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Google Drive enables commenting on Microsoft Office files
It's not that hard to convert Microsoft Office files into G Suite docs, sheets or slides, so you and your teammates or clients can collaborate via Google Drive. But thing is, it's just so much easier if you don't have to. Now, Google has rolled out a feature that gives you the power to comment directly on Microsoft Office files, PDFs and images uploaded on Drive. You simply have to highlight the part you want to comment on in Preview mode (like what you'd do on a G Suite file), click the Comment icon that pops up and type what you want to say.
Microsoft adds real-time collaboration to Office 2016 for Mac
Microsoft's latest update for Office 2016 on Mac adds features that make it a much better tool for collaborative projects. (Or worse, depending on how you prefer attacking group work.) It gives you the ability to work with others in real time à la Google suite -- the apps will even show your who's currently editing via thumbnails in the upper right corner of the window.
Microsoft adds more AI smarts to Office 365
Microsoft has been adding cloud-based artificial intelligence to its popular Office suite for years now. In addition to new AI-focused upgrades to Cortana and Bing, the company also announced several new tools for Word, Excel and Outlook to help you make the most of your data, organizational content and more.
Microsoft plans Office 2019 release for next year
The next version of Microsoft Office is coming to a computer near you soon. The company announced today that Office 2019 will be released sometime in the second half next year. Previews will ship in mid-2018. It will include the applications we're used to, such as Word, Excel and Powerpoint, as well as servers such as Skype for Business and Exchange.
Office 365's revamped web launchers put you to work sooner
Sometimes, it's not your productivity apps that need a tune-up... it's how you get to those apps that needs work. And Microsoft knows it. The tech firm has redesigned the Office.com front end and Office 365's web app launcher. There's now a recommended section that surfaces the activity that's relevant to you, so you can quickly jump to where you're needed -- say, a Word file that needs edits or your recent PowerPoint presentation. You can also search for people, apps, documents and sites right from the get-go.
Parallels makes Windows apps work with your MacBook's TouchBar
If you're one of those Apple users who likes (or needs) to run Mac OS and Windows side by side, you'll probably be into Parallels Desktop 13. Especially if you have one of those MacBook Pros with a TouchBar. The latest version of the software makes certain apps on Microsoft's platform fully compatible with Apple's digital OLED strip, including all the major web browsers and the entire Office Suite. For instance, if you're running PowerPoint for Windows through Parallels, you can use the TouchBar to do things like bold or italicize the text on your slides. You can also customize functions based on which app you're using, just as you would on the Mac OS interface.
Microsoft Office for Mac gets Touch Bar support
Owners of the Macbook Pro with Touch Bar will be pleased to hear that Microsoft Office now works with the LCD strip Apple introduced with its latest laptop. Support for Touch Bar was announced alongside the new MacBook Pro at an Apple event last October, but Office support is now available to all users. The Touch Bar has special layouts ready for Word, Excel and PowerPoint, with Outlook and Skype additions coming soon. It's the latest high-profile app to get Touch Bar support and joins other massive apps like Adobe's Photoshop and Apple's own Final Cut Pro.
Microsoft puts AI to work in Office 365
Microsoft isn't just trying out artificial intelligence through bots and voice assistants -- it's going all-in. The crew in Redmond has revealed that Office 365 is wielding cloud-based AI to automate many tasks. Tap for Word and Outlook surface relevant content from your company to help finish a project, for instance. PowerPoint and Sway will have a QuickStarter feature that gives you curated outlines for given topics, saving you the trouble of creating the foundation of a presentation from scratch. Excel, meanwhile, will have a way to turn raw geographic data into Bing-based maps.
Microsoft Office iPhone users can doodle with their fingers
If you want to sketch or perhaps add your signature to a Word, Excel or PowerPoint document on iOS, the only option has been to use the iPad Pro's Pencil. Now, with the latest version of Office for the iPhone, you can draw directly on a document with no need for the stylus. Once you launch the app, you can "use your finger to write, draw and highlight with the tools in the new Draw tab," Microsoft says.
