Office For iPad: 10 Tips
Whether you're a paying subscriber or just sampling the free version, here's how to get the most out of Microsoft Office on your iPad.
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In its brief, six-month existence, Office for iPad has quickly become one of the most popular downloads in Apple's App Store. As of July, the touch-oriented version of Microsoft's ubiquitous productivity software had already registered more than 35 million downloads.
It's unclear exactly what impact all of that downloading is having on Microsoft's bottom line, of course. The reason? Those download numbers include the "free" versions of Office for iPad apps -- Word, Excel, and PowerPoint -- that users can download without paying for an Office 365 subscription.
The free apps are file viewers, essentially, with a few added perks. In order to get a fully functioning Office for iPad, one that lets you create and edit documents as well, you have to pay an Office 365 subscription starting at $7 a month.
Enterprises running Microsoft Office might have the most to gain from the iPad version, particularly if they have growing numbers of iPad-toting workers. But given its relatively high price, the suite's appeal to consumers and small business is less clear. The App Store has many worthy alternatives to Office, including Google's Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps, which might lack Office for iPad's power and elegance, but are free to use. And Apple's Pages, Numbers, and Keynote apps -- which together make up the iWork suite -- come free with new iOS devices, or cost just $10 apiece in the App Store.
As a component of Microsoft's Office 365 strategy, Office for iPad is targeted mostly at business users, including small and mid-size shops. On Oct. 2, Microsoft announced the availability of new Office 365 subscription plans, including one that allows full access to the desktop, tablet (iPad and Windows), smartphone, and online versions of Office, all for $8.25 per user a month.
By enabling business users to create and collaboratively edit documents across a variety of mobile and desktop devices, Office might yet stay relevant in a world where bloated and pricey productivity suites are growing less significant.
Reviewers have praised Office for iPad for its usability and touch-friendly design, while acknowledging that the iPad version is a scaled-down edition of the Windows and Mac versions.
Microsoft has been issuing regular Office for iPad updates, adding printing capabilities and other key features that were missing at launch. Click through our slideshow for tips on how to make the most of these new features.
One of iOS 8's most welcome new features is the ability to swap out Apple's stock keyboard with a third-party option -- a boon for Office for iPad users seeking alternative ways to enter data. One exotic choice is the free MyScript Stack, which uses handwritten input rather than a keyboard. Swype ($0.99), a popular import from the Android world, lets you form words by dragging a finger across the keyboard. Because Swype's predictive engine learns as you type -- and lets you add or remove words from your personal dictionary -- its accuracy improves over time.
OneNote, Office's free note-taking app, lets you use the iPad as a portable scanner. Other apps offer this feature, including popular choices such as The Grizzly Labs' Genius Scan and Readdle's Scanner Pro. But for Office for iPad users, OneNote's Office Lens scanning tool is probably the easiest way to snap a quick photo of a document or whiteboard, crop the image, and add it to a notebook.
To get started, tap the page in your OneNote notebook to activate the cursor. Tap the "INSERT" tab, then "Camera," and snap the desired image. Office Lens automatically crops the picture, or you can drag the circles bordering the image to do it yourself. Finally, tap the check mark icon to add the image to your note.
(Sources: Microsoft and Investintech.com)
Office for iPad lets you export documents as PDF files, a much-requested featured added in July with the release of version 1.1. (The process might not be ideal, but it's better than nothing.) To send a PDF, tap the Share icon in the upper right corner, and then select "Email as attachment" and "Send PDF." Here's hoping future versions of Office for iPad will offer more PDF-export options, such as the ability to save the file directly on the tablet rather than having to email it to yourself.
The iPad is quite handy for PowerPoint slideshows. You can navigate between slides with a single screen swipe. And when mirroring an iPad screen to a projector or large monitor, PowerPoint's laser pointer and ink pen are great tools for drawing the audience's attention to specific things on the slide. To access the laser pointer, simply tap and hold the screen. To use the ink pen to mark up or annotate a slideshow, tap the pen icon (top-right corner) and use your finger to draw on the slide.
Hate using a screen keyboard? Don't have a physical keyboard? Voice dictation is an effective, hands-free alternative to typing in Word. It works when Siri is off, too, although you will need an active WiFi or cellular connection. To get started, tap the microphone icon at the bottom of the screen keyboard. Speak clearly and enunciate, but don't overdo it. (A little trial and error helps.) Voice dictation on the iPad is generally quite accurate, although you will need to proof your document to catch the occasional error, such as when "an inaccuracy" is transcribed as "and in accuracy." That sort of thing.
One major drawback of using Excel on an iPad: The tablet's small screen size (9.7 inches or 7.9 inches) presents a challenge when working with large worksheets. The good news: It's easy to "freeze" rows and columns, forcing them to stay on screen as you scroll through a spreadsheet. This is handy when comparing key data with information buried deep in the file, perhaps dozens of columns and rows from the top. Tap to the right or below the column(s) or row(s) you want to freeze. Next, tap "VIEW," select "Freeze Panes," and choose whether to freeze specific panes in a worksheet, the top row, or the first column.
The original version of PowerPoint for iPad lacked several essentials, such as the ability to work with audio and video clips. That changed last summer, when the app gained the power to play embedded video and audio, and also gave users the ability to insert video clips from their iPads. Serious limitations remain, however. Unlike its desktop siblings, PowerPoint for iPad still can't embed video directly from online sources (e.g., YouTube), nor can it embed audio.
The original version of PowerPoint for iPad lacked several essentials, such as the ability to work with audio and video clips. That changed last summer, when the app gained the power to play embedded video and audio, and also gave users the ability to insert video clips from their iPads. Serious limitations remain, however. Unlike its desktop siblings, PowerPoint for iPad still can't embed video directly from online sources (e.g., YouTube), nor can it embed audio.
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