UPDATE (5/19): The Office 2008 for Mac Trial is now live in the UK and Ireland!
Many of us like to try something before we decide to buy. And with today's launch of the downloadable Office 2008 for Mac Trial, MacBU is giving our customers the option of trying out Office 2008 for 30 days: fully functional, no strings attached. It runs side-by-side with earlier versions of Office, and when your 30 days is up, you have the choice to either purchase a copy from your local Apple retailer or buy a product key from Mactopia online and be up and running without reinstalling.
Haven’t yet tried professional templates in Word’s Publishing Layout View? Still waiting to try OfficeArt tools, where you get reflections, shading, color themes and 3D tools in Word, Excel and Powerpoint? Or made professional-looking visual charts and diagrams in seconds with SmartArt ? Now you can see it firsthand. And it’s on us.
On top of that, the version that you can download and try today is our most up-to-date, chock-full of more than a year of improvements and enhancements that we've delivered since we shipped Office 2008.
Why now? While we decided to ship Office 2008 without a trial, and have been heads-down working on the next version of Office for the Mac, many of you rightly demanded the option of kicking the tires and trusting yourself to decide whether Office 2008 was right for you. For those of you with more questions, I encourage you to read our trial FAQ and check out our tutorials and training videos.
If you haven't gotten around to trying Office 2008, download the trial today. I think you'll like what you find.
We'll be rolling out trial to additional countries later this year. I'm sorry that I can't provide anything more specific.
csingleman
Apr 19, 2009
10:57pm
students loose out
I received a copy of 2008 for Macs from my school, under the assumption that I would be able to complete hw assignments and other functions through the Analysis Toolpak. It is horrible that it's been removed! I cannot use my own computer because Microsoft has made this retarded decision. I do not have 2004 since my computer is fairly new, and now I'm out money and efficiency because some new 'developers' decided they liked the view up there arses while making this new program.
Analysis Tools have been released! Hope you have time to take them for a spin, csingleman.
Dome
Apr 19, 2009
11:13pm
Syncronisation with symbian mobiles
Hi,
Is it possible to sync symbian mobiles (i.e. sony ericsson P1i) with entourage now without using another program like missing sync? And what about windows mobile HTC products? That would be the only reason to buy office 2008 for Mac.
Thanks. Dominik
George01200
Apr 28, 2009
8:34am
Hi
Hi,
This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and needs to be appreciated by everyone.
I've never enabled Spaces, but I still have stability problems with both Word and PowerPoint. Almost daily I lose unsaved data when an Office app goes down in flames, including about 10 minutes ago. I like the UI just fine and don't understand the carping, and I would like to recommend Office to friends -- but cannot until it gets more stable. I'm watching hungrily for the next patch...
Sorry to hear about the problems you're encountering. Have you tried posting to our product forums on this website? Our MVP's monitor them regularly, and may be able to help isolate the specific file or function causing the problem and report it to our engineering team.
I can't give any guarantees, but working with them helps strengthen the community here and makes for a better product!
think0r
May 07, 2009
5:35pm
ODF Support?
Now that MS has added ODF support to Office 2007 SP2, when can we expect to see ODF support for Mac Office 2008?
The trial is a great opportunity to try Office 2008 while keeping Office 2004 installed side-by-side to see if Office 2008 is right for them, while protecting their investment in the previous version.
I use Office 2008 day-in-and-day-out and find it meets more than 99% of my needs, and keep 2004 installed to run the occasional VBA macro file that I encounter. I end up using Solver for Excel 2008 more than once a week, and am definitely looking forward to the future release of Analysis Toolpak that Gavin announced a little while back on this blog.
That being said, I agree that there are heavy VBA users out there who feel the same way that you do, and for them I would recommend staying with 2004 until the next version of Office for Mac.
Re: Office 2008 for Mac Trial: Take Office For A Test Drive
Hi,
I feel office2008 is a nice and latest package with good features and functionality.
===============================
suzain
[url="www.getinforum.com"]www.getinforum.com[/url]
Bilgehan
Apr 18, 2009
11:01am
Re: Microsoft reply to Bilgehan
Turkish users are accustomed to use software with English UI which is better than nothing
We hear your frustration, and the Excel team is hard at work with our partners to bring you the Analysis toolpak as a free download soon. (See Gavin's previous post for details.)
While I wouldn't agree that mobile syncing is the only reason to buy Office 2008, I do want to make sure I answer your questions.
