Microsoft is releasing a new version of Office 2016 for Mac today, version 16.9.0 (Build 18011602). It replaces version 15.41.0, so for all intents and purposes, this is version 16. Along with a number of new features, the new release marks a milestone for the software, which is that for the first time in decades, all versions of Office share the same code base.
But as mentioned, there are quite a few new features. If you"re an Office Insider, you"ve had these for a little while now. Here"s what"s new for Word 2016:
Edit with others in real time: Thumbnails in the upper-right corner of the window show who else is working with you in a shared document. Flag icons show where others are working and you can view changes as they type.
We save for you! Changes are saved automatically for documents, worksheets, and presentations stored in the cloud, and you can see others’ updates in seconds. Need to roll back? Check the version history for a list of changes and access to earlier versions.
Quickly access your sites and groups: Quickly find presentations stored in your frequently used sites and groups in the Open menu.
There are also some security fixes for Word, including two remote code execution vulnerabilities: CVE-2018-0792 and CVE-2018-0794.
Here"s what"s new in Excel:
Collaborative editing: Work with others at the same time in your workbook. Thumbnails in the upper-right corner of the window show who else is viewing or editing the file with you.
We save for you! Changes are saved automatically for documents, worksheets, and presentations stored in the cloud, and you can see others’ updates in seconds. Need to roll back? Check the version history for a list of changes and access to earlier versions.
More charts: Use new charts, such as funnel, sunburst and histogram, to transform your data into professional visualizations, or use the new Map chart type to transform geographic data into a map with just a few steps.
More functions: Shorten the formulas you write using the new logical functions IFS and SWITCH.
Quickly access your sites and groups: Quickly find presentations stored in your frequently used sites and groups in the Open menu.
Better support for PivotTable charts: Change your filters in a PivotTable, and the chart you created will automatically adjust to show exactly what you want.
Multi-threaded calculation Formulas are updated faster when values are changed, because Excel uses multiple processing threads.
There are no security fixes for Excel, or PowerPoint for that matter. Here"s what"s new in PowerPoint:
Edit with others in real time: Thumbnails in the upper-right corner of the window show who else is working with you in a shared document. Flag icons show where others are working and you can view changes as they type.
We save for you! Changes are saved automatically for documents, worksheets, and presentations stored in the cloud, and you can see others’ updates in seconds. Need to roll back? Check the version history for a list of changes and access to earlier versions.
See what"s changed: Slides that have been modified by others while you were away are highlighted.
A quick start to your research: Starting from scratch is hard. QuickStarter automatically creates an outline for your topic of choice with suggested talking points and designs that make your presentation pop.
Trim media: Remove unwanted content from the beginning or end of an audio or video clip.
Quickly access your sites and groups: Quickly find presentations stored in your frequently used sites and groups in the Open menu.
Laser pointer in Slide Show: Use your mouse as a laser pointer to draw attention to certain parts of your slide.
Finally, here"s what"s new in Outlook:
- Archive or delete with just one swipe: Save time organizing your Inbox by swiping left with two fingers across the touchpad to archive an email or swiping right to delete it.
- Support for Google Calendar and Contacts: No need to move between apps! Manage your Google Calendar and Contacts without leaving Outlook.
Outlook also contains a security fix for a remote code execution vulnerability, CVE-2018-0793. There"s an update for OneNote as well, although there are no changes listed.
As you can see, there are quite a few new features across the board. You can update Office by going to the Help menu and selecting Check for Updates.