I just built a new PC and need to purchase Office. I have Office 2013 on my laptop and as Microsoft kept bugging me to "upgrade", I bought Office 365 Home to try out on my PC. What a surprise when I found the "upgrade" does not support PowerPivot!
There is much confusing information on the web, I was hoping I could get some advice on which version I should buy. I've heard some not so good things about 365 so I'm thinking of 2103 or 2016.
Does anyone have pros or cons to help me decide?
Thanks!
Pam
Hi Pam,
I know it's very confusing and frustrating. Here are your options:
- Excel 2013: Office Professional Plus or the Standalone version of Excel 2013, or Office 365 ProPlus.
- Excel 2016: If you don't get the Office 365 version of Excel 2016 you do not get access to updates they provide for Power Query and Power Pivot. So if you're thinking of getting Excel 2016 then you should get Office 365 ProPlus. Anything less than this will not have Power Pivot and only 365 licences get updates.
It's Microsoft's way of getting you to switch to their Office 365 model.
One thing to consider is files you create in Excel 2013 and 2016 that contain a Power Pivot model will not be compatible with Excel 2010. Excel 2010 users can open the file and read them but they cannot refresh the data and they cannot use the Slicers.
I hope that helps. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Mynda
That helps a lot. We use 2010 at work, so I guess that's the version of Excel I need. Maybe 365 would be fine for the other programs and I can get a stand alone version of 2010 so it's compatible with work.
Thanks Mynda
ps - I'm really enjoying the Database course. Boy, there is a lot to think about! Figuring out what to display has got to be the hardest part. Hopefully, it will get easier with practice.
Not sure you can buy Excel 2010 standalone anymore. If your company has a licence agreement then you should be able to install it from a master copy. Your IT people will know.
Glad you're enjoying the course. The key to figuring out what to display is getting a good understanding of the objectives of the report, then you can work back from there to identify what you need to display.
Mynda
