Microsoft has been planning some major changes to its Office for Mac productivity suite. The company announced several significant updates for its Office apps in October. Those updates were available for users of the Office Insider Program in preview. This week, Microsoft is rolling out the new features to all users.
These are an expansive set of updates covering Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint in Office for Mac. Leading the way across all of the applications is the introductions of a Dark Mode. Now the core Office applications can be chosen in a dark hue. Bring on Light Mode we say.
This latest update brings Office for Mac up to version 16.20.0 (Build 18120801). Alongside the aesthetic change, Microsoft has also integrated Apple’s Continuity Camera into Office. This implementation allows users to add a quick image from mobile into Office documents.
As usual, Microsoft has offered a changelog across Word, Excel, PowerPoint on Outlook on Office for Mac:
Word
- Go Easy on Your Eyes with Dark Mode: A dark background is easier on the eyes in low-light environments. Requires macOS Mojave.
- Preserve the Look of Your Text: Embed fonts to ensure that your document’s text looks the same on every computer. No more surprises!
Excel
- Go Easy on Your Eyes with Dark Mode: A dark background is easier on the eyes in low-light environments. Requires macOS Mojave.
PowerPoint
- Go Easy on Your Eyes with Dark Mode: A dark background is easier on the eyes in low-light environments. Requires macOS Mojave.
- From iPhone to PowerPoint in a Snap: Use the Apple Continuity Camera to insert a photo from your iPhone into your slide. Requires macOS Mojave.
Outlook
Microsoft has made some wider changes to its email client. As well as Dark Mode, Outlook users can now share their calendar through the open calendar across PC, Mac, of Outlook on the cloud. Furthermore, Microsoft Teams is now more deeply integrated with the Meetings tab.
The full changelog for Outlook is below:
- Go Easy on Your Eyes with Dark Mode: A dark background is easier on the eyes in low-light environments. Requires macOS Mojave.
- Share your calendar: Share your calendar with family, friends, and colleagues. Open calendars shared with you in Mac, PC, or cloud versions of Outlook.
- Turn Off Forwarding for a Meeting: Prevent attendees from forwarding your meetings to others.
- Use Teams to Connect to your Meetings: Work with remote teams? Use Teams in Outlook to schedule and join online meetings.
- See who’s coming to the meeting: Click any meeting or event in your calendar to see who plans to be there.
- View three time zones: Need to schedule a meeting across time zones? Add multiple time zones to your calendar to easily see everyone’s availability and pick a time that works for all.
