Compare Office 2008 for Mac with Office for Mac 2011

Office for Mac 2011 will reach end of support on October 10, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see these resources.

 

Applies to: Office for Mac 2011

Topic Last Modified: 2015-03-09

The following tables compare some key features between Office 2008 and Office 2011.

Entourage/Outlook

 Feature is included    Feature is improved    Feature is not included

Get easier access to the right tools at the right time

Features	Entourage 2008	Outlook 2011
Ribbon The ribbon makes it easy to discover and utilize the features that Outlook has to offer. It adapts to your task at hand and provides you with the tools you need when you need them.
My Day Stay on top of your day at a glance. More tools for managing your tasks have been added, along with the ability to view additional details for your upcoming meetings and appointments without the need to keep Outlook running.

Save time viewing, creating, and managing your e-mail

Features	Entourage 2008	Outlook 2011
Conversations Get a summary of an entire conversation thread and update yourself on the pertinent details quickly. The Conversations feature improves the tracking of related e-mail messages and lets you manage large amounts of e-mail with ease.
Attachment Previews Launch Quick Look right from an e-mail message and preview your file attachments in Outlook without opening them in an application.
Outlook database Outlook data is saved in separate text files, resulting in smaller, more robust, and easier to manage files that you can back up with Time Machine.
Unified folders Outlook combines your Inbox, Drafts, Sent Items, and Deleted Items folders for all your mailboxes in unified folders, enabling you to work seamlessly across multiple accounts.
Import Windows .pst files Outlook enables you to import data files (.pst files) created in Outlook for Windows directly in the application — no third-party tools required.
Filter by Category The Filter by Category feature allows you to quickly assign categories to your calendar and contact items. View exactly what you need, when you need it.
Filters Quickly sift through your mailbox and find what you’re looking for with ease. Use built-in filters to apply frequently used criteria in a few simple clicks.
Search tools Search tools automatically appear in the ribbon when you apply a built-in filter or click in a Search box. Use the Search tools to add additional criteria to your applied filter to narrow your results, or use the tools to create a new filter.
Server-based rules Server-based rules allows you to have one set of Inbox rules that live on the Exchange server. These rules run on your Exchange mailbox, even when Outlook is not running on your computer. Note This is a new feature in Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 (SP1).
Help Explore Office 2011 Help, videos, and tutorials to help you learn more about Outlook.

Deliver polished and professional communications

Features	Entourage 2008	Outlook 2011
Rich e-mail editing tools Outlook brings you rich composition tools to help you easily create professional content. With increased cross-platform compatibility, rich formatting, such as tables, won’t be destroyed when you reply to or forward an e-mail.
Media Browser The Media Browser consolidates your photos, movies, and audio files, all in one convenient location. Just drag a file from the Media Browser to your e-mail.

Simplify your scheduling tasks

Features	Entourage 2008	Outlook 2011
Overlay calendar view Outlook automatically consolidates and stacks multiple and shared calendars so you can easily see your schedule and your colleagues’ schedules in a single calendar view.
Calendar preview in e-mail messages Instantly review any calendar conflicts or adjacent items in a calendar snapshot, shown in a meeting invitation, so you can read the request and check the date on your calendar at the same time.
Scheduling Assistant View more of your co-worker’s shared calendar details and easily track attendee responses right from your meeting request.
Reply with Meeting Schedule your meetings faster by transforming an e-mail into a meeting invitation in one simple click. Note A similar feature is available in Entourage as an AppleScript.

