The New Microsoft Office ( MS Office 2013) is available wherever you are, on whatever device you’re using at the time, and with full touch-screen support, the entire suite has been reinvented to work with Windows 8-driven tablets, regular keyboard-and-mouse desktop setups, and even smartphones. It has a completely reinvented interface.
Here is a list of 10 things that you should know about MS Office 2013:
All in the Cloud:
Microsoft’s cloud storage SkyDrive has its presence from a long time but it’s only now that SkyDrive has to play a major role to play in company’s plans. The New Microsoft Office 2013 enhances its functionality by storing all your Office Docs in SkyDrive by default. This will not only save your disk space but will also let you access the documents from any location using a remotely located device. Named Office 365, you will need to subscribe for this service. The price has still not been announced yet but is expected to come out by this fall.
Touch and Stylus:
Microsoft has taken a big leap forward by embracing the touch and stylus modes beyond the usual mouse and keyboards. Though, multi-touch laptops won’t be a primary choice for businesses, but touch is being widely accepted in the Smartphone and Tablet market. The pen, much like the one used in Galaxy Note, is also making a comeback. The features that Office 2013 is providing will resemble the ones you are much used to like swiping your fingers across to turn the page, pinching in and out to zoom and read the documents etc. The most attractive feature though is conversion of your handwritten emails into text!
The ‘Metro’:
Microsoft, in its launch of the Office 2013 conform its ‘Metro’ look that is persistent through software developers mobile apps.One more remarkable change that is worth noticing is the flatness of the ribbon in MS Office 2013 when compared to MS Office 2010.
Editing PDF:
Now you can edit your PDF documents in MS Word, a feature Microsoft has incorporated in its new launch keeping in mind the growing popularity of Adobe’s PDF format. The earlier versions did not allow you to edit PDF formats in Word and this was a major turn off as most of the documents available on the internet now come as a PDF document. Also, you can now integrate videos from YouTube and Facebook in your Word documents that can be viewed by other users while reading the file.
Excel 2013:
Microsoft has launched Excel nearly three decades ago to facilitate all the major number-crunchers and the new release Office 2013 lets Excel do what it does best without adding any drastic updates. But still, Excel 2013 offers some new templates for budgets, calendar, reports, and forms. The Flash Fill feature is also very useful as it recognizes your data and fills in the details accordingly.
Powerful PowerPoint:
As in the earlier versions where the initial page guided you to the steps to build a presentation, the newer version, has an updated Start screen that consists of new color templates and design themes. The Presenter now makes it easier for you to zoom in a part of any image, chart or graph on which you need to emphasize. The Navigation Guide lets you switch slides from a grid that is hidden from the audience. The Collaboration tools are the most important upgrade in the new PowerPoint that allows various business colleagues to work on creating one presentation that is saved in Microsoft’s SkyDrive or SharePoint.
Note-Taking:
Microsoft’s new note taking app, OneNote, is well-suited to notebooks, tablets and the added advantage Office 2013 has is its Metro-Style user interface. It automatically saves your note on SkyDrive making your idea readily available even on a remote location. It also lets you grab screens and pull them to your notebooks, a feature that might prove to be compelling to many business users who opt for Stylus based Windows RT and Windows 8 based tablets.
Skype Integration:
Microsoft Office 2013 makes it easier for you to import your Skype contacts in Microsoft enterprise-oriented Lync communication platform for calling and instant messaging. Office subscribers will be getting 60 minutes of international calls each month.
Office 2013 ‘Social’ Suite:
The new Office suite gives further direction to Microsoft’s attempt to target the large number of Enterprise users. Yammer’s acquisition last month was tentative yet the integration of the safe and secure social platform mainly used to network Enterprise users has made Microsoft’s intentions to outshine in the enterprise networking platform. The new suite is loaded with Skype and Yammer making it an obvious choice for all socially committed enterprise users. Office 2013’s People tool will now provide you detailed information about your contacts, their Facebook and LinkedIn updates and everything else you need to know about them.
Big Screen Bonanza:
The availability of big screen might not be an essential feature of Office 2013, but with its release Microsoft is all set to transform the way we work. For instance, in a classroom, the lecturer can use OneNote app to jot down lecture notes on a big screen such as Perceptive Pixel’s 82-inch monster using Stylus and the students can later download the notes in their tablets using SkyDrive. This will transform the conventional way of teaching making the profession more technology oriented.
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