Microsoft Office 2013 Microsoft Office 2013 is a version of Microsoft
Office, a productivity suite for Microsoft Windows.
It is the successor of Microsoft Office 2010 and includes extended file format support,
user interface updates and support for touch among its new features.
Office 2013 is suitable for IA-32 and x64 systems and requires Windows 7, Windows Server
2008 R2 or a later version of either.
A version of Office 2013 comes included on Windows RT devices.
Development on this version of Microsoft Office was started in 2010 and ended on October 11,
2012 when Microsoft Office 2013 was released to manufacturing.
Microsoft released Office 2013 to general availability on 29 January 2013.
This version includes new features such as integration support for online services (including
SkyDrive, Outlook.com, Hotmail, Skype, Yammer and Flickr), improved format support for Office
Open XML (OOXML), OpenDocument (ODF) and Portable Document Format (PDF) and support for multi-touch
interfaces.
Microsoft Office 2013 comes in twelve different editions, including three editions for retail
outlets, two editions for volume licensing channel, five subscription-based editions
available through Microsoft Office 365 program, the web application edition known as Office
Web Apps and the Office RT edition made for tablets and mobile devices.
Office Web Apps are available free of charge on the web although enterprises may obtain
on-premises installations for a price.
Microsoft Office applications may be obtained individually; this includes Microsoft Visio,
Microsoft Project and Microsoft SharePoint Designer which are not included in any of
the twelve editions.
On February 25, 2014, Microsoft Office 2013 Service Pack 1 (SP1) was released.
Development Development started in 2010 while Microsoft
was finishing work on Office 14, released as Microsoft Office 2010.
On January 30, 2012, Microsoft released a technical preview of Office 15, build 3612.1010,
to a selected group of testers bound by non-disclosure agreements.
On July 16, 2012, Microsoft held a press conference to show off Office 2013 and to release the
Consumer Preview.
The Office 2013 Consumer Preview is a free, fully functional version but will expire 60
days after the final product's release.
An update was issued for the Office 2013 Customer Preview suite on October 5.
Office 2013 was released to manufacturing on October 11, 2012.
It was made available to TechNet and MSDN subscribers on October 24.
On November 15, 2012, 60-days trial versions of Microsoft Office 2013 Professional Plus,
Project Professional 2013 and Visio Professional 2013 were made available to the public over
the Internet.
Microsoft has released Office 2013 for general availability on 29 January 2013.
Microsoft released the service pack 1 update on 25 February 2014.
Features New features
Office 2013 is more cloud-based than previous versions; a domain login, Office 365 account,
or Microsoft account can now be used to sync Office application settings (including recent
documents) between devices, and users can also save documents directly to their SkyDrive
account.
Microsoft Office 2013 includes updated support for ISO/IEC 29500, the International Standard
version of Office Open XML (OOXML) file format: in particular it supports saving in the "Strict"
profile of ISO/IEC 29500 (Office Open XML Strict).
It also supports OASIS version 1.2 of ISO/IEC 26300:2006, Open Document Format, which Office
2013 can read and write.
Additionally, Office 2013 provides full read, write, and edit support for ISO 32000 (PDF).
New features include a new read mode in Microsoft Word, a presentation mode in Microsoft PowerPoint
and improved touch and inking in all of the Office programs.
Microsoft Word can also insert video and audio from online sources as well as the capability
to broadcast documents on the Web.
Word and PowerPoint also have bookmark-like features which sync the position of the document
between different computers.
The Office Web Apps suite was also updated for Office 2013, introducing additional editing
features and interface changes.
Other features of Office 2013 include: Flatter look of the Ribbon interface and subtle
animations when typing or selecting (Word and Excel)
A new visualization for scheduled tasks in Microsoft Outlook
Remodeled start screen New graphical options in Word
Objects such as images can be freely moved; they snap to boundaries such as paragraph
edges, document margin and or column boundaries Online picture support with content from Office.com,
Bing.com and Flickr (by default, only images in public domain)
Ability to return to the last viewed or edited location in Word and PowerPoint
New slide designs, animations and transitions in PowerPoint 2013
Support for Outlook.com and Hotmail.com in Outlook
Support for integration with Skype, Yammer and SkyDrive
IMAP special folders support Excel 2013 supports new limit models, as follows:
Removed features The following features are removed from Microsoft
Office 2013.
Microsoft SharePoint Workspace Microsoft Clip Organizer
Microsoft Office Picture Manager Office 2007 and Office 2010 chart styles
Ability to insert a 3D cone, pyramid, or cylinder chart (It is still possible to insert a 3D
rectangle chart and change the shape after insertion.)
Only basic version of help files available while offline.
There is no longer an option to install local help files during installation.
Custom XML markup has been removed for legal reasons
Older WordArt objects are now converted to new WordArt objects
Access Data Projects (ADP) Support for Jet 3.x IISAM
Access OWC control dBASE support suite
Download Headers Only mode for IMAP Outlook Exchange Classic offline
Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 support /Cleanfreebusy command line start up switch
Ability to import from or export to any formats other than Personal Storage Table (PST) or
comma-separated values (CSV) Notes and Journal customization
Outlook Activities tab Outlook Mobile Service (OMS)
Outlook Search through Windows Shell Support for Visio Drawing
Changes Distribution changes
Unlike past versions of Office, retail copies of Office 2013 are not made available on a
DVD; retail copies of Office 2013 and Office 365 subscriptions only contain a product key,
and direct users to the Office website to obtain the software.
Installation uses an application streaming system, allowing users to begin using Office
2013's applications almost instantaneously.
The DVD version is still offered in select regions, such as what Microsoft classified
as emerging markets, as well as Australia, at the discretion of retailers.