Connect with others and stay up to date

Features	Entourage 2008	Outlook 2011
Presence See the availability of others, which you can view on almost any Outlook item.
Contact card Rest your pointer on a presence icon to display the new contact card, view your contact’s information, such as address and phone number, or easily start a conversation with instant messaging, video, or voice call. Note Viewing presence information and initiating an IM, voice, or video conversation from within Outlook requires Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 with Microsoft Communicator for Mac 2011. Your computer must have an installed microphone for voice calls and an installed video camera to use the video capabilities in Communicator for Mac.
Photos See the photos of your contacts in your mails, contact lists, and calendar. Note This is a new feature in Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 (SP1).
Contacts Search panel Instantly search your contacts from any Outlook view. Start by typing the name of your contact or information found in the contact's address, such as a job title or phone. The contacts that match your search string display automatically.
Information Rights Management Control access to your confidential e-mail by using enterprise-level protection tools. Note Creating IRM-protected documents requires Microsoft Office for Mac Standard 2011 (the volume license edition of Office 2011) as well as a Rights Management server running Windows Server 2008 R2 with Windows 7 SP1. Opening IRM-protected content to which you have been given access can be done from any edition of Office for Mac 2011.

Access your information from virtually anywhere, anytime

Features	Entourage 2008	Outlook 2011
Outlook Web App Manage your e-mail from any device that has a Web browser. Use Outlook Web App and view your e-mail messages, contacts, and calendar events stored on a server running Microsoft Exchange Server. Use familiar features found in Outlook, such as Conversations, multiple calendars, shared calendars, organization hierarchy, free/busy status, and more. Note Outlook Web App, formerly known as Outlook Web Access, will continue to be available to Exchange Server customers as part of their standard licensing agreement.
Offline Address Books Rest your pointer on a presence icon to display the new contact card, view your contact’s information, such as address and phone number, or easily start a conversation with instant messaging, video, or voice call. Note Easily access phone numbers, addresses, job titles, and more, even when you’re offline.
Voice mail preview With Outlook and new technology in Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, a voice-to-text preview of a recorded voice message is sent along with the voice mail recording directly to your inbox. Access your messages from virtually anywhere using your Web browser, computer, or smartphone. Note Requires Exchange 2010 and Exchange Unified Messaging.

Excel

 Feature is included    Feature is improved    Feature is not included

Get easier access to the right tools, at the right time

Feature	Excel 2008	Excel 2011
Ribbon The ribbon brings together features previously located in the Elements gallery and Formatting Palette to give you a more streamlined and flexible work experience.
Paste Special options Paste Special options are now at your fingertips on the Home tab. Click the arrow next to Paste and access options that were previously tucked away in the Paste Special dialog box.
Paste as Picture Paste copied content as a picture for quick reference or preserve information that should remain unchanged.
Excel Workbook Gallery The Workbook Gallery offers a variety of new built-in templates. You can also access templates that are hosted on microsoft.com.Paste copied content as a picture for quick reference or preserve information that should remain unchanged.
Embedded Formula Bar The embedded Formula Bar is now located in the workbook window, making it easier to view and edit formulas.
Find System Search for information in your worksheet or across your workbook right from the main Excel window.
Media Browser The new Media Browser gives you a more direct route to your photos, Clip Art, symbols, and shapes, along with quick access to your audio and movie files.

Communicate your results more clearly

Feature	Excel 2008	Excel 2011
Sparklines Tiny charts that fit within a cell and provide a visual summary near its corresponding values.
Conditional Formatting Communicate your analysis more clearly through improved Conditional Formatting using data bars, icon sets, and color scales.

Powerful and easy-to-use analysis tools

Feature	Excel 2008	Excel 2011
Excel Tables Previously known as Excel Lists, tables are now easier to create in Excel 2011 and include new table styles that enable you to shade alternating rows and columns in just a few clicks.
Remove Duplicates Use the Remove Duplicates feature to quickly generate a list of unique values in an Excel table or a cell range.
Data validation You can now reference cells on other worksheets in your data validation rules.
PivotTable Builder The PivotTable Builder replaces the PivotTable Wizard and provides a more streamlined method for building or modifying your PivotTable. Add fields to your PivotTable, change the hierarchy, calculation, or number format — all from a centralized and more intuitive location.
Sorting and Filtering Sort and filter on cell color, font color, or even cell icons used in conditional formatting. New built-in quick filter options have been added for specific data types along with multi-select filters.
Search Filter Instantly search available filter options to quickly locate and display specific data.
Charts Get additional tools for formatting and editing charts, including Chart Quick Layouts and expanded quick access options for editing many chart elements.
Function accuracy New algorithms and functions have been added to help improve over 45 statistical, financial, and mathematical functions and to provide increased compatibility with Excel 2010 for Windows.

