Microsoft Online’s New Apple/Mac Sign-In App Supports Office

Microsoft announces expanded BPOS-Standard support for the Mac OS with the introduction of a new Microsoft Online Services Sign In application that supports the recently released Office for Mac 2011. The new Sign In application for Mac OS is scheduled to be available by the end of March 2011. In addition to support for Office for Mac 2011, the new Sign In application includes a number of bug fixes and enhancements that improve the performance and stability of the application for the Mac OS.

The Sign In application provides a simple, single sign-in point for Microsoft Online Services. The application provides:

• A single access point for services, rather than signing in to each service separately
• Automatic configuration of applications
• Password management
• Sign in options such as automatic sign-in upon computer start-up

When you install or update the Sign In application, it checks for applications on your computer that can be used with Microsoft Online Services and automatically configures those applications to work with the services. More information about application configuration by the Sign In application can be found inthis article on the Help and How-to Portal. With the introduction of the new Sign In application for Mac OS, there will be two Sign In applications that support various versions of Office for Mac. For customers using Office for Mac 2004 and Office for Mac 2008, their users can continue to use the current Sign In application. The new Sign In application, scheduled to be released by the end of March, will support Office for Mac 2011 and Office for Mac 2008 with EWS. The following table provides detail for Office for Mac and Mac OS supportability:  

Current Sign In Application****for Mac OS

New Sign In Application for Mac OS

Office for Mac 2004

Yes

No

Office for Mac 2008

Yes

No

Office for Mac 2008 EWS

Yes

Yes

Office for Mac 2011

No

Yes

Mac OS X 10.4

Yes

No

Mac OS X 10.5

Yes

Yes

Mac OS X 10.6

Yes

Yes

  This blog post will be updated when the new Sign In application for Mac OS is available, including a link to the new application on the Microsoft Download Center. New Sign-In Application Supports Office for Mac 2011 - Microsoft Online Services Team Blog - Site Home - TechNet Blogs