Dropbox rolling out ability to edit Microsoft Office documents

Dropbox for iOS (Office editing)

Following Microsoft-issued updates to itsWord, Excel and PowerPoint mobile apps for iOS with native Dropbox integration, the popular cloud storage startup on Tuesday announced it is adding the ability to edit Microsoft Office documents to its free iOS client.

That’s right, both iOS and Android users can take advantage of the newly refreshed Dropbox mobile client with Microsoft Office integration to work on the Office files stored in your Dropbox even when you’re on the go.

In addition to editing your Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents from the Dropbox app, you can also access them directly from Microsoft’s mobile Office apps.

You will need to update a copy of the Dropbox app on your iPhone or iPad to the latest version in order to take advantage of native Office editing.  The feature requires link your Dropbox account directly to the Word, Excel and PowerPoint iOS apps.

To get started, just open any Office document, spreadsheet, or presentation in your Dropbox and hit the new Edit icon, as show above. If you don’t have Word, Excel and PowerPoint installed on your device, tapping the Edit button will put up a prompt and take you directly to the App Store.

Once finished editing, tap the back arrow in your mobile Office app to save the document. You’ll be then automatically returned to your Dropbox to see your changes saved back to Dropbox automatically.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that Dropbox integration in mobile Office apps and the new Office support in Dropbox provides “our shared customers with flexible tools that put them at the center for the way they live and work today.”

Editing files within a Dropbox for Business account requires one of the following Office 365 accounts: Business, Business Premium, ProPlus, E3 or E4.

The update to the iOS app will be slowly rolling out in the coming weeks in order to guarantee the best experience for all Dropbox users. “We’ll have it available for everyone as soon as we can,” noted Dropbox in a support document outlining Office integration.

Dropbox is available at no cost in the App Store.

[Dropbox Blog]