Save time and simplify your work

Feature	Excel 2008	Excel 2011
Office themes Select from a wide range of new Office themes to apply fonts, colors, and formatting effects to create coordinating, professional results throughout your workbooks.
Cell styles New out-of-the box cell styles make formatting a breeze. Use the new Styles gallery and obtain easy-to-apply and consistent formatting throughout your workbook.
32-bit color palette 32-bit color palettes are now available to all features that support color in Excel 2011.
Colored sheet tabs Easily identify related worksheets by using colored sheet tabs.
Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) Use VBA, available again across several Office for Mac 2011 applications, to save time, automate repetitive tasks, and create add-ins for yourself and others to use. Note Outlook does not support VBA.
Help Explore Office 2011 Help, videos, and tutorials to help you learn more about Excel.
Open and Repair If a corrupted or damaged file is encountered, Excel 2011 will automatically attempt to repair it upon opening.
Picture editing tools New professional-quality artistic effects as well as advanced color, correction, cropping, and background removal tools help you edit pictures like a pro.
SmartArt graphics Create professional-quality diagrams as easily as typing a bulleted list. Office for Mac 2011 adds dozens of additional SmartArt layouts for even more choices to help you convey related ideas and non-linear concepts with greater visual impact. Additionally, explore improved tools for working with picture diagrams and the ability to convert SmartArt diagrams to shapes.
Compress pictures Reduce file size for easier sharing and portability by compressing the images in your workbooks.
Solver Solver is an add-in program that is available when you install Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 (SP1). With Solver, the optimization tool, you can find the maximum, minimum, or the best possible value for a formula in the target cell on a worksheet. Note This is a new feature in Office for Mac 2011 Service Pack 1 (SP1).

Collaborate in new ways

Feature	Excel 2008	Excel 2011
Sheet protection Improved sheet protection gives you more control over the modifications that other users can make and enables Mac and Windows users to share workbooks more easily.
1900/1904 date system Create more cross-platform compatible workbooks by default, and copy and paste dates between workbooks without worrying about date systems.
Information Rights Management Control access to your sensitive workbooks using enterprise-level workbook protection tools. Note Creating IRM-protected documents requires Microsoft Office for Mac Standard 2011 (the volume license edition of Office 2011) as well as a Rights Management server running Windows Server 2008 R2 with Windows 7 SP1. Opening IRM-protected content to which you have been given access can be done from any edition of Office for Mac 2011.

Access your workbooks virtually anytime, anywhere

Feature	Excel 2008	Excel 2011
Excel Web App View and do lightweight editing of your workbooks online from virtually any computer with an Internet connection. Or, simultaneously edit the same workbook with people in other locations.
Save to OneDrive Save your personal workbooks to a OneDrive folder directly from Excel, using your Microsoft ID.
Save to SharePoint Save your workbooks to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 or later directly from within Excel 2011.

Word

 Feature is included    Feature is improved    Feature is not included

Get easier access to the right tools, at the right time

Feature	Word 2008	Word 2011
Ribbon Get to the commands you need more easily with the new ribbon, designed specifically for Office 2011.
Word Document Gallery Access built-in templates, as well as your own custom templates and recently accessed documents. Customize built-in templates and preview your results before you even create the document. You can also access templates hosted on microsoft.com.
Full screen view Work without distractions in a view that maximizes your document area while keeping key tools easily at hand.
Media Browser Get consolidated access to all of the media you need in your documents, from pictures and movies to shapes and symbols. Note In Word 2008, some elements of this feature were included on the Formatting Palette. The Media Browser is new in Word 2011.
Sidebar Use the improved Sidebar (formerly called the Navigation Pane) to access the Document Map, Find and Replace tools, Reviewing pane, or to view document thumbnails.

