Objective: In this blog, we are going to choose and check the compatibility between the Outlook 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Office 2016 for all the reasons. Read the blog until the end.
As a general rule, most users should always install the Outlook office 32-bit version of Microsoft. There are some situations where the user would have benefited from the Office 64-bit version. But those cases are infrequent and mostly apply to the developers and to the individuals who work on the large files.
When it comes to installing the Outlook office, make sure you don’t launch and run the 32-bit and 64-bit versions on the computer. This is because this can cause some serious issues. If you installed the improper version (e.g. 64-bit) by mistake, you just have to install that version then install the proper and correct version (e.g. 32-bit).
Before proceeding, let us know the main reasons why we should choose from the 32-bit or 64-bit version in brief. According to the Microsoft documentation, here are the reasons for selecting either from a 32-bit or 64-bit office.
Useful Article – Outlook PST Location in Windows 10
Compatibility Between the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Office 2016
Systems and the computers running 64-bit versions of Windows, basically have more functions like processing power and memory, then 32-bit predecessors. Also, 64-bit applications can open more memory than 32-bit applications (upto18.4 petabytes). Hence, you are working with large files or large data file sets and your computer is running a 64-bit version of Windows. Then Microsoft Outlook 64-bit is the right choice. Some scenarios to pick Outlook 64-bit are given below:
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If you are working with extremely large pictures, animations, videos in PowerPoint. The Office 64-bit version may be better to handle these complex issues.
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When you are working with the oversized file of 2 GB in the project, especially if the project contains many sub-projects.
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If you are developing in-house Office solutions such as document-level customization or add-ins. Using the Outlook Office 64-bit version provides you a 64-bit for those in-house solutions as well as a 32-bit version. In-house solution developers or founders have optional access to the Office 2016 64-bit version for testing and updating these solutions.
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You are working with the extremely Large Number data type in Access. When this data type is compatible with 32-bit, you can see unexpected results while executing the codes or expressions that are used natively in 32-bit VBA libraries. Microsoft Outlook 64-bit gives a large data type that fully supports large numbers.
Reasons to Choose 32-bit Version
Note: If you are using 32-bit Windows, you can only install the 32-bit version of Office. If you are using 64-bit Windows, you can install both 32-bit or64-bit Office.
IT professional developers in particular, also review the following scenarios where the Office 32-bit is still a better choice for your company:
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You have 32-bit COM Add-ins without a 64-bit alternative. Then, you can easily continue to run 32-bit COM Add-ins in the Office 32-bit version on 64- bit Windows. You can also try to contact the COM Add-in vendor and requesting for a 64-bit version
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When you use the 32-bit controls without a 64-bit alternative, you can continue or resume the running of 32-bit authorities in the 32-bit Outlook Office. These are such as Microsoft common controls (comctl.ocx, Mscomctl.ocx), or any other existing third-party 32-bit controls
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You are activating a 32-bit OLE server. You can again carry on with the running your 32-bit OLE server utility with an Office 32-bit version installed
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If you are using a SharePoint Server 2010 and need the Edit in Datasheet view. You can resume with using the Edit in Datasheet view feature in SharePoint Server 2010 with the Outlook Office 32-bit version
Conclusion
As we mentioned earlier, it’s a rare case that you would need to install the Office 64-bit version. The most common situations that need Office 64-bit are working with large files, like files larger than 2GB or extremely large images, videos, or animations in PowerPoint. If you are still not so sure to choose which version of Outlook Office to use. Then, install the Outlook 32-bit version because that has been suggested version of Office by Microsoft for a very long time. It is a safer choice which causes fewer problems.