An 'XCOM' game in Excel beats playing with spreadsheets
Who said that spreadsheet apps had to be dry and boring? Certainly not Reddit user Crruzi. As a test of Visual Basic skills, the budding programmer wrote and released an XCOM game, EXLCOM, for Microsoft Excel. That's right -- the same software you use to create charts and graphs will also let you fight invading aliens. It's not what you'd call visually rich (just about everything on the map is represented by crude squares), but it's a surprisingly thorough recreation of the game's tactical battles, complete with unique character stats and terrain you can blow up. There's even a basic level editor.
Skype video and voice chats come to Office and Outlook on the web
You can already have Skype text chats while you're collaborating on Office Online docs or checking mail at Outlook.com. But wouldn't you rather talk to your colleagues and keep your hands free for, you know, work? You're about to get just that: Microsoft says it will bring Skype's video and voice chats to everyone using Office Online and Outlook.com, starting in November. On top of this, it's trotting out a Chrome extension that lets you quickly work with Office and Sway content in the browser, whether it's stored on your PC or in the cloud. All told, you don't have to worry quite so much about leaving Office's native apps behind.
Outlook plays nicely with Office for iOS, PayPal and Uber
Outlook is now a more powerful tool if you get a lot of work done on your phone... or just need a quick ride to the airport. To begin with, the iOS versions of Excel, PowerPoint and Word have received tight integration with Outlook. You can send a document you're working on as an Outlook email attachment, or edit someone else's attachment and return directly to Outlook with a new message ready and waiting. Also, some big, promised third-party Outlook web add-ons have gone live. You can set Uber ride notifications in your calendar, or put Evernote clippings into email. Boomerang will schedule both meetings and messages, while PayPal lets you pay a friend for last night's meal. Tie-ins with IFTTT, Wunderlist and Yelp are still "coming soon," but there's already plenty here to keep you busy.
Microsoft's document sharing service, Docs, is available to everyone
Sure, you can technically use OneDrive and other cloud services to share your Office files, but wouldn't it be nice if there were a dedicated site for that? Apparently, Microsoft agrees -- it quietly launched the public beta for Docs, a dedicated website (this was previously a Facebook-only service) that simplifies sharing your Office files, PDFs and Sway presentations. Think of it as a parallel to offerings like SlideShare or Scribd, where the focus is more on preserving the formatting of your work than anything else. You can comment on and download documents, but you'll have to turn to other tools to collaborate on that upcoming report. You only need a Microsoft account to give Docs a spin, so it won't hurt to sign up.
Microsoft Office 2016 Public Preview is now available
Office 2016 may still be getting the finish touches in Redmond, but Microsoft is opening up its productivity suite for public preview. If you'll recall, some apps were included in previous releases of the Windows 10 Technical Preview and made available for both IT folks and devs. As of today, though, regular folks can get an early look and offer feedback on all the new stuff -- including those redesigned universal apps. This means that you'll gain access to OneDrive attachments in Outlook, real-time co-authoring and retooled applications that learn how you work to lend a hand. Specifically in Excel, there are updated charts and graphs alongside one-click forecasting and more data analyzing tools. Looking to take it for a spin before the official release this fall? Even if you're not an Office 365 subscriber, you can nab a trial version right here.
Microsoft made an Android keyboard especially for Excel
Because we do spreadsheets on the move. Because we simply need numpad. Because we didn't buy a Surface. Microsoft has launched a new keyboard on Android, expressly made for Excel, with the main keyboard being truncated to make space for an unassumingly simple number pad, although there's no pluses or minuses. Alas, it's built for tablets, meaning it's incompatible with 'mere' 5-inch Android smartphones -- even if those devices, too, are aching to do expenses in transit.
