I have Word 16.16.22 and Catalina 10.15.3. However, I can't change the "office design" in Word to dark mode. Some articles say that it is possible with office 2016 (I suppose my 16.16 is office is 2016) and some say it is not. Could anyone let me know the definite answer to this? If my Office is the old one from 2016 would you recommend to upgrade to a newer version?
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Dark Mode in Office 2016?
- Thread starter Huiu
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I would recommend an update if you use the apps enough to warrant it. The 2016 version is not dark mode capable. Some people can get the 2019 version to work with dark mode, some cannot. For certain the latest version does work with dark mode, as that is what I have installed and it works great.
To my knowledge, Dark Mode wasn't introduced until Office 2019. And as MacGizmo noted above, it was patchy as to whether it worked. Office 365 also released it that year and a little earlier, but initially only if you were on the 'Insider Fast' update thread.
Unfortunately, the 2019 version is not available as a household buy like older versions. And the 365 comes with a yearly price and is kind of an online version that changes every now and then? That doesn't sound promising. Pity that Mac Pages etc. is not as developed as office.
You can still buy Office 2019 perpetual licenses (1 time purchase), it's just not as obvious anymore. $149 includes Word, PPT and Excel (no Outlook, Skype or OneDrive/OneNote) - Get it here.
Microsoft is really pushing the subscription model for Office and not really making it easy to find info about the perpetual license products, but they are still out there for purchase. Places I've seen that carry it include the usual Staples, Best Buy, etc - you can even find them buried deep on Microsoft's own site - in the case below, Office Home & Student on their Canadian website.
The subscription version - several feature models to choose from - has recently had a marketing re-badging to Microsoft 365. You do have software physically embedded on your computer (like 'real' fully purchased product), and yes, it does 'call home' occasionally to do updates, but that's not a bad thing. But it is a subscription, so unless you keep forking out the cash, it will stop running when your year is up.
There is also the online version of Office - to compete with Google Docs, Dropbox Paper, iCloud iWorks, etc apps - but it's capabiities are more limited. Plus, of course, the biggest drawback - it's all virtual, relying on internet.
You're right - Pages / Numbers / Keynote - while free - have never been a real Office competitor. It 'could be a contender', but Apple really hasn't done much with it in years. Quirky and proprietary. Too bad. It's more like the old Microsoft Works suite - for home projects use.
There are also other well-regarded free office suites out there - like LibreOffice and FreeOffice - and frankly, that may be the way I next go when my current 'Personal' Office subscription runs out.
If you think $70/year for 1TB of cloud storage is a good deal, you get Office for free. ? (That’s a lot cheaper than DropBox)
Or for $99/year, get six accounts, each with 1TB of cloud storage. If you work for an employer who is a. Microsoft customer, you might get the six seat family account for a discounted $69/year.
Or for $99/year, get six accounts, each with 1TB of cloud storage. If you work for an employer who is a. Microsoft customer, you might get the six seat family account for a discounted $69/year.
I agree - if your main concern is cloud storage. While I have that 1TB plan with Personal Plan, that's not the reason I use Office. And I am extremely circumspect as to what I have 'backed up' on someone else's storage at the best of times. I'm currently using 2.14GB...
(Sidebar: It's a funny thing. One of the main original selling points of a Personal Computer was that it afforded the user the ability to have all their needs, their software and their storage locally - and not have simply a 'dumb' keyboard accessing software and storage in a mainframe accessed from elsewhere. Now we all seem to be rushing back to the past)
At any rate, if there was the opportunity to buy Word and Excel only (not Powerpoint, not Outlook, not OneNote and not OneDrive) at a competitive price (and that's not what Home & Student is), I imagine many would be perfectly happy with that. Heck, I'd even consider a cheap subscription to that. But that's not how Microsoft makes its bucks these days.
But all of this a serious digression from Huiu's original post. Sorry.
Thank you all for the replies. It really is unfortunate. I'd be happy to get word + excel for a decent price. I don't need online storage since I have it from a difference source. I'm in a household with me as student and two others. Buying 2019's student office and two regular versions is just too expensive for what it is. Microsoft 365 for around 100 a year is the better price, but I don't like the subscription idea at all.
And yes, your sidebar, Bazza1, is precisely what I want, but it is punished by a higher price.
Right now, I don't know what to do.
And yes, your sidebar, Bazza1, is precisely what I want, but it is punished by a higher price.
Right now, I don't know what to do.
Huiu - its worth noting that, as a student - in many educational institutions they provide an email address to their students. If the institution / email address qualifies, Microsoft 365 can be had for free. Look up Microsoft Office 365 Education - here's the Canadian start page, for example (https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/education/products/office)
Meanwhile, if that won't work for you and your 2016 still does what you need it to do - and you're really not all that fussed about Dark Mode, maybe stick with it until no longer works with the OS? I know if my 2011 Office still worked on current OS, I'd be just as happy using that than forking out more cash to Microsoft.
I will be looking for another program. Too much with Word is just too annoying, e.g. the smiley in the right upper corner. Do you happen to know of a minimalistic program (I only need to write, enter footnotes and maybe colour some text) that does not come with all the unnecessary and annoying functions that Office comes with? It is necessary that this program can save files in a Word-compatible mode so that the format does not get messed up if someone opens in it word.
I initially, years ago, had problems with Office 2016. Those problems were fixed by MS but in the interim before the fixes, I found LibreOffice. It was able to correctly edit and print docx formats that even office was then having problems with. Best thing is, it's free. I still have it on my mac "in case" 2016 misbehaves again.
It may be worth a look see.