how widespread is use of 64bit Office?

[stuck]

For a long time even MS didn't recommend the use of 64 bit Office. I'm not sure that's true any more but given the vast amount of legacy 32 bit VBA code that's out there I'm wondering how the use the switch to 64 bit is going?

Our company now deploys the 64 bit version by default but my team are tied to the 32 bit version because of legacy stuff, in particular Excel UDFs that I got from Chip Pearson's website, and some Excel add-ins (like Jan Karel's Name Manager) that we rely on and that are 32 bit specific.

Today, one machine in our team updated to version 2107 (32 bit) and, on that machine, the chartsheets in our Excel workbooks are broken. However, the chartsheets are not broken if the file is opened in version 2017 64 bit but of course all sorts of other things are broken instead.



Ken

[StuartR]

I don't know anyone who is using 64 bit office. There are very few circumstances where the benefits outweigh the problems

[HansV]

ActiveX controls still don't work in 64-bit Office.

[stuck]

If only my IT Dept, thought like this...

[kdock]

As Hans points out, ActiveX controls don't work and any legacy code that includes 32-bit API calls won't work without tweaking your VBA code. A lot of code will work perfectly, but if you manipulate printers via an API call, for example, you're in for some coding. And, in my case, hair-tearing.

Having said that, there isn't any reason to use 64-bit Office unless you use ginormous data sets or spreadsheets. If you have any third-party add-ins, you need to make sure they are 64-bit-proof or have a 64-bit version. I always suggest using 32-bit Office (if you can figure out how to install it instead of the current 64-bit default).

Aaaand, there's always the possibility that the Office folks will wake up one morning, have 'way too much coffee, and decide to kill 32-bit Office because, really, nobody needs it and it'll just be so much easier. Just sayin'.

Kim

[BobH]

I remember upgrading our DOS/MVS system to OS/MVS. There were software tools for finding and suggesting fixes for the bits that wouldn't work in OS. Are there any such tools for migrating VBA code to 64-bit? I don't know VBA, but it seems to me that it would be a matter of identifying the 32-bit bits that don't work in 64-bit VBA and filtering for them. A good tool would automate conversion to equivalents or at least suggest them.

[TonyE]

I am the person that uses 64-bit, currently on Microsoft 365 build 2109. (Stuart you now know one )

This is home use and only a handful of 3rd party add-ons, all 64-bit compatible.

[JoeP]

I too am running 64-bit Office 365 build 2108, with Very few add-ins. Used for home and work.

[stuck]

...Aaaand, there's always the possibility that the Office folks will wake up one morning, have 'way too much coffee, and decide to kill 32-bit Office...

The way our workbooks are behaving in Excel 365 versions 2107 and 2108 make me think that morning has arrived

Ken

[JoeP]

Aaaand, there's always the possibility that the Office folks will wake up one morning, have 'way too much coffee, and decide to kill 32-bit Office because, really, nobody needs it and it'll just be so much easier. Just sayin'.

At some point in the not too distant future, Microsoft will make that decision. It just becomes much better financially. Development and support costs will be substantially less. I'm sure they will give a substantial lead time but it will happen.

[kdock]

I remember upgrading our DOS/MVS system to OS/MVS. There were software tools for finding and suggesting fixes for the bits that wouldn't work in OS. Are there any such tools for migrating VBA code to 64-bit? I don't know VBA, but it seems to me that it would be a matter of identifying the 32-bit bits that don't work in 64-bit VBA and filtering for them. A good tool would automate conversion to equivalents or at least suggest them.

Hey Bob, VBA itself warns you when it comes across an API Declare statement and advises you to edit your code. The issue is explained here. My problem is that I haven't taken the time to wrap my brain around it. While I've added the necessary changes to my code, I still haven't gotten it to work in 64-bit Word. So far I've found a very long list of API calls and what they ought to look like to make them 64-bit safe that someone generously compiled and put out on the internet. But again, brain not yet wrapped.

From the perspective of someone who works for various companies, it's clear the only sane thing to do is write macros that test the environment and work no matter what the O365 bitness happens to be.

K

[kdock]

... there's always the possibility that the Office folks will wake up one morning ... and decide to kill 32-bit Office...

At some point in the not too distant future, Microsoft will make that decision. It just becomes much better financially. Development and support costs will be substantially less. I'm sure they will give a substantial lead time but it will happen.

Joe, I totally agree with you - it's only a matter of time. As it stands right now, Win 11 will maintain compatibility with 32-bit programs. But that doesn't necessarily mean they will maintain the 32-bit versions of their own software. That meeting with too much coffee will happen.

[Jay Freedman]

I've been using 64-bit Office for quite a while. I found this site to be indispensable for either converting 32-bit API calls to 64-bit or using compiler constants to make the calls work in whatever bitness it finds itself running on.

For about the last year, the default for new Office installations has been 64-bit; if you want 32-bit, you have to select it. If you have a 32-bit Office already and want to install 64-bit (or vice versa), you must uninstall the existing one first; they aren't able to coexist. I use virtual machines to keep copies of older Office version running for testing purposes.