How to Choose Between the 32-bit and 64-bit Versions of Office
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Processors that are bit are becoming the standard for systems that range from servers to desktop computers. The bit systems can use more virtual and physical memory than bit systems. This lets users work with much larger data sets than they could previously, and to analyze and solve large computational problems.
Microsoft Office introduces native bit versions of Microsoft Office products to take advantage of this larger capacity. For example, this additional capacity is needed only by those Microsoft Excel users who require Excel spreadsheets that are larger than 2 gigabytes GB. The bit version of Office provides the same functionality and is also compatible with bit add-ins. Therefore, the bit version of Office is installed by default.
This article is for IT Professionals. Office also provides support for bit Office applications that run on bit Windows operating systems by using Windowson-Windows WOW WOW64 is the x86 emulator that enables bit Windows-based applications to run seamlessly on bit Windows systems. Supporting bit Office applications that run on bit operating systems allows for better compatibility with controls, add-ins, and VBA.
If users in your organization depend on existing extensions to Office, such as ActiveX controls, third-party add-ins, in-house solutions built on previous versions of Office, or bit versions of programs that interface directly with Office, we recommend that you install bit x86 Office the default installation on computers that are running both bit and bit supported Windows operating systems.
If some users in your organization are Excel expert users who work with Excel spreadsheets that are larger than 2 gigabytes GBthey can install the bit x64 edition of Office In addition, if you have in-house solution developers, we recommend that those developers have access to the what is the difference between microsoft office 2010 32 bit and 64 bit edition of Office so that they can test and update your in-house solutions on the bit edition of Office This article applies to the current release of Office For a visual representation of this information, see bit Client Installation of Microsoft Office http: Assessing your current environment for application compatibility.
The supported Windows operating system editions for bit Office client include the following:. The bit Office client is supported as a WOW64 installation. This is the default installation on bit Windows operating systems.
The bit Windows-based applications run on bit Windows, which allows for compatibility with bit Office applications and add-ins.
For more information, see the following resources:. Hardware and software requirements SharePoint Server Hardware and software requirements SharePoint Foundation Hardware and software requirements Project Server For click-to-run scenarios, the supported version is Office bit WOW64 on computers that run the supported bit editions of Windows operating systems.
The OCT files are located in the Admin folder what is the difference between microsoft office 2010 32 bit and 64 bit the x86 bit and x64 bit folders, respectively. The bit version of the OCT provides the same user interface, capabilities, and configurable settings as the bit version.
A bit Setup customization file that is imported to bit OCT is converted to bit, and a bit customization file that is imported to bit OCT is converted to bit.
For more information about how to use the Import feature, see Import an Office Setup customization file. The Bitness registry key indicates whether the Outlook installation is bit or bit. This might be useful to administrators who are interested in auditing computers to determine the installed versions of Office in their organization. We recommend this option. Install Office bit on computers that run bit editions of Windows to take advantage of additional memory on the bit computers.
Retail users who run bit Windows operating systems and do not have bit Office products installed can install the native bit version of Office from the x64 folder on the DVD. For example, there is no support for side-by-side installations of the Microsoft Office system bit with Office bit, or for What is the difference between microsoft office 2010 32 bit and 64 bit SharePoint Workspace bit and What is the difference between microsoft office 2010 32 bit and 64 bit Excel bit.
A Office system bit installation on a computer that runs a bit Windows operating system can be upgraded to an Office bit version. A Office system installation on a computer that runs a bit Windows operating system can be upgraded to an Office bit WOW Before you deploy bit editions of Officeyou must evaluate the advantages and disadvantages and determine whether it is an appropriate deployment option for your specific environment.
The following sections highlight benefits and issues that might affect compatibility, describe Outlook considerations, and list the applications that block and those that do not block a bit Office installation.
A key consideration is that you cannot install native bit Office on computers that have bit Office applications and third-party add-ins installed. You must uninstall the bit Office applications and add-ins before you can install bit Office If you have bit third-party Office applications and add-ins that are required for users, you can install the default option, which is bit Office WOW64 installation on computers that run supported bit editions of Windows.
A list of applications that block and those that do not block a bit Office is included. See Blocking and nonblocking Office applications in bit installations. Blocking and nonblocking Office applications in bit installations. Excel can load much larger workbooks. Excel made updates to use bit memory addressing to move beyond the 2-GB addressable memory boundary that limits bit applications. Microsoft Project provides improved capacity, especially when you are dealing with many what is the difference between microsoft office 2010 32 bit and 64 bit to a large project.
