Microsoft Office 2016 for Windows desktop preview

[Rudi]

A brief but insightful Microsoft Office 2016 for Windows desktop preview

[HansV]

Glad to see that the ribbon tabs will be Initial Caps again instead of ALL CAPS. I found the ALL CAPS in Office 2013 very irritating.

[Jay Freedman]

I would agree with most of what's in that article. The differences between Office 2013 and Office 2016 for the Windows desktop are very slight, compared to what we've usually seen in a major release. The reviewer's comment about OneNote,

There don’t appear to be any new features in OneNote 2016 at all, which is a real shame.... Presumably part of the reason for this is the effort the OneNote team has put into OneNote for Android, iOS, and Windows 10.

is spot-on for almost all of the programs (although Outlook seems to have gotten the most attention, followed by Excel). The ports to other OSs consumed a huge chunk of the available resources for the last two years or so.

What wasn't mentioned is that, like Windows 10, Office has shifted from a "major release every three years plus a couple of Service Packs" model to a "continuous improvement" model. Now that the big push to get everything out the door has completed, I think we'll see small tweaks every few months or so -- something like what's being done with Office Online.

[John Gray]

Doesn't seem to be much in Office 2016 to worry LibreOffice, then!

[HansV]

I just installed Office 2016. Although I downloaded and installed the ISO for the stand-alone version, it turns out to be a click-to-run version as for Office 365...

I like the new "Colorful" theme, but as always, Microsoft managed to spoil things slightly: if you set the "Colorful" or "Dark Gray" theme, the Quick Access Toolbar buttons lose all their color:

S0656.png

[Rudi]

Here is another short tour of the Office 2016 interface...

[JoeP]

An Office 2016 deal- Office 2016 for Windows 10.

Joe

[HansV]

Thanks, Joe, I guess too many people are trying to visit that page right now - I get a HTTP error 503 (the service is not available),

[Rebel]

I got to the page, but I don't see anything about Office 2016, except for the title of the article.

The author says " you can get a 50% discount on a one-year subscription to Office 365 Personal through the pre-installed Get Office app."

[HansV]

Office 365 subscribers can upgrade from the Office 2013 applications to the Office 2016 applications since yesterday.

[Rebel]

OK - now it makes sense.

[JoeP]

The deal is that if you have Windows 10 and Office 2010 or earlier you can get Office 365 Personal for a 50% discount on a one year subscription. Office 365 users can get Office 2016 now.

Joe