During last year’s Ignite conference, Microsoft officially announced the next perpetual update for Office, Office 2019. Office 2019 will feature updated versions of the Office apps (including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) and servers (including Exchange, SharePoint, and Skype for Business). At Ignite 2018 today, Microsoft announced the general availability of Office 2019 for Windows and Mac that comes with the updated on-premises version of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Project, Visio, Access, and Publisher. Read about the new features that will be part of the Office 2019 release below:

Word

• Black theme
• Learning tools (captions and audio descriptions)
• Speech feature (text-to-speech)
• Improved inking functionality
• Accessibility improvements

Excel

Microsoft last year announced that there will be a successor to Office 2016, the non-subscription version of the application suite, and that the upgrade would ship in about a year. Microsoft is testing Office 2019 for Mac with businesses before it’s available in the second half of 2018. Like the Windows version, the Mac offering is designed for businesses that aren’t. The all new Office 2019 is here. Microsoft Office Home and Business is for families and small businesses who want classic Office apps and email installed on one Windows 10 PC or Mac for use at home or work. The Office 2019 for Mac preview, like the Windows variant, is meant to be tested by business users with volume-license agreements with Microsoft, not consumers, as the FAQ page notes. Microsoft is releasing Office 2019 for Windows and Mac today. The update is designed for businesses and consumers that haven’t opted into Microsoft’s Office 365 service with monthly feature.

Microsoft is releasing Office 2019 for Windows and Mac today. The update is designed for businesses and consumers that haven’t opted into Microsoft’s Office 365 service with monthly feature. Microsoft Office 2019 for Mac gives you the essentials to get it all done with the classic versions of the Office applications. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote have the familiar look and feel of Office, thoughtfully designed for Mac.

• Funnel charts, 2D maps, and timelines
• New Excel functions and connectors
• Ability to publish Excel to PowerBI
• PowerPivot enhancements
• PowerQuery enhancements

PowerPoint

• Zoom capabilities for ordering of slides within presentations
• Morph transition feature
• Ability to insert and manage Icons, SVG, and 3D models
• Improved roaming pencil case

Outlook

• Updated contact cards
• Office 365 Groups
• @mentions
• Focused inbox
• Travel and delivery summary cards

Commercial volume license (trusted) customers can download Office 2019 starting today. And Office 2019 will be available to all customers, consumer and commercial in the coming weeks.

Source: Microsoft

Businesses using Macs have a couple options when it comes to licensing Microsoft Office software. Organizations can purchase Office 365 subscriptions, a growing trend, including for hosted Exchange services. OEM licenses are an alternative, although the choice's popularity is increasingly fading. Or, businesses can purchase on-premises (volume) licenses.

Microsoft is targeting the latter group with its Office for Mac 2019 commercial preview, released in June 2018. Ultimately, Microsoft plans to release Office for Mac 2019 concurrently with Office for Windows sometime in the second half of 2018.

SEE: Software licensing policy (Tech Pro Research)

Office 2019 for Mac will include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote and will come with many enhancements for users and IT departments.

Office 2019 For Mac Techsoup Quickbooks

The platform's enhancements are already available to Office 365 ProPlus subscribers; however, not every business is ready to migrate licensing to cloud models and still seek to leverage volume licenses. So, the 2019 Mac edition adds a roaming pencil case, which is the ability to track various digital pen, pencil, and highlighter options and settings across multiple apps and devices for users, and ribbon customization, which permits customizing apps' menu settings, for all applications in the suite.

Each program within Microsoft's Office suite receives various improvements, too.

Word receives a new Focus mode, which minimizes distractions when drafting documents, and new translation capabilities, as well as improved inking using a Windows Pen. Accessibility options are also updated, including a darker theme, learning tool captions, text-to-speech capabilities, and audio descriptions for features.

SEE: Microsoft delivers Office 2019 for Mac test build (ZDNet)

PowerPoint packs new Morph transitions, which animate movements between slides. In addition, the slide deck software adds the ability to insert and manage icons and three-dimensional models and support for exporting 4k video. A new play in-click sequence is also included.

Excel receives new funnel charts and two-dimensional maps. New Excel functions include CONCAT, TEXTJOIN, IFS, and SWITCH.

Outlook has a focused Inbox. Developers also enabled more efficient email processing by adding support for @mentions, the ability to send messages later or on a delay, email templates, and travel and delivery summary information.

Office 2019 for Mac: What IT pros need to know

Office 2019 for Mac includes features to help IT departments better manage deployment and administration, too.

Office 2019 For Mac

Command-line functions assist configuring update settings, while improved mobile-device management policy and preference support and compatibility are baked into the new platform. These improvements better enable IT departments to enforce organization-wide security policies, including for Visual Basic macros and application controls.

Organizations that want to test the commercial preview can do so by registering with Microsoft Collaborate. Microsoft notes that the Office 2019 commercial preview is intended for businesses that plan to deploy perpetual, volume-licensed, versions of Office 2019 only; mobile previews are not included in the preview program. More instructions for joining the Office 2019 preview, as well as loading the software and submitting feedback, can be found on Microsoft's site.

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Also see

• Microsoft to give Office 365, Office.com apps a makeover (ZDNet)
• Microsoft Office 'Fluent Design' makeover could simplify work, boost productivity (TechRepublic)
• Microsoft boosts collaboration in Office for iOS via co-authoring feature (TechRepublic)
• Cost comparison calculator: G Suite vs. Office 365 (Tech Pro Research)