Overview of Microsoft Office 2021
Microsoft Office 2021 is the newest version of Microsoft’s classic productivity software available for purchase in full without a subscription, tailored specifically to home, business, and educational users. Office 2021 is an alternative for people who don’t want to pay monthly via a Microsoft 365 subscription, which Microsoft is still pushing heavily.
Office 2021 consists of best-selling Microsoft apps like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, etc., and comes with modern enhancements and new features for better productivity
Features
- Word: Word offers more powerful text layout tools, advanced grammar, and stylistic suggestions, built-in translation tools, etc. in a document editor.
- Excel: Excel has been enhanced with advanced data analysis features, dynamic arrays to handle large datasets better, and upgraded visualization tools.
- PowerPoint: Users have more creative control over their slideshows with improved visual elements, additional available animations, and new presentation tools.
- Outlook: Updated email and calendar management features in Outlook keep your communication running smoothly and arranged.
- OneNote: OneNote is a cross-platform note-taking tool that allows collaboration, meaning you can brainstorm with your team and capture ideas at the moment.
What’s New in Microsoft Office 2021?
- Excel — xLOOKUP (Highly requested) Function to help Excel users search for values from winding spreadsheets for relevant data.
- Dynamic Arrays — Dynamic arrays enable you to enter a formula that expands automatically, speeding up data handling and less manual entry.
- Enhanced Dark Mode: Office 2021 has also improved dark mode settings to enable easier working in low-light environments with less eye fatigue. The new dark mode extends to the page’s color, creating a more harmonious look.
- Line Focus highlights one line at a time to help reduce distractions, allowing you to read with better focus and flow. This feature is useful for longer documents.
- Better Inking Support — Office 2021 comes with a better inking experience and enhanced pen support to draw and write easily in documents, particularly on touchscreen devices.
- Microsoft Teams Integration — Microsoft Teams is primarily part of the M365 product family, but Office 2021 has limited integration with Microsoft Teams to enable screen sharing and other collaborative features.
- Mini Performance Improvements — Microsoft also made some under-the-hood changes to speed up the Office applications and make them more stable so that they perform better.
System Requirements
To ensure smooth performance, make sure your system meets the following requirements for Office 2021:
- Operating System: Windows 10 or macOS Mojave (10.14) and above.
- Processor: 1.6 GHz or faster, dual-core processor (Windows); Intel processor (Mac).
- Memory: 4GB RAM (64-bit) or 2GB RAM (32-bit) for Windows, 4GB RAM for Mac.
- Storage: At least 4GB of available disk space.
- Display: 1280 x 768 resolution for Windows; 1280 x 800 for Mac.
- Graphics: DirectX 9 or later with WDDM 2.0 or higher for Windows.
It’s important to note that Office 2021 is not compatible with Windows 7 or 8. It requires a more recent OS for optimal functionality.
Final Thoughts
Next, Microsoft Office 2021 is the best option for users who want modern tools without a subscription commitment. Office 2021 is packed with powerful applications, new features, and compatibility improvements to cater to students, professionals, and businesses alike.
Using tools like Word’s latest reading concept, data analysis functions in Excel, or slightly more PowerPoint for affected visuals, Office 2021 enhances productivity to avoid falling behind.