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, improved
format support for Office Open XML, OpenDocument and Portable Document Format 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 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 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 file format: in particular it supports saving in the "Strict"
profile of ISO/IEC 29500.
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.
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 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
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:
Remarks
Removed features The following features are removed from Microsoft
Office 2013.
Removed from the entire suite 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 Only basic version of help files available
while offline.
There is no longer an option to install local help files during installation.
Features removed from Microsoft Word Custom XML markup has been removed for legal
reasons Older WordArt objects are now converted to
new WordArt objects Features removed from Microsoft Access
Access Data Projects Support for Jet 3.x IISAM
Access OWC control dBASE support suite
Features removed from Microsoft Outlook 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 or comma-separated values
Notes and Journal customization Outlook Activities tab
Outlook Mobile Service Outlook Search through Windows Shell
Features removed from Microsoft PowerPoint 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
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 were expanded for Office 2013 to include new plans aimed
at home use.
The subscriptions allow use of the Office 2013 applications 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, initially
known as Office 2013 Home & Student RT, is shipped with all Windows RT devices.
It initially consisted of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.
In Windows RT 8.1, the suite was renamed Office 2013 RT and Outlook was added.
The edition, whilst visually indistinguishable from normal versions of Office 2013, contains
special optimizations for ARM-based devices, such as changes to reduce battery usage, 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 macrosActiveX
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, 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, a separated OneNote app
with additional features, 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 Remarks
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
See also List of office suites
References
External links Official website
Trial of Microsoft Office 2013 on Microsoft Technet