The Microsoft Office for Windows[4] started in October 1990 as a bundle of three applications designed for Microsoft Windows 3.0: Microsoft Word for Windows 1.1, Microsoft Excel for Windows 2.0, and Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows 2.0.[5]
The Microsoft Office for Windows 1.5 updated the suite with Microsoft Excel 3.0.[6]
The Microsoft Office for Windows 3.0,[9] released in August 1992,[10] contained Word 2.0, Excel 4.0, PowerPoint 3.0 and Mail 3.0. It was the first version of Office to be also released on CD-ROM.[11] In 1993, The Microsoft Office Professional[12] was released, which added Microsoft Access 1.1.[13]
In 1994, Microsoft Office 4.0 was released containing Word 6.0, Excel 4.0, PowerPoint 3.0 and Mail. Word was called Word 6.0 as there were already Macintosh versions of Word 3, 4 and 5 (Excel and PowerPoint were already numbered the same as the Macintosh versions).
Microsoft Office 4.2 for Windows NT was released in 1994 for i386, Alpha, [14] MIPS and PowerPC [15] architectures, containing Word 6.0 and Excel 5.0 (both 32-bit,[16] PowerPoint 4.0 (16-bit), and Microsoft Office Manager 4.2 (the precursor to the Office Shortcut Bar).
Microsoft Office 4.3 was released as the last 16-bit version, containing Word 6.0, Excel 5.0, PowerPoint 4.0. Office 4.3 (plus Access 2.0 in the Pro version) is the last version to support Windows 3.x, Windows NT 3.1 and Windows NT 3.5. Windows NT 3.51 was supported up to and including Office 97.
Microsoft Office 95 was released in August 1995. Again, the version numbers were altered to create parity across the suite — every program was called version 7.0 meaning all but Word missed out versions. It was designed as a fully 32-bit version to match Windows 95. Office 95 was available in two versions, Office 95 Standard and Office 95 Professional. The standard version consisted of Word 7.0, Excel 7.0, PowerPoint 7.0, and Schedule+ 7.0. The professional edition contained all of the items in the standard version plus Access 7.0. If the professional version was purchased in CD-ROM form, it also included Bookshelf.
Microsoft Office 97 (Office 8.0), a major milestone release which included hundreds of new features and improvements, introduced command bars, a paradigm in which menus and toolbars were made more similar in capability and visual design. Office 97 also featured Natural Language Systems and grammar checking. Office 97 was the first version of Office to include the Office Assistant.
Microsoft Office 2000 (Office 9.0) introduced adaptive menus, where little-used options were hidden from the user. It also introduced a new security feature, built around digital signatures, to diminish the threat of macro viruses. Office 2000 automatically trusts macros (written in VBA 6) that were digitally signed from authors who have been previously designated as trusted. Office 2000 is the last version to support Windows 95.
Microsoft Office XP (Office 10.0 or Office 2002) was released in conjunction with Windows XP, and was a major upgrade with numerous enhancements and changes over Office 2000. Office XP introduced the Safe Mode feature, which allows applications such as Outlook to boot when it might otherwise fail. Safe Mode enables Office to detect and either repair or bypass the source of the problem, such as a corrupted registry or a faulty add-in. Smart tag is a technology introduced with Office XP. Some smart tags operate based on user activity, such as helping with typing errors. These smart tags are supplied with the products, and are not programmable. For developers, though, there is the ability to create custom smart tags. In Office XP, custom smart tags could work only in Word and Excel. Microsoft Office XP includes integrated voice command and text dictation capabilities, as well as handwriting recognition. Office XP is the last version to support Windows 98, ME and NT 4.0. It was the first version to require Product Activation as an anti-piracy measure, which attracted widespread controversy.[17]
Microsoft Office 2003 (Office 11.0) was released in 2003. It featured a new logo. Two new applications made their debut in Office 2003: Microsoft InfoPath and OneNote. It is the first version to use Windows XP style icons. Outlook 2003 provides improved functionality in many areas, including Kerberos authentication, RPC over HTTP, Cached Exchange Mode, and an improved junk mail filter. 2003 is the last Office version to support Windows 2000.