If you use Exchange for email, ActiveSync with supported devices does a good job of keeping your contacts and appointments synchronized so that both Entourage and your mobile have the same data. Otherwise, I would also encourage you to see if your mobile device is supported by iSync in OS X, which, along with Sync Services in Entourage 2008, can synchronize contacts and appointments directly with your Mac.
Hope this helps.
Androooo
Apr 23, 2009
11:26am
Giving up
I hate to complain, however I find using Office 2008 an exercise in complete frustration. It's clunky and buggy. I have to latest updates installed and I still have to turn Spaces off every time I use Word.. drives me insane. I've switched to using the Windows version of Office in a virtual machine and Apple iWork where I can get away with it.
I won't purchase any further Mac versions of Office until you put a much higher focus on usability and quality (I couldn't care less about some weird, incompatible with the world publishing view.. but I do care about robustness and stability).
It sounds like you're encountering issues specific to using Spaces with Office 2008, which we currently don't recommend. Schwieb, one of our senior developers at MacBU has documented (at length) his team's thinking on the subject in a post on his blog at http://www.schwieb.com/blog/2008/10/23/risks-and-rewards/ .
While Spaces + Office 2008 can be frustrating, for users not using Spaces, Office 2008 will be a great option.
AlanSky
Apr 23, 2009
11:26am
Office 2008 is great but...
our users need VBA because it integrates with other applications.
Microsoft has built an incredible VBA community that can provide cross platform tools around Office and they have no competition.
VBA should be a downloadable option for Office 2008 and not a new feature of Office 2010
Jeff2525
Apr 28, 2009
8:34am
Why some people may be upset...
I think that the reason why people may find this 'clunky and buggy' or lacking features (such as VBA) is because Microsoft cannot make their Mac products on par with their Windows products. I think that they need businesses and people to feel like they need to buy a Windows machine if they "need" a full feature product. Office and Messenger and most any other Microsoft products on Mac are like the "lite" versions so that they can make some money without jeopardizing their sales for Windows.
Thats at least what I think, when testing Office for Mac and especially Messenger for Mac. I mean the MacBU probably have VERY talented and skilled programmers, so there isn't any other reason I can think of to make products that lack so much to their Windows counterpart. Especially since Open-Source software does what they do not.
That being said, I personally like the Office 2008 Suite, even if it is a "lite version". Now Messenger for Mac... thats another thing all together.
mw
May 01, 2009
7:17am
I like Office2008 but...
I really hope that the analysis toolpack will be released soon. I absolutely need this as soon as possible. The only solution for me right now is to run Office 2007 in a virtual machine.
Like some others here, I didn't even know that there were so many things missing in Office2008. I bought it by simply trusting Microsoft that Office2008 would be better than 2004 and thought that Office2008 would be the better choice (also because they were about 4 years between these releases, which means lots of time for improvements). Apart from Office2008 I've never really been disappointed by Microsoft products.
I agree with AlanSky that VBA should be a downloadable option for Office2008 users.
Wouldn't it be possible to offer Office2004 (or at least Excel 2004) as a free download for those who purchased Office2008 because there are so many things missing in Office2008? For Vista users you offer(ed) a downgrade option to XP. Even for Windows 7 it will be like that (or at least there will be an XP-Mode which includes a legal copy of XP). Apple also did it with iMovie...
It's really frustrating.
Another question: What about ODF support? Service Pack 2 for Office 2007 includes support for ODF. Will ODF support also be added to Office2008?
I'm sorry if this post sounds offensive. It's not (or at least it's not meant to be offensive). I really like Office2008 but I agree that it's more a "light version" than a complete Office suite.
We hear you, MaTMac. Don't worry, Messenger is coming.
mw
May 07, 2009
5:35pm
Re: Office 2008 for Mac Trial: Take Office For A Test Drive
Marshall Nam,
Thanks for your reply. I was so happy when I saw it yesterday on the blog that the Analysis Pack is out now, because we start using it today in our statistics course. So I hope that I can rely and Office 2008 for this course (and that I don't have to use Office 2007 on Windows. Would have also been okay for me to use Office2007). Apart from the Statistics course, I don't think I would have ever needed the Analysis/Statistics-functions. But who knows...
Regarding ODF support: I don't need it, I was just curious. I'm fine with it that it won't be implemented.
I'm looking forward for the next release of Microsoft Office for the Mac.
Great to hear it, mw. If you pass your feedback on the Analysis tools to Gavin on his blog post, I know he'll be reading your comments personally.
Good luck in class! Statistics was always one of my favorite courses.
aprilredbird
May 07, 2009
5:35pm
Help!!
