Microsoft has rolled out a nice update to the Microsoft Office suite of apps for Android. Excel, PowerPoint and Word for Android have all been updated to build 16.0.7301.1013 for those keeping score at home and bring with it some improvements around file sharing and collaboration. In fact, in the release notes for each of the apps, Microsoft points out that collaboration is now “front and center” for each of the apps. So what does that mean? It means that you can now easily and quickly find documents that have been shared with you in the new “Shared with me” section of the menu. Here you can see files others have shared with you from their PC, Mac, iOS device or Office online when they used the “invite people” option on a document. It is a faster way of finding those files without having to search through the app to find that document. This collaboration also means that you can quickly share a document and have the ability to see who is working on it in the Android apps.
With this new addition to the Microsoft Office apps, the company has leveled the playing field across all platforms. The features you have on one are the same that you have on another. They have been working on doing this for some time now and the benefits of the work, which we users get the most of, are starting to pay off.
Improved Collaboration in Microsoft Office
As for other changes, there are a few, especially in PowerPoint
Word
- Collaboration – front and center: Quickly share your document, and see who’s working on it.
- Shared with me: Find and open files others have recently shared with you.
Excel
- Collaboration – front and center: Quickly share your document, and see who’s working on it.
- Shared with me: Find and open files others have recently shared with you.
- Improved copy and paste: Move content between Office applications. We’ll make sure it looks great.
PowerPoint
- Collaboration – front and center: Quickly share your document, and see who’s working on it.
- Shared with me: Find and open files others have recently shared with you.
- Fresh new look: A better experience for reading presentations on your phone. Drag and drop to reorder slides and double-tap to edit.
- Find: Use the Find icon on the ribbon to search for any text in your presentation.
All-in-all, a solid update for the apps. The updates are rolling into the Google Play Store now and you should see the OTA updates for all three apps over the course of the next few days or so. Remember, all of the Microsoft Office apps on Android are free and you get the full unlocked experience with them when you have an Office 365 account. Office for 1 PC or Mac and the mobile apps is $52.99 while the Home version for 5 PCs or Macs and the mobile apps is $87.94.