Create compelling documents

Feature	Word 2008	Word 2011
Publishing layout view Use the improved publishing layout view to easily create publication documents ranging from brochures and newsletters to business cards and invitations.
Dynamic reordering View document layers in 3-D and drag to rearrange them.
Picture editing tools Advanced color, correction, and cropping tools, a new background removal tool and professional-quality artistic effects help you edit pictures like a pro.
Compress pictures Reduce file size for easier sharing and portability by compressing the images in your documents.
Tables Use improved table tools, such as table styles, that coordinate with your active document theme, as well as expanded table formatting options, such as banded rows and columns.
Charts Get additional tools for formatting and editing charts, including Chart Quick Layouts and expanded quick access options for editing many chart elements.
Office themes Select from a wide range of new Office themes to apply fonts, colors, and formatting effects throughout your document in just a few clicks.
SmartArt graphics Select from several new SmartArt layouts — including new organization charts and picture diagrams — to build professional graphics as easily as typing a bulleted list.
Shapes and shape effects Select from additional shape types and improved tools for working with shapes, such as the ability to select a shape and just start typing to add text. Additionally, get an array of advanced formatting effects — such as reflections, bevels, and improved shadows and gradients — as well as shape styles that coordinate with the same theme effects used for charts and diagrams.
Equations Insert pre-created equations or create your own, and explore a rich set of equation editing tools.

Give your text the power to jump off the page

Feature	Word 2008	Word 2011
Text effects Apply rich effects — such as bevels, reflections, and gradient fills — directly to document text.
Typography Take advantage of the ligatures, stylistic sets, and other typography features, which are available in many OpenType fonts. Or, apply advanced typography features such as stylistic sets and ligatures to TrueType fonts.

Save time and simplify your work

Feature	Word 2008	Word 2011
Styles and formatting Guides Stay in control of your text formatting with color-coded Styles Guides that show you where styles are applied throughout the document and direct formatting guides that instantly highlight text when it’s formatted differently from the applied style.
Find and Replace Use expanded Find capabilities in Word 2011, including an easy-access Search bar at the top of the screen, along with a Search Pane in the Sidebar for automatic hit highlighting and an easily accessible results list.
VBA Use VBA, again available across several Office 2011 applications, to save time, automate repetitive tasks, and create add-ins for yourself and others to use. Note Outlook does not support VBA.
Help Explore Office 2011 Help, videos, and tutorials to help you learn more about Word.
Zoom Drag the new zoom slider on the Status bar at the bottom of the screen to zoom in or out on the active document content.

Work more easily with others

Feature	Word 2008	Word 2011
Coauthoring Edit the same document at the same time with other people in different locations.
Rich presence and on-the-spot communications Instantly start a conversation with others who are simultaneously editing a document with you, right from Word.
Information Rights Management (IRM) Control access to your confidential documents using enterprise-level document protection tools.
Compare documents Use improved tools for comparing document versions, with expanded compare settings and markup options.
Merge documents Quickly combine edits from multiple authors with improved document merge tools.
Send by Instant Message Send your document by instant message directly from Word 2011.

Work how, when, and where you choose

Feature	Word 2008	Word 2011
Word Web App View and do lightweight editing of your documents online from virtually any computer with an Internet connection.
Save to OneDrive Save personal documents to a OneDrive folder directly from Word 2011, using your Microsoft ID.
Save to SharePoint Save your documents to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 or later directly from within Word 2011.

PowerPoint

 Feature is included    Feature is improved    Feature is not included

Get easier access to the right tools, at the right time

Feature	PowerPoint 2008	PowerPoint 2011
Ribbon Get to the commands you need more easily with the new ribbon, designed specifically for Office 2011.
PowerPoint Presentation Gallery Access built-in and online themes and templates, as well as your own custom themes, templates, and recently accessed presentations. Customize built-in content and preview your results before you even create the presentation.
Media Browser Get consolidated access to all the media you need in your presentations, from pictures and movies to shapes and symbols.

