![\"Microsoft](\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Microsoft-Office-macOS-High-Sierra-Support.png\")
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macOS High Sierra is due to be released to the general public today, and it’s a good idea to prepare\u00a0your Mac before upgrading<\/a>. While it’s imperative to prepare ahead of time,\u00a0we also want to highlight the supportability of\u00a0software that many Mac users depend on: Microsoft Office for Mac.<\/p>\n Do you use Office for Mac 2011? Well, as of macOS 10.13 High Sierra, Microsoft is dropping support for Office 2011<\/a>. This means that, if you depend on this software, you need to make some changes.\u00a0You have several options of which we will focus on below.<\/p>\n Your first option is to buy a copy of Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac<\/a>. This costs from $150 (Home & Student edition) to $230 (Home & Business edition). Each of these are\u00a0only valid for one user on one Mac; so, if you have more than one Mac, such as an iMac and a MacBook Pro, you won’t be able to use it on both. Also, you can’t share it with your family members, and if you happen to also work on a Windows PC, you won’t be able to install the software. So this isn’t a very flexible option.<\/p>\n Office 365 is Microsoft’s subscription service<\/a>, which offers access to the full Office suite, along with with online features such as 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage.<\/p>\n It comes in two versions: Office 365 Personal<\/a>, for a single user, cost $7 a month, or $70 a year, and Office 365 Home<\/a>, which covers five users, costs $10 a month or $100 a year. The Personal version allows you to install the software on one Mac or PC, one iPad, and one iPhone, so it’s not ideal if you have two Macs; the Home version gives you five installations of each kind. These subscriptions also include 60 minutes of Skype calls to mobile phones and landlines per month.<\/p>\n If you run a small business, you can get Office 365 Business, with similar features, for $10 a month or $100 a year. You also get access to Office Online, which allows you to edit Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote documents in your browser.<\/p>\n The advantages to Office 365 are obvious: multiple devices, both computers and iOS devices, and cloud storage. If you want to use Office apps anywhere, this is the best solution.<\/p>\n Microsoft Office isn’t the only productivity suite out there. In fact, unless you absolutely need to collaborate with others who use Office, there’s no reason why you should use Microsoft’s apps instead of others.<\/p>\n The best alternative is one you already have on your Mac: Apple’s iWork suite<\/a>, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote. These apps offer advanced features, and are easier to use than Microsoft’s Office apps. If you’re just working on your own, and don’t need any special pre-designed spreadsheets, Word style sheets, or Power Point templates, these apps will do most of what you need. Spreadsheet mavens may find Numbers a bit weak, and if you’re used to using PowerPoint, the different features may take some learning, but all of these apps can handle most productivity needs.<\/p>\n There is also an iCloud version of the iWork apps, so you can compose and edit documents in any web browser, and even share your documents via the web to others who don’t have the apps.<\/p>\n Contrarily, perhaps you don’t even need actual apps; instead,\u00a0you might want to work on cloud documents only. This is streamlined, and allows you to access your work from any device, but the risk is that you may lose Internet access and not be able to get to your files. But you could do this, with either iCloud.com or with Google’s Suite cloud<\/a> alternatives: Google Docs, Sheets, and others.<\/p>\nBuy Microsoft Office 2016<\/h3>\n
Subscribe to Office 365<\/h3>\n
Use a Different App<\/h3>\n
![\"iWork](\"https:\/\/www.intego.com\/mac-security-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/iwork-export.png\")
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