Microsoft is planning to release the next version of its standalone Office suite sometime in the second half of 2018, with preview versions coming in the second quarter. But if you want to install it, you're going to need a computer running the latest Microsoft operating system, Windows 10. That's according to a support article published by Microsoft, outlining new service and support rules for Office.

CNET/Sarah Mitroff

The company says, "As the pace of change accelerates, it has become imperative to move our software to a more modern cadence," and that means no support for Windows 7 or Windows 8.1. However, this only applies to the standalone single-purchase version of Office (the current version is Office 2016), not the ongoing monthly or annual subscription service, called Office 365. Both Office and Office 365 include apps like Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint.

This change may leave fewer people out in the cold than you might expect. Data company StatCounter has reported that Windows 10 has finally overtaken Windows 7 to become the most-used version of Windows on PCs. There's more on Microsoft's future plans for Office at our sister site, ZDNet.