Download and Install Microsoft Office on a Mac Computer

Overview/Introduction

There are three main steps to installing Microsoft Office on your Mac computer:  sign-in to www.office.com to download the Office files, install the programs on your computer, and then activate Office.

If you have any issues or questions about this process, contact Ursinus College Tech Support at techsupport@ursinus.edu or 610-409-3789.

Details

1. Sign in to Office.com and download Microsoft Office

   • Go to www.office.com and, if you're not already signed in, select Sign in.
   • Sign in with your Ursinus email address (username@ursinus.edu). Choose “work or school account”. This will take you to the Ursinus login for Office. Now enter your Ursinus username (not full email address, just the username) and then enter your password. You can choose ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the prompt to stay logged in.
   • After signing in, follow the steps below.
     • From the home page select Install Apps (If you've set a different start page, go to aka.ms/office-install.)
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     • Select Microsoft 365 apps to begin the download.

2. Install the Office applications on your computer​​​

   • Once the download has completed, open Finder, go to Downloads, and double-click the Microsoft Office installer.pkg file (the name might vary slightly).
     • 
     • Tip: If you see an error that says the Microsoft Office installer.pkg can't be opened because it is from an unidentified developer, wait 10 seconds and move the downloaded file to your Desktop. Then hold Control and click the file to launch the installer.
   • On the first installation screen, select Continue to begin the installation process:
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   • Review the software license agreement, and then click Continue.
   • Select Agree to agree to the terms of the license agreement.
   • Choose how you want to install Office and click Continue.
   • Review the disk space requirements or change your install location, and then click Install.
     • Note: If you only want to install specific Office apps and not the entire suite, click the Customize button and uncheck the programs you don't want.
   • Enter your Mac login password, if prompted, and then click Install Software. (This is the password that you use to login to your Mac.)
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   • The software begins to install. Click Close when the installation is finished.
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3. Launch an Office for Mac app and start the activation process

   • Click the Launchpad icon in the Dock to display all of your apps.
     • 
   • Click the Microsoft Word icon (for example) in the Launchpad.
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   • The What's New in Word window opens automatically. Click Get Started to start activating the software.
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FAQs

• How do I pin the Office app icons to my dock?

  • Go to Finder > Applications and open the Office app you want.
  • In the Dock, Control+ click or right-click the app icon and choose Options > Keep in Dock.

See Also

• Download and install Microsoft Office on a Windows computer