I signed up for my free trial of Office 2008 for MAC. 10.5.1 is my system. They sent me a key and I copied and pasted into every area that I was advised to type it into after I downloaded the whole Microsoft office 2008. It will not work no matter what I do. It keeps telling me it is the wrong Key. One week is already up on my trial that I have never been able to use. Please advise
The most common reasons product keys don't validate are:
- Extra spaces in a cut-and-paste will cause problems (maybe the cause of your issue?)
- Make sure the key is CAPITAL LETTERS only.
- Include the dashes '-' in the key as printed.
(We'll do this better in the future, I'm positive.)
Since you're cutting and pasting, it may be a problem with spaces on either side of the key?
Comments | Who's Blogging This
Bilgehan
Apr 14, 2009
1:44pm
Trial for non US customers
rockyshark
Apr 14, 2009
10:04pm
Australia?
Reidar
Apr 16, 2009
9:21am
Europe
Apr 16, 2009
9:26am
Thanks for your interest!
We'll be rolling out trial to additional countries later this year. I'm sorry that I can't provide anything more specific.
csingleman
Apr 19, 2009
10:57pm
students loose out
May 07, 2009
5:49pm
Dome
Apr 19, 2009
11:13pm
Syncronisation with symbian mobiles
Is it possible to sync symbian mobiles (i.e. sony ericsson P1i) with entourage now without using another program like missing sync? And what about windows mobile HTC products? That would be the only reason to buy office 2008 for Mac.
Thanks. Dominik
George01200
Apr 28, 2009
8:34am
Hi
This is a wonderful opinion. The things mentioned are unanimous and needs to be appreciated by everyone.
George,
office politics uk
Hutchman
May 06, 2009
5:57pm
Stability without spaces
May 07, 2009
5:55pm
Sorry to hear about the problems you're encountering. Have you tried posting to our product forums on this website? Our MVP's monitor them regularly, and may be able to help isolate the specific file or function causing the problem and report it to our engineering team.
I can't give any guarantees, but working with them helps strengthen the community here and makes for a better product!
think0r
May 07, 2009
5:35pm
ODF Support?
May 07, 2009
5:48pm
We currently don't plan to add ODF support to Office 2008 for Mac. Sorry I can't provide more than that, and thanks for the comment.
Aly
May 11, 2009
8:00am
Web Cam + Messenger Personal Account
Aly....I have been waiting for long time now.
Apr 14, 2009
1:58pm
We're offering the trial in the U.S. today, and will be adding more countries to the list in the future.
It's worth noting that neither Office 2008 nor OS X are currently localized into Turkish, so that may be a little further off.
kiwispoon
Apr 15, 2009
8:36am
Whats the point?
Apr 15, 2009
9:26am
The trial is a great opportunity to try Office 2008 while keeping Office 2004 installed side-by-side to see if Office 2008 is right for them, while protecting their investment in the previous version.
I use Office 2008 day-in-and-day-out and find it meets more than 99% of my needs, and keep 2004 installed to run the occasional VBA macro file that I encounter. I end up using Solver for Excel 2008 more than once a week, and am definitely looking forward to the future release of Analysis Toolpak that Gavin announced a little while back on this blog.
That being said, I agree that there are heavy VBA users out there who feel the same way that you do, and for them I would recommend staying with 2004 until the next version of Office for Mac.
Thanks for the comment!
Apr 15, 2009
9:03am
suzain
Apr 16, 2009
9:21am
Re: Office 2008 for Mac Trial: Take Office For A Test Drive
I feel office2008 is a nice and latest package with good features and functionality.
===============================
suzain
[url="www.getinforum.com"]www.getinforum.com[/url]
Bilgehan
Apr 18, 2009
11:01am
Re: Microsoft reply to Bilgehan
Apr 19, 2009
11:05pm
We hear your frustration, and the Excel team is hard at work with our partners to bring you the Analysis toolpak as a free download soon. (See Gavin's previous post for details.)
Apr 19, 2009
11:31pm
While I wouldn't agree that mobile syncing is the only reason to buy Office 2008, I do want to make sure I answer your questions.
If you use Exchange for email, ActiveSync with supported devices does a good job of keeping your contacts and appointments synchronized so that both Entourage and your mobile have the same data. Otherwise, I would also encourage you to see if your mobile device is supported by iSync in OS X, which, along with Sync Services in Entourage 2008, can synchronize contacts and appointments directly with your Mac.
