Office 2016 For Mac Compatible With Catalina

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Note

Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. For more information about this change, read this blog post.

To see if your product is compatible with Mac OS X, please click on the + below next to your model series. Visit our Self-Help Center landing page for other OS-compatibility information for your product. Older models that are not listed are not supported with the operating systems listed below.

  • Microsoft will not be updating Office 2011 for Mac to support Catalina, and Office 2016 for Mac (Although currently compatible with Catalina if you are on v15.35 or higher) will stop receiving updates in October 2020.
  • Hello, I have Office Home & Student 2016 for Mac. Am running macOS Catalina 10.15.4. I am unable to run or open Microsoft Messenger. Get message that the app needs to be updated to work with this version of macOS. 32-bit apps no longer with macOS.
  • Microsoft apps not working in Catalina. The 2011 version of Microsoft Office (Word 2011, Excel 2011, PowerPoint 2011, Outlook 2011). To continue using the apps, get the 2016 version of Microsoft Office. Or, you can switch to Appleā€™s iWork, Ulysses, or other Mac alternatives. Adobe apps not working in Catalina.
Office 2016 For Mac Compatible With Catalina

Summary

Existing Office 2016 for Mac customers will be seamlessly upgraded to 64-bit versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote as part of the August product release (version 15.25). This affects customers of all license types: Retail, Office 365 Consumer, Office 365 Commercial, and Volume License installations.

Deployment options for the 64-bit update

AutoUpdate (MAU)

Customers who use Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) to keep their Office applications up-to-date will see a 'regular' monthly update notification when their selected channel is upgraded to 64-bit builds. Depending on which version is installed on the local computer, MAU will offer either a delta or full update. The update package size does not change between 32-bit and 64-bit versions. Also, MAU can deliver a delta update when applicable to update a user from 32-bit to 64-bit applications. Therefore, customers won't experience a sharp increase in download activity. For the release to the Production channel, customers will see '(64-bit)' in the update title to make them aware that this is a 64-bit update.

For information about how to use the MAU, see Check for Office for Mac updates automatically.

Manual updates

The August release of Office for Mac is available for manual download. The following file provides a 64-bit package to replace existing 32-bit applications with 64-bit variants during installation:

Download the Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac August update package now.

Virus-scan claim

Microsoft scanned this file for viruses, using the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to it.

Volume License Service Center

Volume License customers typically get their Office 2016 software from the Volume License Service Center (VLSC). These builds are refreshed infrequently and are typically aligned with new language editions. The VLSC will continue to offer 32-bit installers (15.23) until November 2016. However, all updater packages that are released after August will be based on 64-bit builds. Therefore, a VLSC customer who updates either manually or through AutoUpdate will be transitioned to 64-bit builds.

More Information

64-bit only

The Mac operating system has been 64-bit for several years. Unlike for Windows, there's no choice between running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of the Mac operating system. Similarly, we won't offer a choice between 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Office 2016 for Mac. After each 'channel' is transitioned per the rollout schedule, only 64-bit builds will be available.

Effect on third-party applications and add-ins

The transition to 64-bit Office for Mac was announced in April 2016. IT Pros will want to understand which compiled add-ins are deployed to the users whom they manage so that they can assess the effect of the upgrade. The following Microsoft Office website summarizes the issues that affect the more common add-ins that are used together with Office 2016 for Mac:

Tools for inspecting product architecture

Office 2016 For Mac Compatible With Catalina Os

To verify the architecture of an Office application (that is, to understand whether you have a 32-bit or 64-bit build), start the application, open the Activity Monitor, and then enable the Kind column.

You can also use the file command in a terminal session to inspect the binary. For this use, type file -N <path of binary>.This method can be used with for any binary file, including third-party add-ins.

Office

The file command returns one of three values.

Return valueMeaning
Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_6464-bit binary
Mach-O executable i38632-bit binary
Mach-O 64-bit executable x86_64FAT binary (compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit processes)
Mach-O executable i386FAT binary (compatible with both 32-bit and 64-bit processes)

Options for reverting to 32-bit installations

There may be situations in which the customer has to change code that's not 64-bit ready. If customers can't immediately move forward to 64-bit builds, we will make available a one-time 32-bit update for the 15.25 release in addition to the default 64-bit updates. The 32-bit updates will be available only for manual download from the Office CDN.

The latest 32-bit release of Office 2016 for Mac (15.25.160818) can be downloaded from https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=823192.

Office 2016 For Mac Compatible With Catalina

Customers who manually install the 32-bit release won't be offered the 64-bit version of 15.25 through MAU. However, MAU will offer the 64-bit version of 15.26 in September 2016. Therefore, customers have a limited time to remain on 32-bit builds.

If a customer has already upgraded to the 64-bit update of Office for Mac 15.25 and wants to revert to the 32-bit version, follow these steps:

  1. Exit all open Office 2016 applications.
  2. Start Safari, and then browse to https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=823192 to start the download of the 32-bit installer.
  3. Double-click the downloaded package, and then follow the instructions.

The 64-bit installation has a build date of 160817. The 32-bit version has a build date of 160818.

Acrobat compatibility with the new macOS 10.15 Catalina

Acrobat DC, Acrobat 2020, Acrobat 2017, and Acrobat 2015 are compatible with the new macOS 10.15 Catalina. Major changes in user experience and known issues are described in this document.

User experience changes in Catalina for Acrobat users

  • Acrobat 2015: If you download Classic 2015 Acrobat or Reader patches from the release notes or the FTP site, you see a notarization prompt and the installation is blocked. It's general behavior for all installer packages downloaded using a browser and not from the Mac App Store. To begin the installation, right-click the installer and choose Open.
  • A permission prompt appears on the upper-right corner. Click Allow to enable notifications.
Mac
  • Recent: An OS permission prompt is shown if you open files from Recents, which were added in Recents before you upgraded to Catalina.

If you don't allow, you see an Acrobat prompt showing information on what to do next.

For more information, see Enable permission to access the folder | macOS 10.15 Catalina.

  • Thumbnails of files in Recent and other areas: Thumbnails appear for those files for which Acrobat has read permission.

Office 2016 Compatible With Catalina

  • Thumbnails of files in the landing pages of tools: The thumbnail is displayed only if Acrobat has read permission on the folder in which the file is located.
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  • Create PDF from Acrobat ribbon in Word and PowerPoint: An OS permission prompt is shown.

If you don't allow, you see an Acrobat prompt showing information on what to do next.

  • PostScript to PDF conversion: An OS permission prompt for Acrobat is shown.

An OS prompt for Acrobat Distiller is shown. Click OK to continue.

If you don't allow, you see an Acrobat prompt showing information on what to do next.

  • Screen capture to PDF: A permission prompt is shown.

In the Screen Recording prompt, click Open System Preferences.

In the Security & Privacy dialog box, choose Adobe Acrobat for Screen Recording.

If you click Deny, you see an Acrobat prompt. Click OK to continue.

  • Tools > Combine: For Microsoft Office files, when you add or convert an Office file for the first time, an OS permission prompt is shown. This experience is similar to macOS 10.14 Mojave.
  • Select files from Recent files list and Combine: For each selected file, an OS permission prompt is displayed.

If you don't allow, you see an Acrobat prompt showing information on what to do next.

For more information, see Enable permission to access the folder | macOS 10.15 Catalina.

Office 2016 On Catalina

Network folder-based review initiation: A permission prompt is shown. Click OK to allow access to files on the network volume.