Office for iOS can store your files in iCloud
Until you, if you'd wanted to use Microsoft Office on iOS, you'd have been stuck using Dropbox, OneDrive or SharePoint to store your files online. For some reason, Apple's home-grown storage service was a notable absentee, but thankfully one that has been now remedied. In the most recent update, Microsoft has enabled users to save their documents, spreadsheets and presentations to iCloud, so long as they're running iOS 8. Unfortunately, it's not as simple as with the other platforms, since you have to dig into the "More" section before you can select the option. Still, better than nothing, eh?
Universal Office apps for Windows 10 are now available for preview
Remember those universal Office apps Microsoft spent some time demoing a couple weeks back? Well, as of today, a trio of them are available as part of the Windows 10 Technical Preview. The three workhorses -- Word, Excel, and PowerPoint -- can be accessed on desktops, laptops and tablets running the preview version of Redmond's upcoming operating system, and in the weeks to come, phones will be able to join in. If you'll recall, the so-called universal apps are designed to wrangle touch gestures and properly equip mobile devices, insuring a consistent experience across your Windows-driven gadget arsenal. If you're itchin' to give 'em a go, you can request access right here.
Microsoft's Office preview for Android tablets is now available to everyone
If you've wanted to try the preview of Office for Android tablets during its brief history, you've had to request to join a Google+ group. That's not the hardest thing to do, but do you really want to participate in a special club (and in some cases, sign up for Google+) just to try some productivity apps a little early? As of now, you don't have to. Microsoft has posted the previews of Excel, PowerPoint and Word on Google Play, so you can download them like you would any other app. The only major requirements are that your slate runs at least Android 4.4 KitKat and that you're comfortable with less-than-polished software. You may not want to finish an important report with these releases, then, but it's now easy to experiment with the new Office suite before it's completely ready.
Dropbox makes it easy for workmates to edit Office files
In November, Dropbox users gained the ability to edit Office files from within inside the app, thanks to a partnership with Microsoft. Now, the company has launched its first set of Project Harmony tools so that groups of workmates can take advantage of that feature -- but only if they're Business users part of Dropbox's early access program. These features, which were first previewed when the company started letting users link their business and personal accounts, can make team projects, well, more bearable than usual.
Chartcube turns spreadsheets into stories and conversations
Spreadsheets are invaluable tools for sharing, explaining, and quantifying information, but they're a pain to present to other people. If you want to share data from an Excel document during a presentation, you usually have to cut and paste charts from Excel into Powerpoint, which limits exactly which data points you can show. Chartcube, a startup from former execs from Evernote and eBay, has a better way. Chartcube takes the data from your Excel worksheets, and creates an easily navigable "cube" on your iPad that shows different combinations of charts from the data with simple swipes of your finger. The end result is powerful and fun to use, making telling the story of your data a breeze. Swiping left or right allows you to flip through your various metrics. Swiping up or down flips through those metrics' grouping. The app also allows you to switch between how your data is summarized, including Sum, Count, and Average. Cubes can be shared with other users, who can add comments, questions, and notes. Information can be quickly imported via the Mail app or integration with Dropbox, and the app comes with AirPlay support for giving public presentations or simply viewing your data on a larger screen. Currently Chartcube is only available for iPad, but iPhone and Android versions are on their way within the next 12 months. Chartcube plans on using the same freemium model that has proven successful for businesses like Evernote, with enterprise options in the pipeline for the future. As for now, the company says they're simply focused on seeing how people respond to the app. Having used Chartcube for a few weeks now, the app's strengths are clear after a few minutes of use. Sorting data for presentations is easy, allowing you to answer any questions someone might have about your data with a clear visual representation without having to create a specific chart just for them. The cube already has that chart, you just have to learn how to find it. The learning curve isn't steep, but we recommend using the included Excel document as a tutorial a few times before you try Chartcube in a business meeting. If you regularly use spreadsheets during meetings, Chartcube may just become your next Evernote, an app you didn't know you needed until it was there. You can see a video of Chartcube in action below. It is currently available for free in the iTunes Store.
