Microsoft, the company, and its tools don’t need an introduction. The most widespread of all is Microsoft Office, and for almost three decades, Mac users have had a love-hate relationship with Microsoft 365.
Windows users who recently switched to Mac install it and then look for ways to uninstall MS Office from Windows. Not only that, Mac users do that same.
But then when it comes to deleting Microsoft Office from Mac, it isn’t that simple. So, here’s a quick guide on how to get rid of every component related to Microsoft Office.
For those who want to know more about Microsoft Office here, we go.
What is Microsoft Office?
In simple words, it is the suite of tools that consist of Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook, etc. To use all these components, you need to get Office 365 subscription and download it from the Mac App Store.
The subscription is annual, and you can install Office apps on several devices.
Why Can’t We Uninstall Microsoft Office 365 And Its Components?
A legit question! When on Windows, you don’t have to do much to uninstall Microsoft Office when on Mac?
Well, Mac is different from Windows; hence, you will have to uninstall it manually. This means by just moving them to Trash; you cannot delete it completely. To remove it entirely, you will have to scrape all the files and look for the junk files and other Microsoft Office files.
If you want to uninstall Microsoft Office 365 the easy way, we recommend using CleanMyMac X. Using the uninstaller module you can delete Office 365 and all its components easily. Moreover, using this best Mac Optimizer you can get rid of junk files, unwanted data, and other cluttered data from Mac.
This easy to use Mac cleanup utility allows you to delete all junk data in one click. To use it, download and install CleanMyMac X. Click the Uninstaller module, run a scan, select all files related to Office 365 and uninstall them.
This way, in just a few clicks CleanMyMac X will remove all unwanted traces.
Precautions You Need to Take Before Deleting Microsoft Office from Mac
Indeed, once Microsoft Office 365 is uninstalled, you will be unable to access Microsoft formats like .doc, .xls, etc. Hence, before removing Office on Mac, make sure you have an alternate way to access these apps.
It can be a third-party app or another system having Office installed and running on it. If this doesn’t work for you, open each file, and export it in .rtf the format. Unless you have everything lined up, do not make the mistake of deleting Microsoft Office on Mac.
In addition to this, remember uninstalling Outlook will remove all the data. So, you need to have a backup plan for that too. If you are already using the IMAP server, there’s nothing to worry, as everything is already secured. However, if the messages and attachments are deleted or use POP3, you need to backup them. This is all that you need to do and be on a safer side.
How to Remove Office From Mac?
To uninstall Office 365 entirely from Mac, each application needs to be uninstalled completely.
Note: The removal process varies from version to version. So, follow the steps accordingly.
Steps to Uninstall Office 2011
1. Head to the Applications folder
2. Choose Microsoft Excel
3. Press the Command key and choose all the components of Microsoft Office like PowerPoint, Outlook, etc.
4. Drag them to Trash
5. Now, empty Trash so that all the traces are removed.
This will uninstall Microsoft 365 components like Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word from your Mac.
Steps to Delete Office 365 – 2016
This one is more complex than the uninstalling Office 2011. Since the files are in different folders, we will need to move all to Trash.
1. Select Microsoft Excel in the Applications folder
2. Press the Command key and select apps like OneDrive, Word, Excel, Outlook
3. Once all these apps are selected, press Control > choose the apps and move them to Trash,
4. Press Command+Shift+G
5. Now type ~/Library and press Go.
6. Look for the Containers folder and open it
7. Next, look for the following folders:
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
Note: There’s a possibility that some of these files might not be there.
8. Go back to ~/Library by pressing the back arrow and open the Group Containers folder.
9. Search for the following folders:
UBF8T346G9.ms
UBF8T346G9.Office
UBF8T346G9.OfficeOsfWebHost
And move them to Trash
10. Empty Trash.
Note: If you see any Word, Excel, PowerPoint icons in Dock, right-click > Options > Remove from Dock
11. Reboot Mac, and you are all set.
This is it; you have now successfully uninstalled Office 365 from Mac.
Note: If you are deleting Office 365 to make some space for important files, try using CleanMyMac X. You won’t regret using this excellent Mac cleaning utility. Once you clean all the errors detected by this utility, you will have gigabytes of free space. Trust me; you won’t even have to uninstall them.
So, use CleanMyMac X and optimize your Mac. It is a much cooler solution, and in a few clicks, you get a clean, error free Mac.
Do let us know how the tool worked for you in the comments section.