Microsoft launched the first public preview of its Office 2016 suite for Mac earlier this year, and has continued to improve it with regular updates. But today, the new generation of Microsoft"s productivity applications exited the preview phase, with the official launch of Office 2016 for Mac in 139 countries and 16 languages.
Microsoft said today that the preview was the biggest Office for Mac beta ever, with over 100,000 pieces of feedback submitted to help make the new programs even better. The company promises that Office 2016 for Mac will continue to get better over time, with updates and releases for Office 365 customers "at least once per quarter".
Office 2016 for Mac includes five applications:
Word for Mac—Word’s powerful writing and reviewing tools make it easy to create great-looking documents. The new Design tab lets you easily apply designer-quality layouts, colors and fonts throughout your document. You can work on the same document simultaneously with your teammates and use threaded comments to have a conversation right next to the corresponding text.
Excel for Mac—The new Excel for Mac helps you visualize your information by recommending charts best suited for your data with chart previews. Familiar keyboard shortcuts, autocomplete and an improved formula builder save you time when creating spreadsheets or entering data. For deeper analysis, new PivotTable Slicers help you filter large volumes of data and discover patterns.
PowerPoint for Mac—PowerPoint’s improved Presenter View gives you full control when you present by showing you the current slide, next slide, speaker notes and a timer on your Mac screen, while the audience only sees your presentation on the big screen. The new animation pane helps you design and fine-tune animations, and the latest set of slide transitions add polish to your presentations.
Outlook for Mac—Managing your email, calendar, contacts and tasks has never been easier. The new Outlook for Mac has push mail support so your inbox is always up-to-date. The improved conversation view automatically organizes your inbox around threaded conversations, so you won’t have to hunt for related messages. And the new message preview shows you the first sentence of an email just below the subject line so you can quickly decide if you want to read it now or come back later.
OneNote for Mac—OneNote is the newest addition to Office for Mac. You can capture your ideas in digital notebooks and access them on any device. Find things quickly with the OneNote search engine that tracks your tags, indexes your typed notes and recognizes text in images and handwritten notes. Bold, italicize, underline or highlight notes, insert files, pictures and tables and organize your notes however you want. You can also share notebooks with friends, family or colleagues so everyone can work together on travel plans, household tasks or work projects.
Office 2016 for Mac is available today for Office 365 subscribers (Home, Personal, Business, Business Premium, E3 or ProPlus). For those who prefer not to pay a recurring subscription, the suite will be available as a one-time purchase option in September.