On March 5, Microsoft released a Preview of Office for Mac 2016, with the full suite due to launch in the second half of the year. This preview includes an updated version of Excel.

In order to install the preview, Macs purchased from 2008 onwards should work, just ensure that the Mac is running Yosemite. The installation may be found at Microsoft’s Office for Mac Preview site.

Every application gets a Yosemite look and feel and applications are optimised to work with the Retina display.

Microsoft has stated that the preview will be updated regularly and that users will be notified to updates via the Mac Auto-Update tool. It should be stressed, however, that this download is the equivalent of a “beta” so caveat emptor.

The preview is free but when the suite ships later this year it will require an Office 365 subscription or the purchase of a standalone copy, otherwise you will be able to use the Preview copy for a further month before access is limited to read only / print.

For more information, check out the upcoming April newsletter (you may subscribe to our newsletter at the bottom of any page).