Microsoft announces Office 2013 - What you might want to know

Microsoft has announced Office 2013. Below is a list of answers to any questions you might have about Office 15 if you are keeping track of the version numbers.

New Microsoft Office: What versions are there?

The new version of Office is called Office 2013. However, there is also new subscription-based version of Office 365.

Office 2013 will come in various packages which will be announced later in the year. Meanwhile Office 365 will be available in three new editions - Home Premium, Small Business Premium and ProPlus. All Office 365 versions will include Office 2013 applications.

New Microsoft Office: What is Office 365 Home Premium?

This version is designed for the general consumer. It includes an additional 20GB of online SkyDrive storage and 60 minutes of Skype world minutes per month.

New Microsoft Office: What is Office 365 Small Business Premium?

As the name suggests, this edition is aimed at small businesses. It includes business-grade email, shared calendars, website tools and HD web conferencing.

New Microsoft Office: What is Office 365 ProPlus?

ProPlus is designed for enterprise customers. Mictosoft said it has advanced business capabilities and the flexibility to deploy and manage in the cloud.

New Microsoft Office: What Office 2013 applications are there?

Office 2013 will consist of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher and Access.

New Microsoft Office: Are there new Windows 8 applications?

Yes, OneNote (planning and note taking) and Lync (messaging and video) are the first Office applications made for Windows 8 and tailored for touch input.

New Microsoft Office: Will Office be included with Windows 8?

As far as we know only Windows 8 RT, the version designed for tablets with ARM processors will come with Office. Applications will include Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote.

See also: Office 2013 on tablet review.

New Microsoft Office: Does it have cloud support?

Yes, the new Office has a large focus on the cloud. This includes automatically saving documents to SkyDrive and storing your personalised settings such as templates and files, all of which roam with you across devices.

If you opt for a subscription version then Office on Demand allows you to access Office from any internet connected Windows machine.

New Microsoft Office: When will it launch?

Microsoft hasn't set a release date yet. However, a Customer Preview of Office 365 is available to download for free at microsoft.com

New Microsoft Office: How much will it cost?

This is another thing which hasn't been detailed so far.

New Microsoft Office: What input does it support?

Microsoft has said the software is suited to touch, stylus, mouse and keyboard input.

New Microsoft Office: What devices does it support?

At the moment all we can say is that the preview version requires Windows 7 or newer. We'll have to wait for full system requirements for all the different versions.

The full version of Office 365 Home Premium will support Apple Mac computers.

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