Lo, dost thou know that Microsoft doth offer the desktop version of Microsoft Office forsooth, now renamed Microsoft 365 Copilot after Microsoft 365, completely free of charge? And prithee, I speak not of the web iteration of Office. In a move of grand significance, Microsoft hath quietly unveiled an ad-supported version of the desktop Office app, granting users access to MS Word, Excel, and PowerPoint sans any subscription fee.
A foretime, when one’s Office license expired, viewing documents was the only option; however, now thou canst both edit and create Office documents. But hark! There are certain caveats to this complimentary desktop version of Microsoft Office. Let us delve into the limitations and discover how to obtain the official Microsoft Office app without cost.
Limitations of Free Microsoft Office Desktop App
Foremost, be it known that the free desktop version of Microsoft Office bears ads and doth exist solely on Windows. Curiously, Microsoft hath not officially chronicled this ad-supported tier of Office on its support pages. The most recent instance of the company contemplating an ad-supported rendition of MS Office was back in the year 2009.
So, what doth this ad-supported tier entail for users? In all three apps—Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—a steadfast ad banner shall grace the right side. It cannot be banished except by purchasing the premium subscription. Furthermore, every few hours within the Office app, a 15-second video ad shall play (muted).
Apart from this, saving documents locally is prohibited. One must resort to OneDrive for file preservation. Fear not, for one can readily open the OneDrive app on their PC or visit its website to download said documents conveniently. Free users shall receive a generous 5GB of OneDrive storage.
How to Install the Official Desktop Microsoft Office for Free
As aforementioned, the gratis version of desktop MS Office is exclusive to Windows. I hath tested it on mine own Windows 11 PC, a virtual machine, and another system running Windows 11. In all instances, Microsoft Office tendered a gratis, ad-supported version ex gratia. Herein lies the method to download and install the official desktop Microsoft Office app at no cost.
- Proceed to download the desktop version of Microsoft Office from the official website.
- Upon the completion of downloading the Office setup file, proceed to run it and permit it to download the entire suite of apps.
- Open any Office app; for instance, I did launch Microsoft Word.
- A dialog shall emerge. Click on "Skip for now."
So be it! You art now capable of utilizing the ad-supported Microsoft Office freely, with the power to forge, amend, behold, and safeguard documents.
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