Hope this helps.
Androooo
Apr 23, 2009
11:26am
Giving up
I won't purchase any further Mac versions of Office until you put a much higher focus on usability and quality (I couldn't care less about some weird, incompatible with the world publishing view.. but I do care about robustness and stability).
Apr 23, 2009
12:12pm
It sounds like you're encountering issues specific to using Spaces with Office 2008, which we currently don't recommend. Schwieb, one of our senior developers at MacBU has documented (at length) his team's thinking on the subject in a post on his blog at http://www.schwieb.com/blog/2008/10/23/risks-and-rewards/ .
While Spaces + Office 2008 can be frustrating, for users not using Spaces, Office 2008 will be a great option.
AlanSky
Apr 23, 2009
11:26am
Office 2008 is great but...
Microsoft has built an incredible VBA community that can provide cross platform tools around Office and they have no competition.
VBA should be a downloadable option for Office 2008 and not a new feature of Office 2010
Jeff2525
Apr 28, 2009
8:34am
Why some people may be upset...
Thats at least what I think, when testing Office for Mac and especially Messenger for Mac. I mean the MacBU probably have VERY talented and skilled programmers, so there isn't any other reason I can think of to make products that lack so much to their Windows counterpart. Especially since Open-Source software does what they do not.
That being said, I personally like the Office 2008 Suite, even if it is a "lite version". Now Messenger for Mac... thats another thing all together.
mw
May 01, 2009
7:17am
I like Office2008 but...
Like some others here, I didn't even know that there were so many things missing in Office2008. I bought it by simply trusting Microsoft that Office2008 would be better than 2004 and thought that Office2008 would be the better choice (also because they were about 4 years between these releases, which means lots of time for improvements). Apart from Office2008 I've never really been disappointed by Microsoft products.
I agree with AlanSky that VBA should be a downloadable option for Office2008 users.
Wouldn't it be possible to offer Office2004 (or at least Excel 2004) as a free download for those who purchased Office2008 because there are so many things missing in Office2008? For Vista users you offer(ed) a downgrade option to XP. Even for Windows 7 it will be like that (or at least there will be an XP-Mode which includes a legal copy of XP). Apple also did it with iMovie...
It's really frustrating.
Another question: What about ODF support? Service Pack 2 for Office 2007 includes support for ODF. Will ODF support also be added to Office2008?
I'm sorry if this post sounds offensive. It's not (or at least it's not meant to be offensive). I really like Office2008 but I agree that it's more a "light version" than a complete Office suite.
May 06, 2009
6:09pm
If you haven't had a chance, check out Gavin's recent post on the new (free download) release of Data Analysis for Excel 2008.
Love to hear your feedback on Data Analysis. On the subject of ODF, we don't currently have plans to add ODF support to Office 2008.
Thanks for your comment.
MaTMac
May 01, 2009
1:44pm
Re: Office 2008 for Mac Trial: Take Office For A Test Drive
It's nice you've release a trial version
thanks
May 06, 2009
8:45pm
mw
May 07, 2009
5:35pm
Re: Office 2008 for Mac Trial: Take Office For A Test Drive
Thanks for your reply. I was so happy when I saw it yesterday on the blog that the Analysis Pack is out now, because we start using it today in our statistics course. So I hope that I can rely and Office 2008 for this course (and that I don't have to use Office 2007 on Windows. Would have also been okay for me to use Office2007). Apart from the Statistics course, I don't think I would have ever needed the Analysis/Statistics-functions. But who knows...
Regarding ODF support: I don't need it, I was just curious. I'm fine with it that it won't be implemented.
I'm looking forward for the next release of Microsoft Office for the Mac.
Thanks.
May 07, 2009
5:45pm
Good luck in class! Statistics was always one of my favorite courses.
aprilredbird
May 07, 2009
5:35pm
Help!!
May 07, 2009
5:42pm
The most common reasons product keys don't validate are:
- Extra spaces in a cut-and-paste will cause problems (maybe the cause of your issue?)
- Make sure the key is CAPITAL LETTERS only.
- Include the dashes '-' in the key as printed.
(We'll do this better in the future, I'm positive.)
Since you're cutting and pasting, it may be a problem with spaces on either side of the key?
If all else fails, then email customer support for trial (linked in your trial confirmation email, or at http://try.officeformac.com/store/msmactus/DisplayHelpPage
) and they should provide you with another trial key.
Don't worry about the 10 days. Your trial starts after you successfully launch trial, so it hasn't started yet.
Good luck!
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