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Dec 10, 2019 For more information about using Windows on your Mac, open Boot Camp Assistant and click the Open Boot Camp Help button. If you're using an iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) or iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) or iMac (27-inch, Late 2012) with a 3TB hard drive and macOS Mojave or later, learn about an alert you might see during installation. Virtual Machines. We recommend using a virtual machine program, ideally Parallels or VMWare Fusion, to run Windows applications on a Mac without rebooting.For maximum performance, which is particularly necessary for gaming, we recommend dual-booting Windows with Boot Camp instead.
Important
Office 365 ProPlus is being renamed to Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise. To learn more about this name change, read this blog post.
For details of when this change takes effect, and what actions admins might need to take, read this article.
Tip
The information in this article is intended for administrators and IT Pros. For information about activating a personal copy of Office, see Activate Office.
Shared computer activation lets you to deploy Office 365 ProPlus to a computer in your organization that is accessed by multiple users. Here are some examples of supported scenarios for using shared computer activation:
- Three workers at a factory share the same physical computer, each worker using Office on that computer during their eight-hour shift.
- Fifteen nurses at a hospital use Office on ten different computers throughout the day.
- Five employees connect remotely to the same computer to run Office.
- Multiple employees use Office on a computer that's located in a conference room or some other public space in the company.
The most common shared computer activation scenario is to deploy Office 365 ProPlus to shared computers by using Remote Desktop Services (RDS). By using RDS, multiple users can connect to the same remote computer at the same time. The users can each run Office 365 ProPlus programs, such as Word or Excel, at the same time on the remote computer.
Shared computer activation is used for situations where multiple users share the same computer and the users are logging in with their own account. If you have users who are assigned individual computers and no other users work on those computers, you use product key activation for Office 365 ProPlus.
Normally, users can install and activate Office 365 ProPlus only on a limited number of devices, such as 5 PCs. Using Office 365 ProPlus with shared computer activation enabled doesn't count against that limit.
How to enable shared computer activation for Office 365 ProPlus
If you have an Office 365 plan that includes Office 365 ProPlus, you can use shared computer activation. Make sure you assign each user a license for Office 365 ProPlus and that users log on to the shared computer with their own user account.
Note
Shared computer activation is also available for the following:
- Subscription versions of Project and Visio. For example, if you have the Project Online Professional plan or Visio Online Plan 2.
- Microsoft 365 Business subscribers, whose version of Office is Office 365 Business. But, Microsoft 365 Business subscribers won't be able to use Group Policy to enable shared computer activation, because Office 365 Business doesn't support the use of Group Policy.
Shared computer activation isn't available for Office for Mac.
To enable shared computer activation when you deploy Office 365 ProPlus, you need the current version of the Office Deployment Tool, which is available for free from the Microsoft Download Center.
The Office Deployment Tool, combined with a simple text file, is used to install Office 365 ProPlus on the shared computer, and to enable shared computer activation for that computer. Add the following lines when you create the text file.
After Office 365 ProPlus is installed, you can verify that shared computer activation is enabled on that computer.
Note
Here are some other ways that you can enable shared computer activation:
- Download and run the Microsoft Support and Recovery Assistant.
- Use Group Policy by downloading the most current Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) for Office and enabling the 'Use shared computer activation' policy setting. This policy setting is found under Computer ConfigurationPoliciesAdministrative TemplatesMicrosoft Office 2016 (Machine)Licensing Settings.
- Use Registry Editor to add a string value of SharedComputerLicensing with a setting of 1 under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftOfficeClickToRunConfiguration.
How shared computer activation works for Office 365 ProPlus
Here's what happens after Office 365 ProPlus is installed on a computer that has shared computer activation enabled.
A user logs on to the computer with her account.
The user starts an Office 365 ProPlus program, such as Word.
Office 365 ProPlus contacts the Office Licensing Service on the Internet to obtain a licensing token for the user.
To determine whether the user is licensed to use Office 365 ProPlus, the Office Licensing Service has to know the user's account for Office 365. In some cases, Office 365 ProPlus prompts the user to provide the information. For example, the user might see the Activate Office dialog box.
If your environment is configured to synchronize Office 365 and network user accounts, then the user probably won't see any prompts. Office 365 ProPlus should automatically be able to get the necessary information about the user's account in Office 365.
