Microsoft Office on a Mac has come a long way from its early, somewhat limited incarnations. Office 2019 Home and Business for macOS is a robust, full-featured suite that integrates naturally with macOS and provides a familiar experience for anyone migrating from a Windows machine. If you have just purchased Office 2019 Home and Business for macOS and are ready to set it up, this guide walks you through every step — from download to first use.
What Is Included in Office 2019 Home and Business for Mac?
Before diving into the setup, it is worth clarifying what you get with this edition. Office 2019 Home and Business for macOS includes:
- Microsoft Word 2019: The full word processor with track changes, styles, templates, and mail merge
- Microsoft Excel 2019: Full spreadsheet application including pivot tables, charts, and advanced formulas
- Microsoft PowerPoint 2019: Full presentation application with animations, transitions, and Presenter View
- Microsoft Outlook 2019: Email, calendar, contacts, and tasks in one integrated application
- Microsoft OneNote: Digital notebook for personal and work notes
Note that Access and Publisher — which are included in the Windows Professional Plus edition — are not available for macOS. However, for the vast majority of home and small business users, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote cover every productivity need.
System Requirements for Office 2019 on Mac
Before installing, check that your Mac meets the minimum requirements:
- macOS version: macOS 10.13 High Sierra or later. Newer macOS versions (Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia) are fully supported.
- Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo or higher, or Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4). Office 2019 runs on Apple Silicon Macs via Rosetta 2.
- RAM: 4 GB minimum (8 GB recommended for smooth multitasking)
- Storage: 10 GB of available disc space
- Display: 1280 x 800 minimum resolution
- Internet connection: Required for installation and activation
If your Mac is running an older version of macOS, open the Apple menu, go to System Preferences (or System Settings on macOS Ventura and later) and then Software Update to install the latest available updates before proceeding.
Step 1: Locate Your Product Key
When you purchase Office 2019 Home and Business for macOS from GetRenewedTech, you will receive a product key by email. This is a 25-character alphanumeric code in the format XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX. Keep this email accessible during the installation process — you will need the key to activate the software.
Step 2: Download the Installer
Go to setup.office.com in your browser. Sign in with a Microsoft account — or create one for free if you do not have one. Click “Enter a product key instead” (if prompted to subscribe) and enter your 25-character product key. Microsoft will associate the key with your account and provide a download link.
Alternatively, if you have been provided with a direct download link, follow that link to download the installer package (.pkg file) directly. The file is typically around 2 to 3 GB, so download time will depend on your internet connection speed.
Step 3: Run the Installer
Once the download is complete, open the .pkg file from your Downloads folder. The Office installer will launch and guide you through the installation with a series of screens:
- Introduction: Click “Continue” to begin
- Software Licence Agreement: Read the licence terms and click “Continue,” then “Agree” to accept
- Installation Type: The default is to install all Office applications — this is recommended for most users. Click “Install.”
- Authenticate: macOS will prompt for your Mac administrator password to authorise the installation. Enter your password and click “Install Software.”
- Installation: The installer will take 5 to 15 minutes to copy files and configure the applications
- Summary: When complete, click “Close.” You can delete the installer package from your Downloads folder at this point.
Step 4: Activate Office
Open any Office application — Word is the easiest starting point. Launch Word from your Applications folder or from Launchpad. On first launch, Office will display an activation dialogue. You have two options:
Option A — Sign in with Microsoft account: If you associated your product key with a Microsoft account in Step 2, simply sign in to the same account. Office will detect the associated licence and activate automatically.
Option B — Enter product key directly: If prompted to enter a product key manually, type your 25-character key and follow the on-screen instructions. Ensure you have an active internet connection, as activation requires communication with Microsoft’s servers.
Once activated, you will see a confirmation message. Office 2019 Home and Business is a perpetual licence — once activated, it remains active indefinitely without any further payment or renewal.
Step 5: Set Up Outlook
Outlook for Mac is a full-featured email, calendar, and contacts application. On first launch, it will walk you through adding an email account:
- Open Outlook from the Applications folder
- Click “Add Account” or enter your email address in the prompt
- Outlook will attempt to automatically detect your email settings — for most popular email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook.com, iCloud), this works automatically
- For work email accounts on Exchange or Microsoft 365, enter your email address and password; Outlook should connect automatically using Autodiscover
- For IMAP accounts, you may need to manually enter the incoming and outgoing mail server settings provided by your email provider
After adding your account, give Outlook a few minutes to synchronise your mailbox. Large mailboxes with years of archived email may take 30 to 60 minutes to fully download.
Step 6: Configure OneDrive
OneDrive is Microsoft’s cloud storage service and integrates seamlessly with Office 2019 on Mac. Configuring it allows your documents to sync automatically across devices and provides a continuous backup in case your Mac is ever damaged or lost.
If OneDrive is not already installed on your Mac, download it from the Mac App Store (it is free). Once installed, sign in with the same Microsoft account you used to activate Office. OneDrive will create a folder on your Mac (typically in your home directory) that syncs automatically. Set your Office default save location to this folder — in Word, go to Word > Preferences > File Locations > Documents and point it to your OneDrive folder.
Step 7: Check for Updates
Immediately after installation, check for any available updates. Microsoft regularly releases patches and improvements to Office for Mac. Open any Office application and go to Help > Check for Updates. If Microsoft AutoUpdate is not installed, it will be downloaded automatically. Install all available updates and restart the applications when prompted.
Customising Office for macOS
Setting the Interface Language
Office on Mac uses the system language by default. To ensure UK English spell-checking dictionaries and date format conventions apply in Office, go to System Settings > Language & Region and ensure English (UK) is set as your primary language.
Adjusting Word’s Default Font and Spacing
Word for Mac may default to the Aptos font (or Calibri in older builds) with 1.08 line spacing. To change the defaults, open Word, go to Format > Font, select your preferred font and size, and click “Default.” Repeat for Format > Paragraph to set your preferred line spacing and paragraph spacing as the default for all new documents.
Setting Excel’s Default File Format
If you collaborate with Windows users, ensure Excel saves files as .xlsx by default. Go to Excel > Preferences > Save and set “Save files in this format” to “Excel Workbook (.xlsx).”
Key Differences Between Office for Mac and Windows
Office 2019 for Mac is functionally very close to the Windows version, but there are a few differences worth knowing:
- Access and Publisher: Not available on macOS
- Keyboard shortcuts: The Command key replaces the Ctrl key for most shortcuts — e.g., Command+C for copy, Command+B for bold
- Ribbon layout: Slightly different organisation in some applications, particularly Outlook
- Visual Basic for Applications (VBA): Supported in Excel and Word for Mac, but with some limitations compared to Windows
Considering an Upgrade?
If you find that Office 2019 for Mac meets your needs, you are well set for years of productive use. For users wanting the very latest macOS-optimised features, Office 2024 Home and Business for macOS is available from GetRenewedTech at £49.99, offering updated applications with improved Apple Silicon performance and additional features. Office 2021 Home and Business for macOS is also available at £74.99 as a mid-range option with real-time co-authoring and additional Excel functions.
Whichever version you choose, Office for Mac provides a comprehensive, reliable productivity environment that integrates well with both macOS and the broader Microsoft ecosystem.
