Office ProPlus and Office 2019 now install 64-bit as default

Microsoft

Office has been available in both 32-bit and 64-bit for several years and beginning at last Ignite, we updated our recommendation and now default setting to 64-bit. We are excited about the 64-bit default update, because it allows customers take advantage of the resources of current hardware and a 64-bit operating system for increasingly common heavy workloads in Office. We have also seen the rest of the industry catch up in support of 64-bit Office add-ins.

 

This post gives a little bit more background on the change and opens a place to further the conversation with the community on the 64-bit version of Office ProPlus and 2019. Office 365 ProPlus and Office 2019 continue to offer both 64-bit and 32-bit versions, the only change is that 64-bit is now the default installed version. Using 64-bit Office offers multiple advantages over the 32-bit version, including:

 

  • As more and more modern desktops now run in 64-bit, the benefits of 64-bit Office continue to increase
  • We have optimized the latest version of Office to take advantage of the specs and configurations of these modern desktops
  • 64-bit Office apps perform better with very large files, videos and tables across Office in Excel, PowerPoint and Project
  • Custom applications and Microsoft Access can also take advantage of long numbers and data formats

 

The majority of feedback has been positive, with many of our customers sharing with us that their users are working with increasingly large, complex files and datasets on their desktops. 64-bit Office gives them access to the additional memory needed to meet their performance requirements, and with both modern hardware and modern customer scenarios, the number of users that will benefit from 64-bit Office is continuously increasing. The growth of big data leads to larger and more complex data sets used by users in Excel workbooks, and 4K+ displays on desktops along with the corresponding higher-resolution visuals in PowerPoint presentations are becoming more and more common.

 

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How does installing 64-bit Office handle application compatibility

Application compatibility is the top concern we hear from customers when talking about installing 64-bit versions of Office. It’s important to note that 64-bit support has been around since Office 2010. Over the last several years, we have made several new investments to reduce application compatibility concerns for upgrading to Office ProPlus. The Readiness Toolkit for Office add-ins and VBA can help you identify compatibility issues with your Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macros and add-ins that your organization has with Office. The same toolkit can be used to identify any potential issues with 64-bit add-ins, prior to installing it.

 

The majority of solutions that have been tested with the Readiness toolkit have shown that the number of add-ins and macros that have compatibility issues are very low. Watch our full session on application compatibility, the Readiness Toolkit, and 64-bit readiness from Ignite 2018.

 

In addition to the Readiness Toolkit, we have also created the Desktop App Assure program as a new service from Microsoft FastTrack. This program is designed to address issues with Windows 10 and Office 365 ProPlus app compatibility. The program and its assurance show our commitment to supporting your organization as they move to Office ProPlus and 64-bit versions of Office.

https://myignite.techcommunity.microsoft.com/sessions/66215

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/DeployOffice/use-the-readiness-toolkit-to-assess-application-compat...

 

32-bit Office deployments continue to be available

Just because 64-bit is now the default for installation, it doesn't mean you are restricted from installing 32-bit Office on desktops. You can always uninstall 64-bit Office and reinstall 32-bit on desktop or change the setting prior to install. This install setting change only applies to self-service installations, IT admins using controlled deployment tools will use the specified bit settings defined by the admin. The default in the admin tools now also align with 64-bit deployments of Office as default.

 

Additional Information: https://support.office.com/article/choose-between-the-64-bit-or-32-bit-version-of-office-2dee7807-8f...

 

We want to hear your feedback and questions on 64-bit installation settings, so let us know any you have and we can address them here in the community.

4 Replies

I have a new PC running windows 10 professional 64 bit. I installed office 2019 professional plus and there no prompt for 32 or 64 bit. Some time later, to my surprise, I noticed that the 32 bit version was installed. I uninstalled it using the uninstallation tool and reinstalled it and again, there was no prompt for 32 or 64 bit and again the 32 bit version was installed. I don't have either project or visio or any other microsoft software installed on the PC. Why is 32 bit office being installed and how to I force the installation of the 64 bit version?

Dear @Daniel Canning ,

 

Thank you for good and clear information on the topic.

We are a heavely expanding company with 1.500 employees atm - growing quite fast - and we are at the limp of setting D365 into full operation.

Clear demands from D365 on use of Office pack is that it has to be 32 bit version. I have learned that most of the code in D365 are infact DAX 2012 ported into a huge webinterface in cloud. That should be the reason for not being able to run 64 bit version of Office.

Now, it's quite true that more and more users coming from business demands a 64 bit version due to huge files and simply stability in Excel but that is now stopped by the fact that D365 cannot interact with that version.

I have for sure tried to ask Microsoft Support and the only message I got was that it was by design but I was always welcome to place a request in their "user requests and good ideas".

Do you have a comment for this?

 

Nice regards

/Mogens Lassen

@bimmerdriver 

I used an offline installer iso for Office 2019 Pro Plus.  I mounted the iso and went to 'Office' folder of the dvd and ran the setup64.exe instead of setup.exe in the root folder of  mounted iso. this worked for me.

 

I hope this helps.

@Daniel Canning 

The information is wrong, we are now in February 2023 and Office 2019 Pro Plus still installs 32 bit by default.