Microsoft Office was first created for the Mac, before Windows existed.

The claim has two elements: (a) Office first appeared on the Mac rather than on Windows; (b) this happened before Windows existed, taken as before Windows 1.0 shipped (November 1985). True: the Microsoft Office suite, or the core Microsoft applications that later formed it, first shipped for the Mac before Windows 1.0 was released. Mostly true: the Office suite debuted on the Mac before any Windows version, and its core founding applications first shipped on the Mac before Windows 1.0, even though the bundled 'Office' suite itself came later. Mixed: the Mac-first element holds for the suite or its core applications, but neither the suite nor those applications appeared before Windows existed. Mostly false: only an individual application (e.g., one component program) was Mac-first or predates Windows, while the Office suite and most core applications appeared first on Windows or DOS. False: the Office suite and its core applications first appeared on Windows or DOS, not on the Mac, and none predate Windows.

Set before the research began.

1. E1 Microsoft Office - Wikipedia Wikipedia · 18 October 2001

   “Microsoft Office for Mac was introduced for Mac OS in 1989, before Office was released for Windows.”

2. E2 Microsoft Office - Wikipedia Wikipedia · 18 October 2001

   “Prior to packaging its various office-type Mac OS software applications into Office, Microsoft released Mac versions of Word 1.0 in 1984, the first year of the Macintosh computer; Excel 1.0 in 1985; and PowerPoint 1.0 in 1987.”

3. E3 Windows 1.0 - Wikipedia Wikipedia · 10 July 2002

   “It was first released to manufacturing in the United States and the general public on November 20, 1985, while the European version was released as Windows 1.02 in May 1986.”

4. E4 Windows 1.0 - Wikipedia Wikipedia · 10 July 2002

   “The redesigned environment ultimately had its public debut at Fall COMDEX 1983 in November 1983.”

E1 shows the Office suite was introduced for Mac OS in 1989, before Office was released for Windows, so the suite was Mac-first. That is after Windows 1.0 shipped on November 20, 1985 (E3). E2 shows the founding applications had Mac releases earlier: Word in 1984 and Excel in 1985, ahead of or around Windows 1.0's release. This matches the 'mostly true' criterion, in which the suite debuted on the Mac and its core applications shipped there before Windows existed, even though the bundled suite itself came later.