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The Windows 10 Home operating system offers built-in security and apps like Mail, Calendar, Photos, Microsoft Edge, and more to help keep you safe and productive.

Applies to:Office for Mac, Office 2019 for Mac, Office 2016 for Mac

Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) version 3.18 and later includes the msupdate command-line tool. This can be used to start the update process for Microsoft applications produced for Mac, such as Office. The tool is primarily designed for IT administrators so that they have more precise control over when updates are applied. You can download the latest version of MAU from this link.

msupdate works by sending Apple Events to the MAU daemon. On macOS 10.14 Mojave and later, you may see a privacy prompt when running msupdate for the first time. If you are using an enterprise management tool such as Jamf Pro, you should deploy a Privacy Preferences Policy Control (PPPC) payload to pre-approve access. Samples of such a payload can be downloaded from here.

Use the following steps to start using the tool:

1. Open the Terminal application
2. Enter cd /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0/Microsoft AutoUpdate.app/Contents/MacOS
3. Run ./msupdate --help

The following options are displayed:

Examples of how to use msupdate

• Display the current configuration parameters for AutoUpdate:./msupdate --config
• Display the current configuration parameters in machine-readable format:./msupdate --config --format plist
• List all available updates:./msupdate --list
• Download and install all available updates:./msupdate --install
• Download and install the latest updates for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint:./msupdate --install --apps MSWD2019 XCEL2019 PPT32019
• Download and install a version-specific update for Outlook:./msupdate --install --apps OPIM2019 --version 16.17.180090901

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Application identifiers

The following table lists the applications for Mac supported by AutoUpdate. The identifier is used when specifying the --apps parameter. When specifying multiple applications on the command-line, separate identifiers with a space.

¹ These identifiers are used for Office 2019 for Mac, either a retail or a volume licensed version, and for Office for Mac (from an Office 365 plan) running on macOS version 10.12 (Sierra) or higher.

² These identifiers are used for Office 2016 for Mac, either a retail or a volume licensed version, and for Office for Mac (from an Office 365 plan) running on macOS version 10.11 (El Capitan) or earlier.

Note

• If an update is pending for MAU itself, that update must be applied before any applications can be updated.
• Identifiers are not case-sensitive when run interactively from the command-line, but use the character casing from the table above when running from a management tool such as Jamf Pro.

Related topics

• Update history and release notes for Office for Mac

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Question: I upgraded to Catalina on my Mac and now Microsoft Office won’t work; what can I do?

Answer: One of the side effects of tech companies taking their platforms to new levels is that, often times, older software programs will no longer work.

The most recent version of Apple’s MacOS — known as Catalina — is having a major impact on those who upgraded without understanding that their older 32-bit programs would no longer run.

If your version of Microsoft Office is older than Office 2016 v15.35, you’ll have to choose from a variety of costly or time consuming and complicated options.

If you have Office 2016, you should be able to upgrade to the 64-bit version through Microsoft’s standard upgrade process if for some reason it hasn’t already been updated.

Option 1: Purchase new software

You can purchase the Office Home & Student 2019 bundle from Microsoft for $149.99 or the Office Home & Business bundle for $249.99. The primary difference in the two packages is the business version includes Outlook.

Option 2: Start renting Microsoft Office

Microsoft is trying to get users to convert from a single purchase package that will eventually expire to their subscription 'SaaS' (Software as a Service) platform known as Office 365.

This means you either pay monthly ($6.99 for Home & Student) or annually ($69.99 for Home & Student or $99 for Business) from now on.

Option 3: Switch to Google’s offerings

If your needs for productivity software are very basic, you may find the free options available from Google through a Google Drive account to be acceptable.

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Google Programs

It includes Docs, Sheets and Slides which are Google’s version of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, although nowhere near as powerful. Though it’s a web-based tool, there are options for editing your documents when you are offline.

Option 4: Revert back to Mojave

There is no simple way to go back to the previous version (Mojave), so this option is very time consuming and complicated, as you’ll have to wipe your hard drive and reinstall everything. Depending upon which version of the MacOS your computer shipped with, you may have to use an external hard drive to complete the reversion.

How to check for 32-bit programs

Microsoft Onenote

For those who are considering an upgrade to Catalina, a good first step is to see what 32-bit programs you are currently running to determine if they are important to you or not.

To do this, click on the Apple icon in the upper left corner, then on 'About This Mac' and then on 'System Report.' When the report opens up, scroll down to the 'Software' section and click on 'Applications.'

An alphabetical list of applications will appear with various details about each one. If you scroll to the far right, you should see a column that says '64-Bit' and the words 'Yes' or 'No' for each application. To make it easier to see the Application Name and whether it’s 64-bit or not, drag the 64-bit header from the far right to the far left so it’s right next to the 'Application Name' column.

Go through the list looking for your critical programs to make sure they are 64-bit or to see if a 64-bit version is available from the creator of the program before upgrading to Catalina.

Ken Colburn is the founder and CEO of Data Doctors Computer Services. Ask any tech question at: facebook.com/DataDoctors.

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