Here’s how to get Office 2016 for Mac, right now

Anyone that relies on Microsoft Office is intimately aware that the current version (that’s Office 2011 for Mac) was released five years ago. That’s 36 dog years, but who’s counting?

If you’ve been pining for a new version of the venerable office suite (and haven’t yet switched to Google Drive for some reason) there’s hope. Microsoft posted an Office for Mac Preview today, which is widely expected to become Office 2016 for Mac when it’s released in “the second half of 2015.”

A few things worth noting about Office ’16, er, the Office for Mac preview:

1. It doesn’t require you to subscribe to Office 365,
2. It doesn’t require you to register or complete a lengthy questionnaire,
3. It doesn’t even require you to login to your Microsoft Live, Passport, 365 account.

Shocking, I know.

According to Redmond, the new bits include a redesigned Ribbon, integration with OneDrive, OneDrive for Business,  SharePoint and a new Office for Mac user interface. Office 16 for Mac can peacefully coexist alongside an existing Office 2011 installation, so you don’t have to worry about losing access to your ole stand by.

As always, use care when messing with “preview” software, back up your important docs and don’t convert files into new file formats that you’re not comfortable keeping them in.

There you have it. If you need to use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and/or Outlook and want to try Redmond’s latest bits, head over to the Office for Mac Preview page and click the big green button.

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