Office 365

[Michael M]

Hi All
Well the time has finally come and my dear old laptop ( Dell Inspiron, would you believe) is about to meet it's maker !
So, simple enough...just buy another one and move on....BUT... It was running Win 7 and I had Excel 2003, 2007, 20013, 2016 residing on the HDD.
Well it appears the new laptop will have to have Win 10 as the OS and the older versions of Excel will not be compatible.....My question then is ....
Do I use Office 19, Office 365, or some alternative......Does 365 come with the developer tab.
I'd value any and all inputs / comments / opinions before I take drastic action and give up on Excelling and just go and play golf everyday.....Hmm, that don't sound so bad really !!!


Regards to All

 

[starl]

Yes, 365 comes with the developer tab - as long as you're using the desktop Excel, not browser Excel. The difference is (still) quite easy to see.
I'm running Office 365, though don't ask me about my subscription - MS keeps changing things and it can get SO confusing. I do know that when Excel 2016 was still the main and they were just putting out Excel 2019, I was able to delay the upgrade - an option companies get so they can test compatibility. I'm self-employed, not exactly sure how I was able to trigger that setting - but I like it.
The nice thing about 365 is they're always updating things and you get those updates. As far as I know, you won't get them with Office 19, and with Office 21 coming out next year (according to rumor).
I'm not crazy about the yearly subscription, but it's a tax deduction and I get the new toys.. so not complaining too much.

 

[Joe4]

Just curious...
Why do you need so many different old versions of Excel?
Are you a contractor or consultant, and want to make sure that you are developing on the same version that your client has?

 

[Michael M]

@starl
Thanks for your input.....Being an old curmudgeon makes it very hard for me to change, but I'm being forced into it by the impending death of my 10 year old laptop.
@Joe4
I don't have that many versions any more...note I preceded my comment about versions with "I had", past tense....I worked in a Govt dept that forced all users to change when they did. I also stated "I had" version 2016 which was removed when I left the dept ( they're generous like that).....so I only have 2013 now !...and yes the users would come to me with their workbook and basically I would show them what to do to solve their problem on their version of Excel ( so they would see it as it would appear on their machine)

 

[Joe4]

I don't have that many versions any more...note I preceded my comment about versions with "I had", past tense....I worked in a Govt dept that forced all users to change when they did. I also stated "I had" version 2016 which was removed when I left the dept ( they're generous like that).....so I only have 2013 now !...and yes the users would come to me with their workbook and basically I would show them what to do to solve their problem on their version of Excel ( so they would see it as it would appear on their machine)

I was going to say, I would have been quite impressed if you were running that many versions at the same time!

I switch over to 365 about 2 years ago, and at first was annoyed with the subscription service. But I came around, as it does have its advantages (such as always getting the updates and being able to easily put it on 5 devices).

But I don't know, that playing golf everyday sounds pretty good to me!

 

[Michael M]

But I don't know, that playing golf everyday sounds pretty good to me!

Yeah, and only 100 metres to the clubhouse from home....
Methinks 365 here I come....but I have heard of people having issues with it ??

 

[Joe4]

Methinks 365 here I come....but I have heard of people having issues with it ??

FWIW, I have not experienced any myself.
I think the key is if you are a developer, you do to use the Desktop version and not the Browser version, like Tracy said.
I think I have heard of some people having issues creating VBA on the Desktop version, and then trying to use it on the Browser version.

 

[Taul]

I'm not a user of 365 but my understanding of it is, 365 does not support VBA macros.
But provided you also purchase the 2016 desktop version of Excel as part of the 365 package, then you can generate and use VBA in the 2016 desktop version. These macros will only function in the desktop version and not the 365 on-line version, Is this correct?

 

[Fluff]

365 & Excel online are not the same samething, 365 is a desktop app just like the lifetime license versions & can therefore run macros quite happily.
The main difference is with 365 you pay a yearly subscription & you get regular updates of new features/functions, with 2016,2019 etc, you pay a one time fee & get no new features/functions.

 

[Taul]

ok, thanks for that, I didn't realise the difference between 365 and Excel on-line.