Hi not sure if this is the right forum for my question, but I have an update waiting for my MS365 suite (Outlook, Word, PPT). For those who have MS365/Office on your Mac, do you wait for the bugs to shake out before you update? If so, how long and is there any guidance on update issues/when it’s ‘safe’ to install? I am a lifelong Windows user and subscribed to a Windows forum to know when it was ok to install Windows updates (granted that was for the entire OS, not Office, which is a separate update). But MS is notorious for causing more harm than good with their updates!!! So, it pays to be cautious. I think the same applies for Apple (and all SW updates), though I believe Apple is a little better. But then, this is Microsoft on Macos…..so……any suggestions on how to proceed with the ongoing updates for MS365 would be welcome. thanks! Donna
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Office / MS365 Update for Macos
- Thread starter dmt43
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I enabled auto-updates on all my devices - personal and a few dozen managed ones with multiple clients - for the Current Channel option (under Advanced). Never had significant issues over ~5 years.
I've never had any issues either. If you stay in the Current Channel, there will be updates at least once a month. The same applies to MS365 on Windows too, so there's really no difference.
Also, just an FYI...if you install these apps through the App Store, then the updates are managed through the App Store. You can't change which channel you are in, but it is equivalent of the Current Channel. I installed my MS365 apps through the App Store rather than using Microsoft's MS365 installer because I got tired of all the nagging prompts from Microsoft's updater. The App Store will update the apps in the background without me even noticing. Not sure if Microsoft's updater is still annoying or not.
Also, just an FYI...if you install these apps through the App Store, then the updates are managed through the App Store. You can't change which channel you are in, but it is equivalent of the Current Channel. I installed my MS365 apps through the App Store rather than using Microsoft's MS365 installer because I got tired of all the nagging prompts from Microsoft's updater. The App Store will update the apps in the background without me even noticing. Not sure if Microsoft's updater is still annoying or not.
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Thanks, it’s good to hear - both of you haven’t had any issues : ) I installed from my MS account, I didn’t know of/think of the App store path. The prompt is there but I don’t find it that much of a nag. plus, I like to know when there is an update —- I set it to auto update anyway - as Mr. Brightside recommended. We’ll see what happens next time.
What bugs and UI standard violations? One of the reasons I switched from Windows to Mac was the number of problems I had with Windows updates. Not that I’ve any problems in recent history; I subscribed to a Windows Forum and waited for them to give the OK before updating, that helped a lot! However, there was a time when I had so much trouble with updates breaking my machine frequently, it was so very stressful! I needed the computer to run my business and Windows was NOT reliable. I know Apple computers have their troubles too, but I expect a better experience than Windows. Am I incorrect?
I think we're talking two things here - you originally asked about Office / 365 software updates, but here you are referencing Windows OS updates. Two completely different things.
As far as Office / 365 updates are concerned, I have no problem with allowing it to auto-update - most appear to be security or very incremental 'feature' updates. Nothing as significant as say, the move to the Ribbon in the product. And none of the updates I have had seem to break anything I use - though granted, I probably use about 20% of the potential of the products. And not Teams, Outlook or Powerpoint at all.
As far as OS updates - Windows or Mac - well, I totally 'get' when some users express some reticence about updating as soon as they are released. I have not personally had any issues, but I know of others (and certainly seen the postings) where the OS update has caused problems. And some wait until consistent reported problems seem to have resolved - these may be done through a patch (Windows) or update (Mac). Yeah, semantics...
You are correct, I originally asked about Office/365 SW updates and then, when ThrowerGB mentioned bugs/UI std violations, I asked about that bc I wanted to know what bugs/issues may occur for Mac. I am comfortable that auto-update for MS365 is fine, which was the focus of my original post. Thank you for your response and feedback.
Calendar: The iPhone version allows one to set a time zone for the start of an event and a different time zone for the end of the event.That's very useful for airline travel across time zones. But Calendar for MacOS only allows one to set a single time zone for start and finish.
macOS Finder: It used to be that if you clicked in a window that wasn't the active window, It would become active and if you'd clicked on a button or some such, that object would be activated as well. Now you need two clicks, first to activate the non-active window, and the another click to select an object. Part of the initial attraction of the Mac was simplicity. Now it's becoming more complicated.
macOS Finder: It used to be that when clicking on a button to open a text entry object, the object would open close to the cursor to reduce distance one needed to move the cursor.
macOS Finder: I don't know what's going on with this one, but I don't seem to be able to select a string of text by holding the cursor down while dragging it along the string. Now it seems what is selected is random parts of the text string. Maybe I've got some preferences incorrectly set, but if so, the system should be warning me.
Similarly, in text entry boxes the cursor wants to often position itself at the end of any text that's already there.
macOS: Speaking of the new Settings interface that's replaced the former Preferences interface. It's been redesigned to be much like the Windows version. Some settings are hard to find because they're combined on screens they don't seem to go with.
macOS: I can't figure out the rationale of the order in which things are listed for Privacy and Security. It's certainly not alphabetical. The list is fairly long so to find what I want (or need), I have to slowly scroll through the entire list.
iOS: There are so many selectable objects on the main screen of my iPhone that I can't take the phone out of my pocket without activating something.
CarPlay: I've tried for months to figure out how to have Maps guidance reduce the level of what's being played on the radio of my car or music. Why is that so difficult. The available adjustments seem appropriate, but I can't get them adjusted to my needs, and the settings seem to keep changing.
In date entry fields with mm:dd:yyyy segments sometimes I can move backwards between those three fields but mostly not. And in most cases I can't use the tab key any more to move along the three elements. It almost always requires the cursor or the left/right arrow key.
And many more.
Some people might disagree with my calling these issues bugs. But each of them makes what used to be a simple and intuitive UI much more complicated. Has Apple gotten rid of Human Factors expertise? Steve Jobs would be rolling in his grave.
I've been a Mac user since the first Mac. So I'm not new to the Apple way of designing the UI.
I agree with what you are saying - it should be simple and intuitive. It is especially annoying when something that works great is ‘improved’ (changed) to the point where it doesn’t work well at all anymore!!
I am new to Mac and my difficulties are in learning how it works vs. Windows. I am currently struggling with the placement of Windows, Finder- some of the things you mention, setting things up in a way that suits me, trying to figure out where things are/how to do things; what used to take 1 second takes an hour bc I don’t know where it is and have to spend time researching. It’s frustrating, but it is part of learning something new and it will take some time. I am sure as I get used to Mac, I will experience what you have experienced because they are always changing things and not necessarily for the better!!
I am new to Mac and my difficulties are in learning how it works vs. Windows. I am currently struggling with the placement of Windows, Finder- some of the things you mention, setting things up in a way that suits me, trying to figure out where things are/how to do things; what used to take 1 second takes an hour bc I don’t know where it is and have to spend time researching. It’s frustrating, but it is part of learning something new and it will take some time. I am sure as I get used to Mac, I will experience what you have experienced because they are always changing things and not necessarily for the better!!
