Microsoft office 2013 is the version of Microsoft office which succeeded Microsoft office 2010. It was released on the 29th of January 2013 and is available in forty languages. It is a set of productivity applications for your desktop designed by Microsoft. The applications are 11 in total and each has their own features and tasks. They include: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher, InfoPath, Lync and Visio.
The new features that were incorporated into this version were the online services such as OneDrive, Skype and Outlook and some improvements on the document format support. After installing office 2013, you will be required to enter the product key. The Microsoft office 2013 product key is a 25-character activation key which is required in order to enjoy the services that comes with office 2013. Finding the Microsoft 2013 activation key depends on where and how you purchased your office 2013 or the product.
The seller will usually provide you with your office 2013 product key in hard, soft or in digital form. You will need to ensure that the seller, the product and the activation key provided are genuine. Microsoft office 2013 offers you a free 30 day trial before you decide to purchase it. At that time you will not require the Microsoft 2013 activation key.
How to Activate Office 2013 for Windows and Mac
Microsoft Office is the gold standard for productivity software. It is a family of software developed by Microsoft that, as of July 2012, was being used by over a billion people worldwide. There are several office versions available for different user groups. The largest of these is the desktop version, which is tailored towards Windows and Mac OS computers. There are also versions for mobile devices and a web-based version called Office Online, which anyone with a Microsoft Office account can access.
If you want to use Microsoft Office 2013 on your Windows or Mac computer, you have to first buy the Office product you want. You have the option of selecting one of either Office Home and Student 2013, Office Home and Business 2013, Office Professional 2013, or one or more stand-alone Office 2013 applications such as Word 2013 or PowerPoint 2013. The system requirements needed to run Office 2013 are Windows 7 or higher for Windows PC, or Mac OS X version 10.6 or later on your Mac.
Microsoft Office comes in two versions: the traditional version and the Office 365 version. The main difference is that the traditional version is sold for a onetime fee that allows you to install on a single computer, after which you can use the product for as long as you want. On the other hand, Office 365 gives you access to Office products for a monthly fee, and only works for as long as you continue paying for it. You also get 1TB OneDrive storage space and free Office apps for tablets. You can use your Office 365 license to install your software on up to 5 computers. Purchasing either license will allow you to install Office 2013 on your Windows PC. However, if you want Office 2013 for Mac, you need to purchase an Office 365 license.
How to Download Office 2013
To download Microsoft Office 2013, you need to follow these steps:
- Go to www.office.com/setup and select Sign in
- Sign in with your Microsoft account
- Enter your Microsoft Office 2013 product key
- Go to the Services and Subscriptions page
- Select the Office 2013 product you want and click Install. This will automatically start the 32-bit version download.
- If you want the 64-bit version or your product in a different language, select the Other Options link from the Download and Install window.
- Select the language and version you want then click Install. 7. Your download should start automatically
How To Install Office 2013
To install Microsoft Office 2013, you need to follow these steps:
- Once your download is complete, you will get one of three options depending on your browser:
- Click Run in Internet Explorer
- Click Setup in Chrome
- Click Save File in Firefox
- After setup is complete, you will see “You’re good to go”. Click “All done.” Your Office 2013 software will have been successfully installed.
How to Activate Office 2013
To activate Microsoft Office 2013, you need to follow these steps:
- After installation, open any Office 2013 application
- Click Accept and agree to the Microsoft Office Licence Agreement.
Office 2013 should automatically activate once you accept the Microsoft Office Licence Agreement. However, sometimes you might see the Microsoft Office Activation Wizard instead. If this happens, simply follow the on-screen prompts and your product will be activated. You may need to provide your Office 2013 activation key at this stage.
Uninstalling Microsoft Office 2013
Uninstalling Office 2013 from your computer does not remove the files you created using the different platforms. If you want to get rid of these files too, you need to manually delete them and empty your recycle bin after uninstalling Office 2013.
If you want to uninstall Office from your Windows PC, follow these steps:
- You can use the automatic method: uninstall Office 2013 from the Control panel. This usually works about 50% of the time.
- The second method you can use is by using Microsoft’s easy fix tool, which you can download for free from their support website. If this still does not work, you will need to manually uninstall it.
- To manually uninstall Office 2013, you first need to know the type of installation you have. You will either have a Click-to-Run installation or an MSI installation. To know the type you have, open an Office application and select File>Account. If you see “Update Options”, it is a Click-to-Run installation. If you don’t, it is an MSI installation.
For MSI installations:
- Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box
- Type in “installer” and click ok
- Click View and choose Details
- Select Layout, Details, and type in 340 as the Width of Selected Column. Click OK.
- Sort by Subject and locate the Office 2013 product you want among the .msi files. Right-click the file and select uninstall.
- Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box again
- Type in “%CommonProgramFiles%\Microsoft Shared” and click ok
- Delete all “Office15” and “SourceEngine” files
- Restart your computer to complete the uninstall
- For Click-to-Run installations:
- Go to C:\Program Files\
- Right-Click the Microsoft Office 15 folder
- Delete the folder
- Open Command Prompt
- Type in:
schtasks.exe /delete /tn “\Microsoft\Office\Office 15 Subscription Heartbeat”
Press Enter
schtasks.exe /delete /tn “\Microsoft\Office\Office Automatic Update”
Press Enter schtasks.exe /delete /tn “\Microsoft\Office\Office Subscription Maintenance”
Press Enter - Open Task Manager
- Click the Processes tab. End the following processes:
firstrun.exe
setup*.exe
Officeclicktorun.exe
appvshnotify.exe - Open Command Prompt
- Type in: sc delete Clicktorunsvc
- Press Enter
- Restart your computer to complete the uninstall
If you want to uninstall Office from your Mac, follow these steps:
- Open Finder>Applications
- Select all Office for Mac applications
- Control + Click and select Move to Trash
- Open Finder>Library>Containers
- Move all the following files to Trash if you can see them:
com.microsoft.errorreporting
com.microsoft.Excel
com.microsoft.netlib.shipassertprocess
com.microsoft.Office365ServiceV2
com.microsoft.Outlook
com.microsoft.Powerpoint
com.microsoft.RMS-XPCService
com.microsoft.Word
com.microsoft.onenote.mac - If you had any Office apps on the dock, Control + Click each one then select Options> Remove from Dock
- Restart your computer
Activating office.com/setup 2013 After Reinstalling
You will have to go through the same process and provide your office 2013 activation key at the Microsoft Office website, www.office.com/setup to reinstall your Office 2013 product. The process for activating your product after reinstallation also does not change:
- After reinstallation, open any Office 2013 application
- Click Accept and agree to the Microsoft Office Licence Agreement.
Office 2013 should automatically activate once you accept the Microsoft Office Licence Agreement. However, sometimes you might see the Microsoft Office Activation Wizard instead. If this happens, simply follow the on-screen prompts and your product will be activated.
If you follow these steps, you will be able to easily download and install Microsoft Office 2013 on your Windows PC or Mac without any problem. You will also be able to activate, uninstall and reinstall your purchase with ease. If you are a little strapped for cash, you can try one of the following free options as you save up for your Office 2013 purchase:
- Office 365 30 Day Trial
- Office Professional Plus 60 Day Trial
- Office Online
- Office Mobile for Android, iPhone and Windows Phones
- Microsoft’s free OneNote app
- Buy a device that has free Microsoft Office included
- You can also use other Office alternatives, like Google Docs, Apple iWork, LibreOffice or AbiWord