Make the media fit the message

Feature	PowerPoint 2008	PowerPoint 2011
Embed movies from your files Movies that you insert from your files are embedded by default in PowerPoint 2011, helping to ensure that your presentation is always ready to travel.
Format movies Format movies that are inserted from your files right from within PowerPoint. Set a preview image and add styles and effects that are retained while the movie plays.
Movie and audio controls Instantly move to any location in the movie or audio object inserted from your files as you present and control the audio level while a movie plays.
Picture editing Advanced color, correction, and cropping tools, a new background removal tool, and professional-quality artistic effects help you edit pictures like a pro.
Compress pictures Compress the pictures in your presentations to reduce file size and make presentations easier to share.

Create extraordinary presentations

Feature	PowerPoint 2008	PowerPoint 2011
Slide transitions Captivate audiences with exciting special effects, such as high-quality 3-D effects, that look just like graphics you’ve seen on TV.
Animations Access and customize animations more easily, explore additional animations such as advanced motion paths, and bring presentations to life by adding realistic motion to stationary objects.
Additional Office themes Select from a wide range of new Office themes to apply fonts, colors, and formatting effects — as well as slide master, layout, and background formatting — throughout your presentation with just a click.
Additional SmartArt graphics Select from several new SmartArt layouts — including new organization charts and picture diagrams — to build professional graphics as easily as typing a bulleted list.
Tables and table styles Explore additional options for table styles, such as banding of rows and columns, and consolidated access to all the table tools you need on the Tables and Table Layout tabs on the ribbon.
Charts Get additional tools for formatting and editing charts, including Chart Quick Layouts and expanded quick access options for editing many chart elements.

Save time and simplify your work

Feature	PowerPoint 2008	PowerPoint 2011
Presenter view Keep the focus on your message with improved presentation tools that make it simple to stay in control of all aspects of your presentation.
Dynamic reordering View document layers in 3-D and drag to rearrange them.
Presentation Sections Easily organize and navigate through your slides by dividing your presentation into logical sections.
Find tools Use the new Search in Presentation box to quickly scroll through search results in your presentation.
VBA Use VBA, available again across several Office for Mac 2011 applications, to save time, automate repetitive tasks, and create add-ins for yourself and others to use. Note Outlook does not support VBA.
Help Explore a range of videos to help you get started with PowerPoint 2011 as well as expanded help resources including tutorials, videos, and help topics.
Zoom Drag the new zoom slider on the Status bar at the bottom of the screen to zoom in or out on the active document content.
Design and presentation advice Explore the Guided Methods templates, available in the PowerPoint Presentation Gallery, for expert design and presentation advice.

Work more easily with others

Feature	PowerPoint 2008	PowerPoint 2011
Broadcast Slide Show Instantly broadcast your slides to a remote audience who can view your presentation online even if they don’t have PowerPoint installed on their computers.
Coauthoring Work with other people editing the same presentation, at the same time.
Rich presence and on-the-spot communication Instantly start a conversation with others who are simultaneously editing a document with you, right from PowerPoint.
Information Rights Management (IRM) Control access to your confidential documents using enterprise-level document protection tools.
Open and Create Password Protected Files Use passwords to help prevent other people from opening or modifying your presentations.
Compare and Merge Quickly compare multiple presentation versions and combine edits into a single presentation file.

Work how, when, and where you choose

Feature	PowerPoint 2008	PowerPoint 2011
PowerPoint Web App View and do lightweight editing of PowerPoint presentations from virtually any computer with a Web browser. Run your slide show, edit slide notes, and use some of the same formatting and editing tools that you know from PowerPoint.
Save to OneDrive Save personal documents to a OneDrive folder directly from PowerPoint 2011, using your Microsoft ID.
Save to SharePoint Save your documents to Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 or later directly from within PowerPoint 2011.