Software giant Microsoft on Thursday issued a set of updates adding several new features to its Office mobile apps on the iOS platform. For starters, the refreshed editions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint for the iPhone and iPad can finally open and view protected documents.
Next, users can now easily invite others to collaborate on documents and grant permissions from within the apps, another important productivity boost.
Furthermore, Office apps now integrate with Outlook.
As a result, you can now send a document as an attachment in Outlook and even edit a document attached to or linked from an Outlook email message.
Lastly, the refreshed apps introduced bi-direction text editing and complex script for Arabic, Hebrew and Thai.
Other recent improvements in mobile Office apps include additional templates in Word, all-new add-ins for Word and Excel on iPads, the ability to save Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations to iCloud and other online storage services on iOS 8 devices and the ability to change slide layout in PowerPoint and insert pictures and videos from the camera right into your presentations.
Word, Excel and PowerPoint 1.11 changelog:
- Bi-directional and complex script languages—Now supports bi-directional text editing and complex script for Arabic, Hebrew, and Thai.
- View protected documents—Open and view documents that have access permissions applied to them.
- Easier sharing—Invite people to edit a document and grant them permissions, all from within the app.
- Integration with Outlook—Send a document as an attachment in Outlook. Or directly edit a document attached to or linked from an Outlook email message.
The Office apps support any iPhone, iPod touch or iPad with iOS 7.1 or later. The apps are available at no charge, but more complex editing features require one of the Office 365 subscriptions provided within the app as In-App Purchases.
Download Word, Excel and PowerPoint free of charge from the App Store.