Update Word ?

[Em-Ess]

I’m thinking of buying a new Mac laptop. But I need to make it compatible with my old o ne on which I am running Word 2008. I have some key files I will need to access and update. What must I do to make that work? Will Word 2016 work on the new Mac? Will Word 2016 on a new Mack access Word 2008 files? Etc.

 

[honestone]

What Mac OS are you using on your current machine? Also, do you just have Word 2008, or Office 2008?

I use Office 2011, and I am just about certain it can read Word and Excel 2008 files. Not sure, though, about Office 2016/Word 2016.

 

[Em-Ess]

What Mac OS are you using on your current machine? Also, do you just have Word 2008, or Office 2008?

I use Office 2011, and I am just about certain it can read Word and Excel 2008 files. Not sure, though, about Office 2016/Word 2016.

The OS is 10.6.8 and I have Office 2008. Will Office 2011 work on a new Mac?

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

Both Office 2008 and 2011 do work in El Capitan. However, Microsoft dropped support for Office 2008 back in 2013, and it has a few quirks like slow launch/quit of the apps ever since Yosemite. I know of many folks that run Office 2011 just fine in El Capitan. If Microsoft is consistent, they will probably officially drop support for 2011 within a year. Office 2016/365 is fully compatible and supported.

Both Office 2011 and 2016 are backwards-compatible with Office 2008 documents, so you'll be safe there. It is really up to you on which version to purchase,...just remember that 2011 support will eventually be dropped.

Personally, I don't use any Microsoft software any longer, other than Microsoft Remote Desktop, which is required to access some things I do for work. I use Apple Keynote/Numbers/Pages and Google Docs/Sheets/Slides for anything Office-related.

Hope that helps,

C

 

[Em-Ess]

Thank you so much, Cory, for your info; it is very helpful. I think I know now how to proceed.

 

[honestone]

Just to re-enforce Cory's point, I use Office 2011 on both of my Macs (a late 2012 Mac Mini, and a mid-2013 13" MacBook Air), with the OS on both of them being the latest version of El Capitan, OS 10.11.5, and they work flawlessly. In fact, I depend upon Outlook as my EMail program.