If I didn’t write about Apple-related tech for a living, I’m honestly not sure whether I’d upgrade to macOS Catalina. For me, the loss of 32-bit app compatibility could potentially be both a major hassle and a significant expense.

A hassle in part because there are several small utility apps I use which are 32-bit only. All are old, and the developers have long since lost interest in updating them, so I’m going to need to find suitable alternatives…

And yes, I’ve had plenty of notice, so could have done this by now, but they are apps I run perhaps once a month – so I haven’t prioritized them.

Oct 11, 2017  Microsoft has officially ended support for Office for Mac 2011 as scheduled, nearly seven years after the software suite was first released. 2011 versions of Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.

Cannot remove microsoft 2011 from mac computer Rules that you create in Outlook for Mac are saved on your computer and run on messages only as they are synchronized with Outlook for Mac. To add additional criteria, click.Under Do the following, specify the actions that you want to be performed.Click OK. Notes:.With a Microsoft Exchange account managed by Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, you cannot use Outlook for Mac to edit or create rules that are saved on the Exchange server (such as rules you created in Outlook for Windows). If you want to have multiple criteria separated by 'or,' for rules saved on the Exchange Server, do this:.In the left-most pop-up menu of the criteria, select a field that contains text, such as From, Recipients, or Subject.Moving to the right, in the second pop-up menu, select Contains.Click Add search terms, and then in the search list, click Addfor each term that you want to add.For rules saved on your computer, you can use the pop-up menu above the criteria to select If Any Criteria Are Met or other options.To remove one of the criteria, click.

But a hassle more because there are ‘classic’ versions of apps I love, and which I may now have to abandon in favor of newer ones with a different user interface.

Lightroom 3 is the biggest example here. I’ve used Lightroom since version 1, and love the app. The UI changes between versions 1 and 3 have been incremental, so there’s never been a big new learning curve. I’m able to whizz through photo edits in no time at all thanks to a combination of a bunch of presets I’ve created, plugins I’ve added and familiarity with the UI.

For one-time purchases of Office for Mac 2011 you can install Office on only one computer. However, you may transfer Office for Mac 2011 to another computer that belongs to you if you experience a hardware failure or you buy a new computer. For more information, see the Microsoft License Terms for your product. Oct 14, 2019  Here's why Microsoft Word 2011, old versions of Photoshop, and other software doesn't work on macOS Catalina: Apple dropped support for all 32-bit apps from the operating system. When the Welcome to Office: Mac 2011 screen appears, select the option, Enter your purchased product key. Enter the product key from the retail package of Office for Mac 2011, and then click Activate. Save on select Xbox consoles and games, Surface, PCs, movies, and more. Offers end April 13. Xbox Live Gold and over 100 high-quality console and PC games. Play together with friends and discover your next favorite game. Get expert tips on how to use Microsoft Teams—free to educators and students. Support for Office for Mac 2011 ended October 10, 2017. Rest assured that all your Office 2011 apps will continue to function—they won't disappear from your Mac, nor will you lose any data. But here's what the end of support means for you: You'll no longer receive Office for Mac 2011 software updates from Microsoft Update. Nov 08, 2019  If you used a version prior to Office for Mac 2016 then your upgrade choices are Office 365, Office for Mac 2016 or 2019. It's 32 bit software and is dead in Catalina. All apps must be 64 bit. Microsoft dropped all support for Office 2011 over a year ago. Keep in mind that there are known issues with Office 2011 on Mojave. Microsoft remote desktop for mac 2.0 1.

The app is 64-bit, so ought to still run in Catalina, but some of my plugins are flagged by the Legacy Software checker. The worst-case here is that the rather elderly plugins – or modern replacements for them – are now only available for later versions of Lightroom.

I do already have the current version of Lightroom, as I have the Photographer’s subscription for Photoshop CC, which also gets me Lightroom CC. But after spending some time playing with it, and being dismayed by how much the UI had changed, I decided to stick with the classic version. I know from photographer friends that I’m not alone in that assessment. I won’t be a happy bunny if I have to switch.

The upgrade to macOS Catalina could also prove expensive

I will also have to buy some new software too.

I’m still happily using Office 2011. My usage is very basic because most of my writing is done in some mix of Scrivener, Final Draft, and WordPress, and I use Excel and Powerpoint only for very simple tasks. All of which means I’m perfectly content with the Office 2011 feature-set, but it’s 32-bit, so not compatible with macOS Catalina.

I definitely don’t want to have to get an Office 365 subscription. Fortunately, Microsoft still sells Office 2019 as a one-off purchase, and that is compatible, but it will still involve learning the new UI and forking out cash.

Where things get really bad, however, is Dreamweaver. I use CS6, which I once used professionally, hence the original purchase, but now use only for my own personal website. I use it all of two or three times a year when I add a new travel blog. The problem is, Adobe can’t/won’t sell me a compatible version as a one-off purchase. And the subscription option is ridiculously expensive for something I’ll use a few times a year. It’s an eye-watering £238.42 ($291/year)!

