Microsoft brings Office 365 support to Office for Mac 2011 in software update

Microsoft on Tuesday updated Office for Mac 2011, the long-in-the-tooth productivity suite tailored to machines running Apple's OS X, with bug fixes, features and compatibility with the Office 365 subscription service.

The latest Office for Mac 2011 version 14.3.4 includes a variety of feature additions that brings the application suite somewhat up to spec with its Windows counterpart, and includes bug fixes for compatibility issues that hindered interoperability between PC and Mac versions of Word, Outlook and other titles.

Perhaps most important is the ability for existing Office for Mac 2011 users to integrate with Office 365, a subscription service that offers users access to the latest Office software updates, as well as SkyDrive cloud storage and SharePoint access for Word.

Fixes included in the new version:

Coauthoring session with Microsoft PowerPoint Web App and Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac
After token expires, does not prompt for credentials in Microsoft Outlook for Mac
Calibri Light font not included in Office for Mac
SetupUI is shown to user on start after Office for Mac is already activated
Saving files to SkyDrive and SharePoint in Microsoft Word for Mac
Folder contains excess white space: Error 1025 in Outlook for Mac
XLIST command that is used by Gmail is deprecated in Outlook for Mac
Local group mail cannot be sent in Outlook for Mac
Remote devices lose control while in Presentation Mode in Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac
File format extension support in PowerPoint for Mac
Searching continues after user cancels in Outlook for Mac
Items go into Junk Mail in Outlook for Mac
Blocked Senders List under Junk Email Protection in Outlook for Mac

In a recent change to its pricing policies, Microsoft placed Office 2011 for Mac in the same tier as its more current PC counterpart Office 2013 for Windows. At the time, it was thought that the Redmond, Wash., company was pushing Mac users toward an Office 365 subscription due to the deprecation of multi-license bundles.

With Tuesday's update, Office 2011 users can sign up for Microsoft Office 365 if they so choose. Subscription to the Home Premium edition costs $99.99 per year, or $9.99 per month, and grants the use of Office on up to five computers.

In order to take advantage of the newest Office for Mac 2011 version, existing owners must have version 14.1.0 or higher installed on a machine running OS X 10.5.8 or later, while Office 365 requires an Intel Mac and OS X 10.6 or higher. The download is available through Auto Update or Microsoft's website.