Make Tech Easier - Thursday, February 8, 2018 at 5:25 PM
The Disappointing Differences in Microsoft Office for Mac
The first time I realized that Microsoft Office for Mac was different, I was
waist-deep in a complicated Excel table. I knew that there must be some clever
way to solve my data dilemma, so I googled a solution. And I found one, right
away, only to discover that, mystifyingly, the tool I needed simply didn’t
exist. I had the right version of Excel, and the tool wasn’t just somewhere
else… it was simply gone. This disappointing difference was the first of many
changes, some small and some big, between Microsoft Office for Windows and
Microsoft Office for Mac.
Unavailable Applications
A number of applications are simply missing from Microsoft Office for Mac.
Microsoft Publisher is a publishing app aimed at beginners and probably isn’t a
huge loss for Mac users. There are tons of alternative desktop publishing
applications for the platform. But if you have saved Microsoft Publisher files
you were hoping to edit on your Mac, forget it.
Microsoft Access is a database management tool that’s a godsend for users stuck
managing giant Excel “database” files. Unfortunately, Mac users will find no
relief.
There are also a couple of office-style applications that you won’t find on Mac:
Visio, the diagramming and mapping
software<https://www.maketecheasier.com/5-best-free-alternatives-to-microsoft-visio/>,
and Project, the project management package. Considering these tools are in
high demand by project managers, this might push you towards a Windows-only
workflow.
Missing Features
Here’s a list of the major features you won’t find in Microsoft Office for Mac.
It’s not guaranteed to cover everything, but it should hit in the highlights.
Office
<p></p>
Visual Basic: Visual Basic and macro support does exist on the Mac. However,
some functions are missing, and the implementation is not as fully-featured as
the Windows version. Code that works in Windows might not work in macOS.
SharePoint Support: SharePoint is used for sharing files and distributing data
in corporate environments. Office for Mac does include support for SharePoint,
but some features are missing.
Accessibility Checker: Checks your document for formatting or content that
might make it difficult to read for users with disabilities. If you have
government-mandated reporting styles, or your organization cares about
accessibility, this can be a great help.
Office Roaming: Windows users can connect to a streaming copy of Office on a PC
for temporary use.
ODF/XPF File Formats: These formats aren’t supported on the Mac.
Right-to-left Language Support: Hebrew and Arabic text direction is not
supported.
ActiveX: You might be most familiar with these macro-style document plugins as
security risks. They also allow for significant programming within the Office
environment.
Document Inspector: Scans for hidden data and personal data in documents,
helping you stay safe when sharing files.
Word
<p></p>
Embed Fonts: When sharing documents on Word for Windows, you can embed custom
fonts<https://www.maketecheasier.com/embed-fonts-microsoft-word/> to display
with your document. macOS users instead must save PDFs which don’t allow users
to easily edit them.
Booklet Printing: Printing for booklet binding is not available in Office for
Mac.
Blog Publishing: This might be an underused feature on any platform, but you
won’t find it on your Mac.
Built-in Screenshots: Word for Windows includes a built-in screenshot tool
which can automatically take screenshots and insert them into your document.
Smart Lookup: This tool searches through Bing for the selected text. It’s
useful for quickly defining a term or acronym you’re not familiar with.
Digital Ink: This digital drawing and annotation tool won’t be found on the Mac
version of Word.
Open and Repair: Office for Mac can try to open damaged files, but it won’t do
as much to fix them as Windows’ Open and Repair.
Excel
<p></p>
PivotCharts: These charts work with
PivotTables<https://www.maketecheasier.com/pivot-table-excel-improve-productivity/>,
visual information created by your new layouts to reveal patterns.
PowerPivot: This ultra-powerful
add-in<https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Power-Pivot-Powerful-data-analysis-and-data-modeling-in-Excel-A9C2C6E2-CC49-4976-A7D7-40896795D045>
version of PivotTables isn’t available on the Mac.
Built-in Database Connectivity: Mac Excel cannot sync with data from external
databases. Some data can be imported from external sources, but updated sync is
not possible.
Customized shortcuts: You can’t assign your own keyboard shortcuts in Excel for
Mac. All the modifiers are different, too, so have fun with that muscle memory.
Pricing
As you can see from the pricing chart below, the cost of Microsoft Office for
both Windows and macOS is the same. Basically, for Mac users, you are paying
the same price for a product with less features. I am sure this can be
frustrating for many.
<p></p>
Conclusion: A Solution
These missing features will almost certainly not be added to Office for Mac in
the future. The operating systems have essentially two different, parallel
versions, with different features and development tracks.
If you’re missing features that you simply must have, you can install
Parallels<http://blog.parallels.com/2016/01/21/differences-microsoft-office-mac/>
to run Office in its intended environment. You can also install Boot Camp on
your Mac to boot into a full version of Windows. As long as you install Word on
just one of the OSes, you shouldn’t exceed a single software license.
Multi-license users can install it on both operating systems.
https://www.maketecheasier.com/disappointing-differences-microsoft-office-for-mac/
David Goldfield
Assistive Technology Specialist
Feel free to visit my Web site
WWW.DavidGoldfield.info<http://WWW.DavidGoldfield.info>
