. The original application package can be purchased from official suppliers or directly through the official portal. We will focus on the latter option for a more detailed study.

Important: If you are not sure that the updated Office is really needed, then the manufacturers offer to participate in the preliminary study system. Account holders can download and install all software from free license, the validity period of which is 30 calendar days. After that, you can make a payment or delete everything downloaded from computer .

Let’s immediately clarify that for MacOS owners there is a standard licensing system, which assumes for the work option:

  • subscription under the MS 365 program;
  • one-time purchase of a boxed version with a perpetual key.

We’ve talked about the advantages and disadvantages of each of these items many times, so now let’s jump right into buying. As mentioned above, the user will need their own account in the Microsoft environment. Its registration is completely free and is quite fast. The main thing is to correctly indicate the following data: full name, address of residence (for billing and correspondence), as well as coordinates – mobile phone number and email.

The Microsoft Online Store page provides a self-selection option for licensing and software packages. The pricing policy here is quite simple – the more programs and services included in the kit, the more expensive it is. The option to select a trial version is also in this section. The purchase process itself is also no different from that in the online store: add the product to the cart, study the terms of provision, enter the bank card number and confirm the payment. After that, access to download utility that will automatically download everything you need to your computer.

Installation process

The developers have taken care of consumers, saving them from having to manually install each component. It is enough just to run the executable file on the PC after downloading.

In the window that appears, the user will need to do a minimum number of actions. If you wish, you can read the terms of the license agreement. Many people ignore them by immediately clicking the “Continue” button, but it is recommended to study them in order to avoid misunderstandings with the developers in case of errors. After acceptance, it remains to select the placement options and confirm the start of the installer.

Important: Beforehand, you should make sure that there is enough free space on your hard disk, and also check the quality of the Internet connection. In the process, all components will be downloaded from the company’s servers.

Notes

If you decide to join the Office 365 technology, then you should not forget about the timely replenishment of the balance. A few days before the end of the provided period, Microsoft will warn you about the need to deposit funds, as well as the consequences of not meeting the requirement.