What version of Microsoft Office do I have?

If you’re a current user of a Microsoft Office program, you can find out the Office version you are using in just a few clicks. This method applies to Office versions 2007 and later.

1. Click on “File” at the top of the ribbon (applies to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, but not to OneNote!).

2. Now click on “Account” in the sidebar on the left. In some Office versions, this menu item is also called “Office Account”.
3. The name of the Office version used is displayed on the right below the logo. You can find out the internal version number by clicking on the “About ...” button.

OneNote has been part of the Microsoft suite since Office 2010. The version number can be found in the program. In principle, however, it is the same as the version number of the other Office components.

1. Click on the icon with the three dots in the upper right corner and select “Settings” from the menu.
2. Click on “About” in the sidebar on the right to display the version number of OneNote for Windows.

The online version of Microsoft Office that you use directly in the browser without installation is automatically updated to the latest version. Nevertheless, you can find the number of the Office version you are currently using if there are problems or unexpected changes to the document.

1. To do this, click on “File” in the ribbon and then on “About” in the sidebar on the left.
2. The build number of Microsoft Word Online currently in use appears under “Diagnostics”. This method also works in Excel Online and PowerPoint Online.

In each document, Microsoft Office stores the version number of the Office program that was used to create and save the document. Based on this number, Office recognizes whether the document can be opened with a certain version and whether possibly incompatible macros or templates are included.

However, this version number is not displayed directly in the properties of the document. Luckily, there’s a trick to find it:

1. First, create a safety copy of the document and change the file extension from .docx to .zip.
2. Double click the zip file to open it.
3. Open the folder “docProps” here and launch the file “app.xml”.
4. In the penultimate line under “AppVersion”, you will find the office version with which this file was saved.

If an Office program like Word can’t be launched, because it maybe doesn’t work anymore, you can look up the Office version directly in the program file. This method also works for local networks, to find out what version of Office is installed on different computer.

1. In explorer, switch to “This PC” and go to “Program Files” > “Microsoft Office” > “Office”.
2. Here you will find the subfolder “OfficeXX” with XX indicating the version number, for example “16” for Office 2016.

3. There may also be several folders with different version numbers if you have additionally installed macros or add-ins from other Office versions. In this case, search for the WINWORD.EXE file and right-click on it. Select “Properties” in the context menu.
4. In the next dialog box you will find the product name and the exact product version in the “Details” tab.