Microsoft announced Monday that the latest version of the Office Web Apps, previously available in preview form, are now live on SkyDrive and Outlook.com. The latest shipping version of the Office Web Apps includes updates in response to user feedback as well as optimizations for Windows 8, Internet Explorer 10 and iOS 6.
“Thanks to all 750,000 of you who have helped put the Office Web Apps Preview through its paces since it went live in July,” Microsoft’s Amanda Lefebvre writes in a post to the Office Web Apps blog. “This scale of use and thousands of pieces of feedback prior to general availability has helped us tweak and improve the quality of the latest Office Web Apps update.”
According to Microsoft, this Office Web Apps update includes the following improvements:
Word Web App features new support for viewing and adding comments, and the ability to format and design documents right from a browser with many features from desktop Word, including new page layout tools, picture tools and word count.
Excel Web App offers key desktop Excel features like merge cells, context menus, auto-fit columns, formula assistance, fill handle and AutoSum. It supports charts, including 3D. And you can now print right from the browser and rename and add sheets.
PowerPoint Web App now supports audio and video playback, even from a tablet or smart phone. You can insert images, apply transitions and animations, or add a pre-designed theme. And it adds new co-authoring and comment support.
OneNote Web App now supports searching a page or within a section, ink viewing, click-to-type anywhere for adding notes, pictures or tags. And it lets you share notes a URL, making them viewable on a smart phone, PC or tablet browser.
For more info on the Office Web Apps update, check out Microsoft’s post from July, The new Office Web Apps. You can use the new version by signing into SkyDrive.