Microsoft Office for Mac 2008: 10 New Features

Office 2008 combines Microsoft Word for Mac, Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac, Microsoft Excel for Mac, Microsoft Entourage for Mac, and Microsoft Messenger for Mac. All components of the Office 2008 allow you to quickly create high-impact documents.

Office for Mac saves work in the same, new Open XML formats used by Office 2007 for Windows; however, you can still save your work in the older DOC, XLS and PPT formats.

Probably the biggest backdrop of Microsoft’s Office for Mac 2008 is its lack of support for Visual Basic in Excel 2008, because those who rely upon macros are sure to be disappointed. Microsoft 2008 for Mac comes in three different editions: Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student, Office 2008 for Mac Standard, and Office 2008 for Mac Special Media.

Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition comes without Exchange Server support or Automator Actions, costs about $145 and includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage. It can be installed on up to three Macs, andships with three separate Product Keys.

Office 2008 for Mac Standard Edition adds Microsoft Exchange support and retails for about $400 (new installations), or $240 for the upgrade version.

Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition comes with Microsoft Exchange support and Expression Media and is priced about $500 for new users, or $300 for an upgrade.

Here is a list of 10 new features offered by Office for Mac:

1. Universal versions of the most popular productivity applications on the Macintosh platform. Universal applications run natively on Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs.

2. Microsoft Office for Mac natively supports the Open XML file formats for compatibility with Windows-based 2007 Microsoft Office products.

3. A redesigned user interface and powerful new tools for simplifying work, creating great looking documents, and exchanging ideas and information with others.

4. Office 2008 is a Universal Binary, was built by Mac users for Mac users, and includes many features which take advantage of underlying technologies of the Macintosh platform.

5. Office 2008 uses Open XML file formats for compatibility with Windows-based 2007 Microsoft Office products. XML file formats help reduce the risk of lost information due to damaged or corrupted files and also result in smaller file sizes–up to 75 percent smaller than comparable binary documents. Office 2008 for Mac is backward-compatible with earlier file formats and users can continue to use the older .doc, .xls, and .ppt binary formats.

6. Elements Gallery is the foundation of the new user interface, and gives easy access to the most commonly used tools and templates. With the new UI, you’ll harness the capabilities of Office for Mac more easily than ever before.

7. Office 2008 includes OfficeArt, the powerful graphics engine also used in the Windows-based Office 2007 products. You get great cross-platform file fidelity and easy access to stunning visual and graphic effects.

8. Your words will make an impact with the modern styling of SmartArt graphics, which makes transforming text and bulleted lists into professional diagrams and graphics one-click easy.

9. A new Themes capability simplifies the process of applying a consistent look and feel across documents. Easily apply a complete set of colors, fonts, and effects to your Office 2008 documents, and change them as easily as changing your mind.

10. Automator Actions for Workflows in Microsoft Office enables you to automate Office 2008 with more than 70 pre-defined actions built to simplify your work and extend your productivity.

Messenger for Mac is now a Universal application, which helps users streamline their workflow by sending documents directly from Word, or by offering instant questions or comments on document changes, and by instantly checking the status of their project team members. As an added benefit, Yahoo! interoperability allows personal users to connect and message with Yahoo! Messenger for Mac users.

System Requirements:
Mac OS X version 10.4.9 or later.
1024 x 768 or higher-resolution monitor.
512 MB of RAM or more and 1.5 GB of available hard disk space.