Microsoft Office Free Download For Windows 7 64-bit
Theodora Glime
The 64-bit versions of Office enable you to move more data around for increased capability, for example when you work with large numbers in Microsoft Excel 2010. When writing 32-bit code, you can use the 64-bit version of Office without any changes. However, when you write 64-bit code, you should ensure that your code contains specific keywords and conditional compilation constants to ensure that the code is backward compatible with earlier version of Office, and that the correct code is being executed if you mix 32-bit and 64-bit code.
Visual Basic for Applications 7.0 (VBA 7) is released in the 64-bit versions for Office, and it works with both 32-bit and 64-bit applications. The changes described in this article apply only to the 64-bit versions of Office. Using the 32-bit versions of Microsoft Office enable you to use solutions built in previous versions of Office without further modifications.
In VBA 7, you must update existing Windows API statements (Declare statements) to work with the 64-bit version. Additionally, you must update address pointers and display window handles in user-defined types that are used by these statements. This is discussed in more detail in this article as well as compatibility issues between the 32-bit and 64-bit versions and suggested solutions.
Applications built with the 64-bit versions of Office can reference larger address spaces than 32-bit versions. This means you can use more physical memory for data than before, potentially reducing the overhead spent moving data in and out of physical memory
In addition to referring specific locations (known as pointers) in physical memory, you can also use addresses to reference display window identifiers (known as handles). The size (in bytes) of the pointer or handle depends on whether you're using a 32-bit or 64-bit system.
VBA previously didn't have a pointer data type, so you had to use 32-bit variables to store pointers and handles. These variables now truncate 64-bit values returned by API calls when using Declare statements.
Native 64-bit processes in Office cannot load 32-bit binaries. This includes the common controls of MSComCtl (TabStrip, Toolbar, StatusBar, ProgressBar, TreeView, ListViews, ImageList, Slider, ImageComboBox) and the controls of MSComCt2 (Animation, UpDown, MonthView, DateTimePicker, FlatScrollBar). These controls were installed by 32-bit versions of Office earlier than Office 2010. You'll need to find an alternative for your existing VBA solutions that use these controls when you migrate the code to the 64-bit versions of Office.
The combination of VBA and type libraries gives you lots of functionality to create Office applications. However, sometimes you must communicate directly with the computer's operating system and other components, such as when you manage memory or processes, when working with UI elements linke windows and controls, or when modifying the Windows registry. In these scenarios, your best option is to use one of the external functions that are embedded in DLL files. You do this in VBA by making API calls using Declare statements.
Microsoft provides a Win32API.txt file that contains 1,500 Declare statements and a tool to copy the Declare statement that you want into your code. However, these statements are for 32-bit systems and must be converted to 64-bit by using the information discussed later in this article. Existing Declare statements won't compile in 64-bit VBA until they've been marked as safe for 64-bit by using the PtrSafe attribute. You can find examples of this type of conversion at Excel MVP Jan Karel Pieterse's website at -ads.com/articles/apideclarations.asp.The Office Code Compatibility Inspector user's guide is a useful tool to inspect the syntax of API Declare statements for the PtrSafe attribute, if needed, and the appropriate return type.
The SubName function or FunctionName function is replaced by the actual name of the procedure in the DLL file and represents the name that is used when the procedure is called from VBA code. You can also specify an AliasName argument for the name of the procedure. The name of the DLL file that contains the procedure being called follows the Lib keyword. And finally, the argument list contains the parameters and the data types that must be passed to the procedure.
In Visual C and Microsoft Visual C++, the previous example compiles correctly for both 32-bit and 64-bit. This is because HKEY is defined as a pointer, whose size reflects the memory size of the platform that the code is compiled in.
In previous versions of VBA, there was no specific pointer data type so the Long data type was used. And because the Long data type is always 32-bits, this breaks when used on a system with 64-bit memory because the upper 32-bits might be truncated or might overwrite other memory addresses. Either of these situations can result in unpredictable behavior or system crashes.
This data type and the new PtrSafe attribute enable you to use this Declare statement on either 32-bit or 64-bit systems. The PtrSafe attribute indicates to the VBA compiler that the Declare statement is targeted for the 64-bit version of Office. Without this attribute, using the Declare statement in a 64-bit system will result in a compile-time error. The PtrSafe attribute is optional on the 32-bit version of Office. This enables existing Declare statements to work as they always have.
There are two conditional compilation constants: VBA7 and Win64. To ensure backward compatibility with previous versions of Microsoft Office, you use the VBA7 constant (this is the more typical case) to prevent 64-bit code from being used in the earlier version of Office. For code that is different between the 32-bit version and the 64-bit version, such as calling a math API that uses LongLong for its 64-bit version and Long for its 32-bit version, you use the Win64 constant. The following code shows the use of these two constants.
To summarize, if you write 64-bit code and intend to use it in previous versions of Office, you will want to use the VBA7 conditional compilation constant. However, if you write 32-bit code in Office, that code works as is in previous versions of Office without the need for the compilation constant. If you want to ensure that you are using 32-bit statements for 32-bit versions and 64-bit statements for 64-bit versions, your best option is to use the Win64 conditional compilation constant.
The following example shows VBA code written for 32-bit that needs to be updated. Notice the data types in the legacy code that are updated to use LongPtr because they refer to handles or pointers.
You need to check the Windows API documentation on the Microsoft Developers Network for the function you want to call. Handles and pointers need to be converted to LongPtr. As an example, the documentation for RegOpenKeyA provides the following signature.
You should use these functions to retrieve pointers to strings, variables and objects, respectively. On the 64-bit version of Office, these functions will return a 64-bit LongPtr, which can be passed to Declare statements. The use of these functions has not changed from previous versions of VBA. The only difference is that they now return a LongPtr.
Knowing your version helps you choose compatible software add-ons and plugins. Plus, some features may vary between different architectures. So, being aware of your version makes for a smoother experience.
Fun fact: Microsoft Office 1.0, the first-ever office productivity suite, was only available as a 16-bit release for Windows! It included popular applications like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint which revolutionized document creation and data management.
Which version should you choose? If you work with complex files, large databases or memory-intensive tasks, go for the 64-bit version. It provides greater stability and capability to manage large data.
On the flip side, if you use Office mainly for basic activities like writing and creating presentations, the 32-bit version should suffice. It is also compatible with most add-ons and external programs.
To check your Microsoft Office version, utilize the following solutions: Using the File Options and Using the Control Panel. The File Options method allows you to access version information directly within the Office application, while the Control Panel method provides a system-wide view of all installed versions.
Since a 64-bit application cannot talk to a 32-bit driver, we have to do a bit of magic to get the worlds to connect; we call it QRemote. QRemote works as a bridge between 64-bit Applications and the 32-bit QODBC Driver by communicating data calls between the two worlds using TCP/IP protocol.
The QBES Read Only version of QODBC will not work with 64-bit applications nor with remote data sharing; that functionality was not part of our contract with Intuit, and those functions are only included in the version of the driver we sell.
The 64-bit version is installed by default unless Office detects you already have installed a 32-bit version of Office (or a stand-alone Office app such as Project or Visio). In this case, the 32-bit version of Office will be installed instead.
To change from a 32-bit version to a 64-bit version or vice versa, you need to uninstall Office first (including any stand-alone Office apps you have, such as Project of Visio). Once the uninstall is complete, sign in to www.office.com and select Other install options, choose the language and version you want (64 or 32-bit), and then select Install.