Microsoft Office 2016 Professional Plus

About this release

Office 2016 Professional Plus is the release that a very large number of machines are still running, and for good reason. It installs from a local image, it runs entirely from the local disk, and it does not change underneath a working document. For offices with a fixed build, a validated add in stack or hardware that predates the current generation, this is often the last version that everything was tested against.

The application set here is the full Professional Plus line rather than the trimmed home selection, so Access, Publisher and the complete Outlook client are present alongside Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. Excel ships with the analysis add ins, Solver and the query tools that the consumer editions leave out, and Outlook has the full rules, shared calendar and offline storage handling.

Both architectures come from the same image. The 32 bit build remains the right choice on a machine with an old add in that was never rebuilt, while the 64 bit build lifts the memory ceiling that makes large spreadsheets painful. The installer asks which one you want, asks for the display language, and lets you deselect any application you do not want on disk.

Document compatibility runs in both directions. Files from earlier releases open without conversion prompts and files saved here open in the newer suites, which matters more than any single feature in an office running a mix of versions across a floor.

What it does

Complete Professional Plus set

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Access, Publisher and OneNote in one image.

Perpetual local install

Runs from the local disk with no subscription state and no background updater loop.

Both architectures

The same image installs either the 32 bit or the 64 bit build.

Selective install

Deselect any application you do not need before setup starts.

Full Outlook client

Multiple accounts, rules, shared calendars and offline storage all present.

Excel analysis tools

Solver, the analysis toolpak and the query add ins included rather than stripped.

Changed in this version

• Image rebuilt with the current cumulative fixes folded in.
• Installer language and architecture screens simplified.
• Faster first run on solid state drives.
• Corrected a proofing tools mismatch that could appear on multilingual installs.

System requirements

Install order

1. Unpack the archive or mount the image.
2. Remove any earlier Office release first so the machine does not end up in a mixed state.
3. Run setup, pick architecture and language, and deselect anything you do not want.
4. Open one application once so the first run configuration completes.

Worth knowing before you start

File details