If the user is licensed for Office 365 ProPlus, a licensing token is stored on the computer in the user's profile folder, and Office 365 ProPlus is activated. The user can now use Office 365 ProPlus.
These steps are repeated for each user who logs on to the shared computer. Each user gets a unique licensing token. Just because one user activates Office 365 ProPlus on the computer doesn't mean Office 365 ProPlus is activated for all other users who log on to the computer.
If a user goes to another computer that also is enabled for shared computer activation, the same steps occur. There is a different licensing token for each computer that the user logs on to.
If a user logs on to a shared computer again, Office 365 ProPlus uses the same licensing token, if it is still valid.
Additional details about shared computer activation for Office 365 ProPlus
Licensing token renewal The licensing token that is stored on the shared computer is valid only for 30 days. As the expiration date for the licensing token nears, Office 365 ProPlus automatically attempts to renew the licensing token when the user is logged on to the computer and using Office 365 ProPlus.
If the user doesn't log on to the shared computer for 30 days, the licensing token can expire. The next time that the user tries to use Office 365 ProPlus, Office 365 ProPlus contacts the Office Licensing Service on the Internet to get a new licensing token.
Internet connectivity Because the shared computer has to contact the Office Licensing Service on the Internet to obtain or renew a licensing token, reliable connectivity between the shared computer and the Internet is necessary.
Reduced functionality mode If the user is not licensed for Office 365 ProPlus, or if the user closed the Activate Office dialog box, no licensing token is obtained and Office 365 ProPlus isn't activated. Office 365 ProPlus is now in reduced functionality mode. This means that the user can view and print Office 365 ProPlus documents, but can't create or edit documents. The user also sees a message in Office 365 ProPlus that most features are turned off.
Activation limits Normally, users can install and activate Office 365 ProPlus only on a limited number of devices, such as 5 PCs. Using Office 365 ProPlus with shared computer activation enabled doesn't count against that limit.
Run Microsoft Office For Mac On A Windows Machine For Pc
Microsoft allows a single user to activate Office 365 ProPlus on a reasonable number of shared computers in a given time period. The user gets an error message in the unlikely event the limit is exceeded.
Single sign-on recommended The use of single sign-on (SSO) is recommended to reduce how often users are prompted to sign in for activation. With single sign-on configured, Office is activated using the user credentials that the user provides to sign in to Windows, as long as the user has been assigned a license for Office 365 ProPlus. For more information, see Understanding Office 365 identity and Azure Active Directory.
If you don't use single sign-on, you should consider using roaming profiles and include the %localappdata%MicrosoftOffice16.0Licensing folder as part of the roaming profile.
Licensing token roaming Starting with Version 1704 of Office 365 ProPlus, you can configure the licensing token to roam with the user's profile or be located on a shared folder on the network. Previously, the licensing token was always saved to a specific folder on the local computer and was associated with that specific computer. In those cases, if the user signed in to a different computer, the user would be prompted to activate Office on that computer in order to get a new licensing token. The ability to roam the licensing token is especially helpful for non-persistent VDI scenarios.
To configure licensing token roaming, you can use either the Office Deployment Tool or Group Policy, or you can use Registry Editor to edit the registry. Whichever method you choose, you need to provide a folder location that is unique to the user. The folder location can either be part of the user's roaming profile or a shared folder on the network. Office needs to be able to write to that folder location. If you're using a shared folder on the network, be aware that network latency problems can adversely impact the time it takes to open Office.
If you're using Group Policy, download the most current Administrative Template files (ADMX/ADML) for Office and enable the 'Specify the location to save the licensing token used by shared computer activation' policy setting. This policy setting is found under Computer ConfigurationPoliciesAdministrative TemplatesMicrosoft Office 2016 (Machine)Licensing Settings.
If you're using the Office Deployment Tool, include the SCLCacheOverride and SCLCacheOverrideDirectory in the Property element of your configuration.xml file. For more information, see Configuration options for the Office Deployment Tool.
To edit the registry, go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftOfficeClickToRunConfiguration, add a string value of SCLCacheOverride, and set the value to 1. Also, add a string value of SCLCacheOverrideDirectory and set the value to the path of the folder to save the licensing token.
Note
If you're using Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) to deploy Office 365 ProPlus, the registry location is HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftOffice16.0CommonLicensing.
