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   The End of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 is Nigh

   Josh Centers

   If you still use Microsoft Office for Mac 2011, it's time to make some
   decisions. Two events are convening that could make it unusable in the
   future:
     * Microsoft is [1]ending support for Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 on
       10 October 2017. Microsoft will not issue any more updates for the
       suite after that date.
     * Apple is [2]phasing out support for 32-bit apps starting in 2018,
       and Apple has stated that macOS 10.13 High Sierra will be the last
       version of macOS that will support 32-bit apps without compromises.
       What that means exactly is uncertain, but needless to say, if you
       depend on 32-bit apps like Office 2011, it's time to think about
       the future.

   Although Office 2011 should work on macOS 10.13 High Sierra, Microsoft
   is [3]offering no guarantees, saying 'Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook
   and Lync have not been tested on macOS 10.13 High Sierra, and no formal
   support for this configuration will be provided.' If you use Office
   2011 on High Sierra, you're on your own.

   In summary, if you still use Office 2011, you need to decide on one of
   the following options:
     * Hold off on updating to High Sierra and continue using Office 2011.
       This buys you some time, but isn't a sound long-term solution.
       Avoiding updates to both macOS and Microsoft Office will expose you
       to security vulnerabilities that will inevitably be discovered.
     * [4]Buy a copy of Office 2016. Office Home & Student 2016 is
       $149.99, while Office Home & Business 2016 for Mac is $229.00. Both
       are limited to one user and one Mac. The only difference between
       the two is that the latter includes Outlook while the former
       doesn't.
     * [5]Subscribe to Office 365, which is what Microsoft would rather
       you do. Office 365 Personal is $69.99 per year or $6.99 per month
       while Office 365 Home is $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year. The
       only difference is that the former only supports one user, while
       the latter supports up to five. You also get other goodies, like
       access to the iOS apps, OneDrive cloud storage, and Skype minutes.
     * Switch to an alternative, such as Apple's iWork suite. However, I'm
       assuming that if you could have done that, you already would have.
       Many people rely on Microsoft Office for their jobs, and
       alternatives aren't acceptable. But if you don't use Office for a
       living, you could save a lot of money by switching to iWork or one
       of the OpenOffice variants.
       Check out '[6]Your Favorite Mac Word Processors' (17 July 2017) for
       guidance on the word processor front. However, I can say from
       personal experience that nothing quite compares to Excel in the
       spreadsheet category ' Numbers offers a few unique benefits, and is
       great for home users, but nothing can crunch numbers as well as
       Excel. However, most people acknowledge Keynote as being superior
       to PowerPoint for creating presentations ' assuming PowerPoint
       compatibility isn't your main priority.

   Weigh your options, but make a choice sooner than later. The longer you
   hold off on the transition, the more painful it will likely be.

References

   1. https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Microsoft-Office-support-for-macOS-10-13-High-Sierra-80bbd3cc-2412-4593-988a-1c5607b26b28
   2. https://www.macrumors.com/2017/06/06/apple-to-phase-out-32-bit-mac-apps/
   3. https://support.office.com/en-us/article/Microsoft-Office-support-for-macOS-10-13-High-Sierra-80bbd3cc-2412-4593-988a-1c5607b26b28
   4. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/b/officeformac?icid=Cat-OfficeNew-_linknav-Mac-051717-en_US
   5. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/b/officeformac?icid=Cat-OfficeNew-_linknav-Mac-051717-en_US
   6. http://tidbits.com/article/17343

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