Microsoft Office 2013 Professional Plus

About this release

Office 2013 is the release where the interface went flat, the ribbon settled into the shape it still has, and touch support arrived properly. It is also the last suite generation that a lot of older machines run comfortably, which is why it stays in demand long after the newer perpetual builds arrived. It installs once, runs locally, and asks nothing of the network afterwards.

The Professional Plus line is complete here. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, OneNote and InfoPath all come from the same image, and Excel arrives with the analysis add ins, PowerPivot and the query tools included rather than reserved for a higher tier. Outlook has the full account, rules and shared calendar handling with offline storage.

PDF handling was the practical change that made this generation worth having. Word opens PDF files directly and converts them into editable documents with the layout and tables largely intact, which removed an entire step for offices that used to keep a separate converter around for exactly that.

The image installs either architecture and lets you deselect any application before setup begins. Files move cleanly in both directions with older and newer suite generations, so a machine on this release sits comfortably in an office running a mix.

What it does

Complete Professional Plus set

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher, OneNote and InfoPath.

PDF opening in Word

PDF files open as editable documents with layout and tables largely preserved.

Perpetual local install

Nothing checks in after setup and nothing changes underneath a working document.

Both architectures

The same image installs the 32 bit or 64 bit build depending on the machine.

Excel analysis tools

PowerPivot, the analysis toolpak and query add ins present in this edition.

Runs on older hardware

Comfortable on machines that struggle with the newer suite generations.

Changed in this version

• Image rebuilt with the final servicing updates folded in.
• Installer architecture and language screens simplified.
• Faster setup on solid state drives.
• Corrected a proofing tools mismatch on multilingual installs.

System requirements

Install order

1. Unpack the archive or mount the image.
2. Uninstall any existing Office release before starting.
3. Run setup, choose architecture and language, and deselect unwanted applications.
4. Launch one application once to complete first run configuration.

Worth knowing before you start

File details