Microsoft Office 2007 (Office 12.0) was released in 2007. Office 2007's new features include a new graphical user interface called the Fluent User Interface,[18] replacing the menus and toolbars that have been the cornerstone of Office since its inception with a tabbed toolbar, known as the Ribbon; new XML-based file formats called Office Open XML; and the inclusion of Groove, a collaborative software application.[19]
Microsoft Office 2010 (Office 14.0) was finalized on April 15, 2010, and was made available to consumers on June 15, 2010.[20] Office 2010 was given the version number 14.0, to avoid the version number 13.0 due to superstition relating to the numberthirteen.[21] The main features of Office 2010 include the backstage file menu, new collaboration tools, a customizable ribbon, protected view and a navigation pane. Microsoft Office 2010 also features a new logo, which is similar to the 2007 logo, except in gold, and with a slightly modified shape.[22]
Microsoft Office 15 will be released most likely in 2013.
[edit]Macintosh versions
Prior to packaging its various office-type Macintosh software applications into Office, Microsoft released Mac versions of Word 1.0 in 1984, the first year of the Macintosh computer; Excel 1.0 in 1985; and PowerPoint 1.0 in 1987.[23] Microsoft does not include its Access database application in Office for Mac.
Microsoft has noted that some features are added to Office for Mac before they appear in Windows versions, such as Office for Mac 2001's Office Project Gallery and PowerPoint Movie feature, which allows users to save presentations as QuickTime movies.[24][25] However, Microsoft Office for Mac has been long criticized for its lack of support of Unicode and right-to-left languages, notably Arabic and Hebrew.[26][27]
The Microsoft Office was introduced for Macintosh in 1989, before Office was released for Windows.[28] It included Word 4.0, Excel 2.2, PowerPoint 2.01, and Mail 1.37.[23][29] It was originally a limited-time promotion but later became a regular product. With the release of Office on CD-ROM later that year, Microsoft became the first major Mac publisher to put its applications on CD-ROM.[30]
Microsoft Office 1.5 for Mac was released in 1991 and included the updated Excel 3.0, the first application to support Apple’s System 7 operating system.[23]
Microsoft Office 3.0 for Mac was released in 1992. It included Word 5.0, Excel 4.0, and PowerPoint 3.0. Excel 4.0 was the first application to support the new AppleScript.[23]
Microsoft Office 4.2 for Mac was released in 1994. (Version 4.0 was skipped to synchronize version numbers with Office for Windows.) Version 4.2 included Word 6.0, Excel 5.0, PowerPoint 4.0, and Mail 3.2.[31] It was the first Office suite for the Power Macintosh.[23] Its user interface was identical to Office 4.2 for Windows,[32] leading many customers to comment that it wasn't Mac-like enough.[24] The final release for Mac 68K was Office 4.2.1, which updated Word to version 6.0.1, somewhat improving its performance.
Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition was unveiled at MacWorld Expo/San Francisco in 1998. It introduced the Internet Explorer 4.0 web browser and Outlook Express, an Internet e-mail client and usenet newsgroup reader.[33] Office 98 was re-engineered by Microsoft's Macintosh Business Unit to satisfy customers' desire for software they felt was more Mac-like.[24] It included drag–and-drop installation, self-repairing applications and Quick Thesaurus, before such features were available in Office for Windows. It also was the first version to support QuickTime movies.[24]
Microsoft Office 2001, launched in 2000, was the last Office suite for the classic Mac OS; it required Mac OS 8, although version 8.5 or later was recommended. Office 2001 introduced Entourage, an e-mail client that included information management tools such as a calendar, an address book, task lists and notes.[25]
Microsoft Office v. X was released in 2001 for the new Mac OS X platform.[34]
Microsoft Office 2004 for Mac was released in 2004.[35]
Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac was released in 2008. It was the first Office for Mac suite that was a universal binary, running natively on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs, and it supported Office Open XML file formats first introduced in Office 2007 for Windows.[23] Five months after it was released, Microsoft said that Office 2008 was "selling faster than any previous version of Office for Mac in the past 19 years" and affirmed "its commitment to future products for the Mac."[36]
Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 was released on October 26, 2010,[3] and features a Mac version of Outlook to replace the Entourage email client. This Mac version of Outlook is intended to make the Mac version of Office work better with Microsoft's Exchange server and with those using Office for Windows.[37] Office 2011 includes a Mac-based Ribbon similar to Office for Windows.
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