Microsoft, Box co-develop Windows 10 app with deep Office ties

One of the updates that Microsoft shipped on this month’s Patch Tuesday is causing trouble on a number of computers and probably the only good news is that Windows 10 seems to be on the safe side for now. In November of 2014, Dropbox and Microsoft formed a partnership to deliver a Dropbox app to Android and iOS tablets and phones, then extended it to Office Online in April.

You can also use the new app to send and share links to specific files, so you won’t have to deal with large email attachments.

Box worked with Microsoft not only to make the the app better for users, but also to make it easier to maintain the look and feel of a Box experience across devices. It will allow previewing Office content easily including a variety of file types such as Office files, PDFs, images and more.

Box fills the app hole left by the rival Dropbox partnership. It’s integrated into the Windows file picker, so any “Open” dialogue can be used on stuff stored in Box.

Both services compete with Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud. With a few 110 million consumer devices and more than eight million business devices running the latest version of Windows since it launched this summer, the OS is proving to be a solid anchor for Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella’s plan to remake the tech giant into a mobile- and cloud-first enterprise force. Microsoft made a controversial decision recently when it reversed its decision to offer unlimited storage. Windows 10 Mobile is now available as part of a public beta for Windows Insiders.

When using the new Box for Windows 10 app, users can work in Microsoft Office and have all changes saved directly back to Box without leaving Office. Whether apps like those and Box’s new app will be enough to kick-start the development ecosystem around the Windows Store, however, remains to be seen.