Related topics
The Microsoft Office suites: Office for Windows, Office for Mac, and Office for iPad provide the greatest level of compatibility between any disparate suites, but there can never be complete compatibility between different apps, except for the most trivial of apps. And, like them or hate them, no one can ever call the Office apps “‘trivial”.
Comparing the feature set of these three suites, I think everyone can agree that Office for Windows is on top, Office for iPad is at the bottom, with Office for Mac squarely in the middle. (See a detailed comparison here.)
Win Office > Mac Office > iPad Office
Microsoft Office For Mac Download
Don’t get me wrong – I have all three suites, and I use and like them all, but that doesn’t mean I am blind to their differences. (And that doesn’t mean I have given Microsoft a boatload of cash — I got all three suites as part of my $100/year Office 365 subscription — a bargain at twice the price, IMHO.)
A Windows user has only one choice: Office for Windows. Similarly, an iPad user can only choose iPad Office. But a Mac user can choose to run Office for Mac natively or Office for Windows in Parallels Desktop in a Windows virtual machine. Which one to choose? Any performance or usability differences? What about feature differences?
First, let’s dispel any talk of performance differences. Macs today have an over-abundance of processing power and Parallels Desktop for Mac runs so efficiently that there is no perceptible performance difference between Office for Mac running natively and Office for Windows running in a virtual machine. Perhaps, with a stopwatch and a really quick trigger finger you could measure some sub-second differences, but you would never notice these differences in actual use.
Usability differences between these two suites have gone by the wayside in the 2016 suites, with MacOffice largely adopting the WinOffice user interface (UI), and losing most of its unique Mac UI advantages that made it so distinctive in past years.
Office suite on Mac
So, what about feature differences, since as stated above Win Office > Mac Office. What does a Mac user lose if they pick MacOffice over WinOffice to use on their Mac? There are a bunch, and here is a list, which I have divided into major and minor differences:
Major differences:
- Ink
There have been several truly important additions to Office in the last five or six years — Office Open XML-based document file formats, the Ribbon, and SmartArt, to name a few — and these have appeared in both WinOffice and MacOffice. The latest important addition to Office, however, is only in WinOffice, and that is Ink. Ink is the ability to annotate or add content to an Office document with a stylus or finger on a touch screen in an extraordinarily natural way. There is no stylus or touch screen on the Mac, so naturally Microsoft has not brought Ink to MacOffice.
But, if there is no stylus or touch screen on the Mac, how does WinOffice in a virtual machine provide any differences? Parallels Desktop 12 for Mac, when running WinOffice 2016 in a Windows 10 virtual machine does give the user the capability to use Ink on the Mac.
See this blog post (and others in the near future) for all the details and lots more examples.
- A slew of features in Outlook
There are more feature differences between WinOutlook and MacOutlook than there are between any other pairs of apps in the two suites. Some of these differences are support for older Exchange versions, voting buttons, Visual Basic support, conversation clean up, and many, many more, but see this blog post for a much longer, but non-exhaustive list.
Minor differences:
- Pivot charts + other features in Excel
Despite an immense amount of excellent work by the MacExcel team in recent years, there are still some WinExcel features that are not supported in MacExcel. Opening a spreadsheet containing one of these missing features results in the dialog you see in figure 3.
- PowerPoint add-ins
Among my many character flaws, I am a font addict. (My t-shirt that states “Who ever dies with the most fonts wins.” kind of gives this away.) Often, just the right font will convey exactly the feeling I want in a presentation. But, if I show this presentation on another computer, or email it to someone, that font will not show up. So, a PowerPoint add-in like Convert Text to Outlinesis a godsend, enabling me to make sure that font will always show correctly, and Convert Text to Outlines, like almost all other add-ins, is only available in WinPowerPoint. However, once converted to outlines in WinPowerPoint, the slide will render correctly in WinPowerPoint or MacPowerPoint on any computer, even if that special font is not available there.
To be fair, in choosing WinOffice over MacOffice for use on the Mac, you do lose the fantastic Reorder Objects feature in PowerPoint, and that is a significant loss. It used to be the case that choosing Word in MacOffice gave you Publishing Layout View, but, alas, Microsoft removed this powerful, groundbreaking feature from Word in MacOffice 2016. A real pity.
So, for me, WinOffice is the clear best Office to use on my Mac. What’s your clear best choice? Leave your answer in the comments.
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