Microsoft teases helpful new features for Office on iOS

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Microsoft Office
Here it comes!
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft is planning new improvements for Office on iOS that will rollout this month.

The updates, which will be available to Office Insiders first, will improve collaborative working, make it easier to read documents on smaller screens, and more.

Microsoft strives to ensure its mobile Office apps are just as powerful as their desktop counterparts. You can get real work done on the go in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for iOS, and they get even greater with every update. Here’s what’s coming in March.

Microsoft teases March updates for Office

The new version of Excel, update 2.11, will make collaborative working easier by showing users where others are working inside the same spreadsheet. You will also be able to see what content has been selected by another user while they work.

In Word, you can finally have your documents read aloud. Sit back, kick your feet up, and have your latest report read to you while you listen out for errors or improvements that need to be made. Word will even highlight text as it goes along so you can keep track.

Word is also getting a “Mobile View” toggle. When activated, it makes the mobile view the default so that documents better fit your display and are easier to read. This is particularly useful on smaller screens, like on your iPhone.

In PowerPoint, there’s a new Segment Eraser tool, which lets you remove excess ink, right up to the nearest line, and “give your content the polish it deserves.”

Finally, it Outlook, Microsoft is adding more RSVP options. “We heard you and are bringing more ways to respond to meeting invites on your phone or pad,” the company explains. “You can now choose to edit your response and include a comment, or elect to not send a response.”

Microsoft doesn’t say exactly when its new Office updates will rollout, but they are scheduled for a March release. Office Insiders will get to enjoy them first, and once any teething troubles are fixed, they will be made available to all.

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