Such databases that are created by using bit Office any version can be used only with bit Office, and a database that is created on bit Office can be used only on bit Office. Installations of bit Office will run only bit controls. Computers can have bit and bit controls installed, and Office bit can only run the bit versions of the controls. The workaround for resolving these issues is to what is the difference between microsoft office 2010 32 bit and 64 bit bit compatible controls and add-ins or to install Office what is the difference between microsoft office 2010 32 bit and 64 bit WOW.
In addition to controls that load into Office applications, there are also Web-based solutions that use ActiveX controls in Microsoft Internet Explorer. Office bit editions install some Office bit client-side controls for supporting solutions in a bit browser the default browser on current bit Windows systems. The Edit in Datasheet view functionality is not supported if you install bit Office However, the functionality is available if you install bit Office An OLE server might not instantiate in place and might fail to open if the application registered is not the same bitness as the version of Office installed.
Inserting an object into an Office application document might fail in cross-bitness scenarios. For example if you insert a bit object in a bit Office application document. The technology uses a single-instruction, multiple-data SIMD technique to speed up multimedia and communications software by processing data elements in parallel.
The Declare statement must be updated with the PtrSafe attribute after inputs and outputs to the API have been reviewed and updated.
New data types are added to bit Office VBA: In such cases, an error message displays that states that there is no default mail client or the current mail client cannot fulfill the messaging. WMDC synchronizes correctly with the bit version of Outlook Then use the original installer that you used to obtain Outlook bit to install Outlook bit.
Outlook bit is the default option. This functionality can still be implemented by using the ReplicationConflictFunction Property. This converter was previously used in the Mail Merge functionality to connect to a data source created in Microsoft Works. If you developed bit Messaging Application Programming Interface MAPI applications, add-ins, or macros for Outlook, there are actions that you should take to change and rebuild the bit applications to run on a bit platform.
Starting with OfficeOutlook is available as a bit application and a bit application. The version bitness of Outlook that you choose depends on the edition of the Windows operating system bit or bit and the edition of Office or bit that is installed on the computer, if Office is already installed on that computer. Factors that determine the feasibility of installing a bit or a bit version of Outlook include the following:.
You can install bit Office and bit Microsoft Outlook on a supported bit or bit edition of the Windows operating system. You can install the bit version of Office and bit Outlook only on a supported bit operating system. The default installation of Office on a bit edition of the Windows operating what is the difference between microsoft office 2010 32 bit and 64 bit is bit Office The bitness of an installed version of Outlook is always the same as the bitness of Officeif Office is installed on the same computer.
That is, a bit version of Outlook cannot be installed on the same computer on which bit versions of other Office applications are already installed, such as bit Microsoft Word or bit Microsoft Excel Similarly, a bit version of Outlook cannot be installed on the same computer on which bit versions of other Office applications are already installed.
The bitness of the MAPI subsystem, in turn, is determined by and is always the same as the bitness of the installed version of Outlook. For information about how to prepare Outlook applications for bit and bit platforms, see Building MAPI Applications on bit and bit Platforms http: If bit Office applications are installed on a computer, a bit Office installation is blocked by default.
The following section Applications that block a bit Office installation lists the applications that block a bit Office installation. The next section Applications that do not block a bit Office installation lists exceptions; that is, applications that do not block the installation. In such cases, installation of bit Office proceeds even if the listed bit applications are installed on the computer.
The Office installation DVD contains both the bit and bit versions of Office with two architecture-specific folders: Each of the architecture folders contains a Setup. There is also a Setup. This is referred to as the platform chooser. The following figure shows the folder structure. The Setup sequence is the same as for a standard bit Office client installation with the addition of specific checks that are performed for bit Office The following figure shows how Setup determines whether to install the bit or bit version of Office when Setup is run from the root of the media source DVD that contains both the bit and bit versions of Office When you run Setup.
If Setup detects bit Office applications, it displays an error message that informs users that they must first uninstall all bit Office applications if they want to continue with the installation of Office bit.
The error message lists the installed bit Office applications. If Setup does not detect bit Office applications, it installs the bit edition of Office On a computer that runs a supported bit edition of Windows, Setup installs the bit edition of Office On a computer that runs a supported bit edition of Windows, Setup checks for installed bit Office applications, and then continues as follows:.
If no bit Office applications are installed on the computer, Setup installs Office bit.