Licensing changes The original license agreement for retail
editions of Microsoft Office 2013 was different from the license agreements of retail editions
of previous versions of Microsoft Office in two significant ways.
The first of these was that the software could no longer be transferred to another computer.
In previous versions of Office, this restriction applied only to OEM editions; retail Office
license agreements allowed uninstalling from one computer to install on another computer.
Digitally downloaded copies of Office were also said to be permanently locked to that
PC's hardware, preventing it from being transferred to any other computing device.
Should the buyer have wished to use Office 2013 on a different computer, or if they later
became unable to use the computing device that the original license was downloaded to
(e.g. hardware became inoperable due to malfunction) then a completely new, full-priced copy of
Office 2013 would have to have been purchased to replace the prior one.
Microsoft stated that this change was related to the software piracy that has been rampant
for years, worldwide.
However, many commentators saw this change as an effort to forcibly move its customers
towards the subscription-based business model used by the Office 365 service.
The legality of this move, particularly in Europe, has been questioned.
However, on March 6, 2013, Microsoft announced that equivalent transfer rights to those in
the Office 2010 retail license agreements are applicable to retail Office 2013 copies
effective immediately.
Transfer of license from one computer to another owned by the same user is now allowed every
90 days, except in the case of hardware failure, in which the license may be moved sooner.
The first user of the product is now also allowed to transfer it to another user.
The second difference, which remains in the updated licensing agreement, is that the software
can be installed on only one computer.
In previous versions of Office, this restriction also applied only to OEM editions; retail
Office license agreements allowed installing the product on two or three computers, depending
on the edition.
Editions Traditional editions
As with previous versions, Office 2013 is made available in several distinct editions
aimed towards different markets.
All traditional editions of Microsoft Office 2013 contain Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote
and are licensed for use on one computer.
Five traditional editions of Office 2013 were released:
Home & Student: This suite includes the core applications Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and
OneNote.
It is available at retail outlets.
Home & Business: This retail suite adds Outlook to the core lineup.
Standard: This suite adds Outlook and Publisher to the core lineup and is only available through
volume licensing channels.
Professional: A retail suite, it includes Outlook, Publisher and Access as well as the
core apps.
Professional Plus: Available through volume licensing only, this suite includes Word,
Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access, InfoPath and Lync.
Office 365 The Office 365 online services (previously
aimed towards business and enterprise users) were expanded for Office 2013 to include new
plans aimed at home use.
The subscriptions allow use of the Office 2013 applications (along with other services)
by multiple users using a software as a service model.
Different plans are available for Office 365, some of which also include value-added services,
such as 20 GB of SkyDrive storage and 60 Skype minutes per month on the new Home Premium
plan.
These new subscription offerings were positioned as a new option for consumers wanting a cost-effective
way to purchase and use Office on multiple computers in their household.
Office RT A special version of Office 2013 known as
Office 2013 Home & Student RT is shipped with all Windows RT devices, initially consisting
of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
This edition, whilst visually indistinguishable from normal versions of Office 2013, contains
special optimizations for ARM-based devices, such as changes to reduce battery usage (including,
for example, freezing the animation of the blinking cursor for text editing during periods
of inactivity), enabling touch mode by default to improve usability on tablets, and using
the graphics portion of a device's SoC for hardware acceleration.
Windows RT devices on launch were shipped with a "preview" version of Office Home & Student
2013 RT.
The release date for the final version varied depending on the user’s language, and was
distributed through Windows Update when released.
On June 5, 2013, Microsoft announced that Windows RT 8.1 would add Outlook to the suite
in response to public demand.
Office RT modifies or excludes other various features for compatibility reasons or resource
reduction.
To save disk space; templates, clip art, and language packs are downloaded online rather
than stored locally.
Other excluded features include the removal of support for third-party code such as macros/VBA/ActiveX
controls, the removal of support for older media formats and narration in PowerPoint,
editing of equations generated with the legacy Equation Editor, data models in Excel (PivotCharts,
PivotTables, and QueryTables are unaffected), searching embedded media files in OneNote,
along with data loss prevention, Group Policy support, and creating e-mails with information
rights management in Outlook.
As the version of Office RT included on Windows RT devices is based off the Home & Student
version, it cannot be used for "commercial, nonprofit, or revenue-generating activities"
unless the organization has a volume license for Office 2013 already, or the user has an
Office 365 subscription with commercial use rights.
Windows Store apps Alongside Office RT, free versions of OneNote
and the Lync client were made available as Windows Store apps upon the release of Windows
8 and RT.
The OneNote app, originally known as OneNote MX, contains a limited feature set in comparison
to its desktop version, but is also optimized for use on tablets.
At the Build 2013 keynote, Julie Larson-Green demonstrated an early version of a PowerPoint
app for Windows 8/RT.
Office Mobile Windows Phone 8 ships with an updated version
of the Office Mobile suite, consisting of mobile versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint,
and OneNote.
In comparison to their Windows Phone 7 versions, the new versions add an improved Office Hub
interface that can sync recently opened and modified documents (including changes to documents
stored via Office 365 and SkyDrive), a separated OneNote app with additional features (such
as voice notes and integration with the new "Rooms" functionality of the OS), and improved
document editing and viewing functionality.
In June 2013, Microsoft released a version of Office Mobile for iPhone; it is similar
to the Windows Phone version, but requires an Office 365 subscription to use.
A version for Android smartphones was released in July 2013.
Comparison System requirements
Each Microsoft Office 2013 application has the following requirements, although there
may be app-specific requirements.
In addition to these, graphics hardware acceleration requires a screen resolution of 1024×576
pixels or larger and a DirectX 10-compliant GPU with at least 64 MB of video memory (in
case of absence of the required hardware, however, Office 2013 applications can still
run without graphics acceleration.)