Microsoft Office in a world of multiple devices

However, as Computer World indicates, Office 2016 now has some competition.

The Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps are universal and designed for both the iPhone/iPod touch and iPad/iPad mini.

Already available across Windows, Android and iOS devices, the introduction of a new version for OS X – the first in five years – brings a wealth of new features and a modern look and feel. According to the Office team, “It works the way you expect, with the familiar ribbon interface and powerful task panes”. No more looking for the latest version of a file in email.

Cloud-connected. Like Office on the PC, Office 2016 for Mac lets you connect with the documents you’ve created and edited on other PCs and devices and stored in cloud storage services like OneDrive. Office for Mac 2016 has adopted many elements previously found in the Windows version of Office and the mobile Office apps for better cross-platform familiarity.

If you’re a student, you may get Office 2016 for Mac for free or at a substantial discount. “The days of waiting years for new software – those days are over”, he added.

What’s new in Microsoft Office 2016 for Mac? Following is a brief description of each Office 2016 app, so that prospective users know what their getting into. Word for Mac has a new Design tab that sticks formatting and customization options in a single place. The multi-author experience has been modified to work just as the user wants it to.

For instance, you can open only one document at a time, making cutting and pasting between documents cumbersome. There’s even co-authoring support to allow several people to simultaneously edit a document.

Outlook is one of the reasons why I use Parallels and Windows 7 and will continue do that. The new Outlook for Mac has push mail support so your inbox is always up-to-date. Animations, navigation, and user flow have been redone within the new Office Universal Apps.

The new version of the popular slideshow software includes improvements to the Presenter view which now shows current slide, next slide, speaker notes, and a timer. For presentations, the Mac gets sophisticated transitions and other animations previously restricted to Windows. That program led to the company receiving over 100,000 pieces of feedback, it says, and over the course of the test period, Microsoft has updated the software seven times to improve its performance and stability. Everyone else will need to wait until September when it will go on sale as a standalone purchase.