Transferring office

Question

How do I transfer Office to a new MAC computer... One Mac Pro to MAC air. I get Word but it doesn't call up old files and it doesn't save files in the same way. There is no transfer of files either. I don't know the age of the Office app.

Answer 1

Hello !

The AI answer is correct : just download the Office installer from https://account.microsoft.com/services. You'll need to log in with the Microsoft account used to activate your license. Download the .pkg file, install Office, and log into your Microsoft account.
Your Office license will automatically transfer.Please let me know if you have any other question !

Answer 2

Transferring Office to a new Mac involves two separate things:

1. Installing/activating Office on the new Mac
2. Moving or accessing existing document files

1. Install or move Office to the new Mac

If this is a one-time purchase such as Office Home & Student or Home & Business (non-subscription), it can be moved to another device, but only one computer at a time:

• Uninstall or stop using Office on the old Mac.
• On the new Mac, sign in with the same Microsoft account that owns the Office license at the services page (as described in the Q&A for moving Office 2016) and install Office from there.
• If activation issues occur, use the phone activation option described in the activation article referenced in the Q&A.

For Microsoft 365 subscriptions, simply install and sign in on the new Mac with the same Microsoft account; the subscription allows installation on the new device without a “transfer” step.

If the Office license is Office 2021/2019/2016 one-time purchase, it can be transferred to another computer that belongs to the same owner, but only one time every 90 days (except for hardware failure). When transferring, Office must be removed from the prior computer and no copies retained.

2. Getting old files on the new Mac

Office does not automatically move documents between Macs. Documents must be copied or accessed from wherever they are stored:

• If documents were stored locally on the old Mac (e.g., in Documents or Desktop), copy them to the new Mac using a USB drive, external disk, network share, or Apple’s Migration Assistant.
• If documents were stored in OneDrive, sign in to the same Microsoft account in OneDrive on the new Mac so the files appear there.

Once the files are on the new Mac, Word/Excel/PowerPoint can open them normally. If files are in older formats (for example, from very old Office or other products like Microsoft Works), they may need to be opened and re-saved in a newer Office format such as .docx, .xlsx, or .pptx. For compatibility with older software, documents can also be saved in older formats (for example, Word 97–2004 .doc) using File → Save As and choosing the appropriate file format.

If files are not saving “in the same way,” check the Save As dialog and confirm the desired file format (e.g., .docx vs .doc) and storage location (local folder vs OneDrive). On Mac, the default save format and compatibility options can be adjusted in Office preferences.

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References:

• Move from Microsoft Works to Office 2010
• Transfer your Office license to another device or another person
• Move my Home and Student 2016 to a new computer - Microsoft Q&A