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The Apple Support Community will permanently close on November 20, 2026. Starting today, the site will no longer accept new posts and is available in a read-only state.
You can continue to find trusted guidance and support on the official Apple Support site.
We want to thank the community members who have contributed their time and expertise to help others with their Apple products.
I received information that my current Microsoft Word, Excel etc needs updating. I'd like to know how to do this and if I must purchase new programs to be compatible?
iMac Pro
You can't update what you have. You must purchase a newer version. The current choices are the one-time cost, perpetual license Office 2019, or the yearly/monthly subscription version, Office 365.
I suggest you check out LibreOffice and find out if it fills your needs. It is free.
I know it works for me.
Yes, it should, Mac has been a 64-bit system forever. But there may be other factors so check the specs.
Check out the MS website. I don't know if you'll have to purchase, as it depends on the version you currently have.
If I get an update from Microsoft, will it work on Sierra?
Yes.
OK. I think I new from what I read that my Sierra would work OK with 32 bit now. I really want to know just how I an update my Microsoft Word, Excel and other Microsoft programs for Mac.
Thank you.
64-bit spec won't take effect until you download Catalina when it's available. If you choose not to update your OS, then MS apps should continue to work fine. If you do then check with MS to see what updates are available.
The developer needs to update their software. In some cases, they will no longer support older software and you may need to purchase newer versions. But you do not need to do anything until you want to install the next OS Catalina.
Updating to 64 bit programs
