CrossOver 17 ships, lets Mac users run Windows versions of Microsoft Office 2016, Quicken 2017

CodeWeavers has released a major update to CrossOver, a tool for running Windows application on macOS, with version 17.0.0 of the utility including support for Microsoft Office 2016 and Quicken 2017, among other improvements.

The latest iteration of the software, which allows applications built for Windows to run within macOS without requiring a Windows license or installation, allows users to install Microsoft Office 2016. CodeWeavers advises that both the Home and Business versions can be installed from an Office 365 account, with full-featured versions usable, though warns many versions of Office will still not register or install when used with the tool.

Last year's CrossOver 16 release added support for Microsoft Office 2013, with version 17 improving support for both that version as well as Microsoft Office 2010. A second major addition to the roster is Quicken 2017, allowing for the Windows version to be used on a Mac instead of the native version.

The firm also claims there have been thousands of improvements made to the core technology used by the software, including a full upgrade of its Wine compatibility layer, which will benefit a large number of existing applications that are supported by the utility.

Notably, CrossOver 17 appears to be moving away from Windows XP and catering to applications that run on later Windows versions, with a note on the changelog advising "the default compatibility mode has been changed from Windows XP to Windows 7."

Other highlights in the new release include better support for gradient brushes and shapes in Office 2013, bug fixes that prevented "Everquest" and "Everquest 2" from running, and a change that will make more Windows applications run better on high dpi displays.

Mac users with active support entitlements will be able to upgrade their existing CrossOver installation to version 17.0.0 the next time they launch the tool. CrossOver Mac starts from $39.95 for the single version license, with higher-cost plans providing support and upgrades for a year or for a lifetime are also available.

Version 17.0.0 is compatible with macOS 10.10 Yosemite and later, and requires an Intel-based Mc with 300 megabytes of free disk space, as well as capacity for Windows application installs.