The Office Mobile apps have been updated today, March 16, 2016, and with the latest update comes a slew of new features. Unlike the previous handful changelog-less and feature deprived releases that have hit the Windows Store, today’s update brings some much-needed functionality to Office users on the go.
While there is no official Office Mobile Update page to turn to for today’s updates, a quick search within the apps reveal:
Word Mobile
Put your picture in the right spot
- Tap and drag to move it
- Read docs like an e-book (or for mobile) A view made for smaller screens
- Tap the read icon and then swipe through the pages
- (For Mobile) Tap for the easy-to-see view. Tap again for the original view. Edit in either
Excel Mobile
Drag to move columns
- Tap and hold the column header to move cells instantly
- Add rows and column with a tap
- Tap column or row headers to insert a new set of cells
PowerPoint Mobile
Highlight as you present
- Tap and hold to use the laser pointer. Tap the pen icon to sketch an idea
- Notes are a tap away
- Your notes open right next to your slide. Tap again to go back to your slide
Unfortunately, it looks like OneNote got left out of the update party.
While the new features are welcome addition to any on-the-go Office user, there has been a bit of confusion about today’s update. The updates listed above seem to be for both users on Insider and non-Insider builds. However, iOS users and a handful of Redstone participants are receiving slightly different feature sets. Right now, it is unclear why the various versions of the updates are being seen. (Author’s note: anecdotally speaking, I’ve run the updates on both a Windows Insider Preview build 10586.164 on mobile, and build 14279.rs1 and gotten the above updates on both.)
Let us know in the comment sections below if you’re witnessing the same update notes or something entirely different.
