Free Microsoft Office has ad support and limited features

Microsoft has introduced a free desktop version of Office with ads. The company has launched a new version of Microsoft Office that allows you to use Word, Excel and PowerPoint for free without a subscription or one-time payment. However, the package works with a number of limitations.

The free Microsoft Office is only available for Windows and contains advertising banners on the right side of the screen. In addition, a 15-second video ad is played every few hours.

Documents can only be stored in the OneDrive cloud storage (5 GB free), and local storage is not available. There is also no support for add-ins, watermarks and advanced data analysis.

How to install free Microsoft Office

1. Download the installation file from the official Microsoft website.
2. Run the installation and wait for the package to download.
3. Open Word, Excel, or PowerPoint and click Skip for now in the pop-up window.
4. Confirm using the free version by selecting Continue for free.
5. Specify Save to OneDrive as the file save location.

This move by Microsoft can be seen as a way to offer an alternative to the web version of Office, but with OneDrive integration and advertising restrictions.