WordPress solves the problem, but involves a lot of work

A Dreamweaver subscription is absolutely not an expense I can justify, so that leaves me needing a new solution for my personal website. I’ve never found another web-editing app I like, so at this point, I may decide to bite the bullet and switch to a WordPress site. I already use WordPress professionally, and for a tango blog, so I’m extremely familiar with the UI.

But doing that would involve a lot of work. In my cycling section, for example, I have blogs-from-before-the-word-existed for various trips, from one-pagers like London to Brighton to a 23-page microsite with hundreds of photos from a Lands End to John O’Groats ride.

It’s worse for my travel blogs. I have blogs from dozens of countries, including a Cambodia trip which again has an entire microsite.

I think WordPress is the route I’ll end up taking. It would, if nothing else, make future blog posts simpler to create and offer the ability to post and edit on my iPad as well as Mac, so there are benefits. But it’s still a lot of work to recreate what I already have.

macOS Catalina isn’t a must-have-now for me

There are features in Catalina I would like. Sidecar is an obvious one. When I need to work while traveling, the native ability to use my iPad as an additional monitor is convenient. Being able to run iPad apps on my Mac is also something I’ve wanted for some time now. But there’s nothing ‘must-have’ about the upgrade for me. Were it a purely personal decision, I’d be tempted to either skip it altogether or at least do it some considerable way down the road.

As it is, I kind of have to. But given the amount of work involved, it’s not something I’ll be doing immediately, just sometime in the next few weeks. I generally steer clear of beta versions, but this will be the first time in years I haven’t upgraded to a new version of macOS within a day or two of the release version – and it’s all down to losing 32-bit apps.

Mac Os Catalina Microsoft Office

Where are you at with an upgrade to macOS Catalina? Have you been running the betas? Waiting for the release version? Are you, like me, putting it off for now? Or have you decided to skip it altogether? Please take our poll, and share your thoughts and experiences in the comments.

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Updated 8:28 AM EST Dec 15, 2019

Question: I upgraded to Catalina on my Mac and now Microsoft Office won’t work; what can I do?

Answer: One of the side effects of tech companies taking their platforms to new levels is that, often times, older software programs will no longer work.

The most recent version of Apple’s MacOS — known as Catalina — is having a major impact on those who upgraded without understanding that their older 32-bit programs would no longer run.

Microsoft 2011 Mac Catalina Bay

If your version of Microsoft Office is older than Office 2016 v15.35, you’ll have to choose from a variety of costly or time consuming and complicated options.

If you have Office 2016, you should be able to upgrade to the 64-bit version through Microsoft’s standard upgrade process if for some reason it hasn’t already been updated.

Option 1: Purchase new software

You can purchase the Office Home & Student 2019 bundle from Microsoft for $149.99 or the Office Home & Business bundle for $249.99. The primary difference in the two packages is the business version includes Outlook.

Option 2: Start renting Microsoft Office

Microsoft is trying to get users to convert from a single purchase package that will eventually expire to their subscription 'SaaS' (Software as a Service) platform known as Office 365.

This means you either pay monthly ($6.99 for Home & Student) or annually ($69.99 for Home & Student or $99 for Business) from now on.

Option 3: Switch to Google’s offerings

If your needs for productivity software are very basic, you may find the free options available from Google through a Google Drive account to be acceptable.

It includes Docs, Sheets and Slides which are Google’s version of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, although nowhere near as powerful. Though it’s a web-based tool, there are options for editing your documents when you are offline.

Microsoft Office For Mac Os Catalina

Option 4: Revert back to Mojave

There is no simple way to go back to the previous version (Mojave), so this option is very time consuming and complicated, as you’ll have to wipe your hard drive and reinstall everything. Depending upon which version of the MacOS your computer shipped with, you may have to use an external hard drive to complete the reversion.

How to check for 32-bit programs

For those who are considering an upgrade to Catalina, a good first step is to see what 32-bit programs you are currently running to determine if they are important to you or not.

To do this, click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner, then on 'About This Mac' and then on 'System Report.' When the report opens up, scroll down to the 'Software' section and click on 'Applications.'

An alphabetical list of applications will appear with various details about each one. If you scroll to the far right, you should see a column that says '64-Bit' and the words 'Yes' or 'No' for each application. To make it easier to see the Application Name and whether it’s 64-bit or not, drag the 64-bit header from the far right to the far left so it’s right next to the 'Application Name' column.

Go through the list looking for your critical programs to make sure they are 64-bit or to see if a 64-bit version is available from the creator of the program before upgrading to Catalina.

Ken Colburn is the founder and CEO of Data Doctors Computer Services. Ask any tech question at: facebook.com/DataDoctors.

Updated 8:28 AM EST Dec 15, 2019
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