Microsoft’s collection of Office apps for Android devices took their sweet time to reach the platform, but once they arrived (having left beta status last Summer) they have steadily been getting better for the user with consistent improvements and new feature additions to make them more usable and more similar to their PC version counterparts. While many users will have other alternatives to Microsoft’s offerings, if Word, Powerpoint, and Excel are mainstays of your productivity, the latest updates to all three applications are introducing a handful of features and changes that should make using them not only more enjoyable but also more functional and efficient compared to previous versions.
If you’ve used any of the Office apps on PC before, then you may already be familiar with the auto-save functionality which periodically saves your content so you don’t lose it if you accidentally shut down a browser tab or close out the open window for the app. It’s quite the useful feature that has surely saved important work for more than a few individuals. In today’s update, Microsoft is introducing auto-save to Word, Powerpoint, and Excel for Android. In addition to the new auto-save functionality, Microsoft also added in the ability for more than one user to collaborate on Word documents and Powerpoint presentations, and edits that are made by anyone who is collaborating are made in real-time so everyone can see the changes as they happen.
Another feature which was introduced with these updates today is version history, which allows users to restore their work from a previously saved version of the document or file. Microsoft has made this functionality available across all three apps so no matter which one you work with more the ability to revert back to an older file will still be there. Microsoft has also added in a couple of notable changes that are specific to Excel and Powerpoint. Users of Excel will now be able to fill up a collection of cells within the spreadsheet simply by dragging on the new fill handles that are included, and for Powerpoint users, Microsoft has added the ability insert images into presentations directly from within the app with the new camera option. Powerpoint also now has the ability to give users design ideas for slides just by adding a picture. All three app updates should already be live whether you currently use the apps or not.