Gadget of the Month

BILL & PHIL’S GADGET OF THE MONTH Microsoft Office App for iPad | Bill Ramsey & Phillip Hampton

“Here we go again,” said Phil. “Bill wants us to write another iPad article.” “Haven’t we all had enough already?” Bill says, “No, this is a game changer.”

As all of you must know by now, Bill keeps arguing that he can use his iPad Pro to handle all his work. Phil views the device with disdain and calls it a “toy.” But Bill may be on to something now, with Microsoft’s recent release of a single, unified Microsoft Office app.

Previously, the best Office experience on an iPad was using the online versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint via a browser. Now, however, Microsoft has released a single, unified app, designed especially for the iPad. And, the single, unified app gives you access to full-blown versions of Outlook, OneDrive, Word, Excel, OneNote, PowerPoint, Teams, Visio, and more. Bill is excited, and is telling Phil, “I told you so.”

The app is free to download, but to access all the features, you need to have an Office 365 license or get a subscription (starting at $6.99 per month). All the programs have been optimized for use on an iPad, especially those models that are compatible with a mouse or trackpad. It also allows you to easily create PDFs from images or Office documents, sign documents or mark them up with your Apple Pencil, convert images to text, translate documents into another language, and collaborate by editing an Office document simultaneously with others.

The “Home” page of the app features documents you have recently opened or edited in one tab and documents shared with you by others in another tab. On that same Home page, you can click on the “folder” icon and get access to all your OneDrive files, as well as the files on the iPad and the documents accessed via the iPad “Files” app. You can easily start a new document and choose to begin using several pre-existing templates or templates you have created. You can also access a complete list of all the Office apps you have installed on the Home page—“one stop shopping.”

Other features that Bill really likes are the ability to dictate directly into Word, and integration with Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and iCloud. Bill uses the Outline feature in Word a lot, and the unified app makes it easy to convert an outline into a PowerPoint presentation.

Another useful feature added to the app is the “Actions’ screen. From that interface, you can transfer files between your phone and computer (if you have an iPhone), convert an image to text or to a table, sign a PDF, scan a picture to a PDF, convert a document to PDF, or convert a PDF to a Word document. All of these “actions” have been pre-programmed. You can also scan a QR Code, create forms for several uses, and even rehearse a PowerPoint presentation with a “Presenter Coach.”

All these additional features were made possible by the changes made in iOS 13.0 or later. Of course, iOS 13.0 was a “love thing” for Bill because it provided mouse support for the iPad. This further reinforced Bill’s claim that an iPad is good for work as well as play. “Business in front, Party in the back,” maybe?

The unified app was only released in February, so Bill is still experimenting with all the features. He is determined to convince Phil that his iPad is truly a device for work (as well as play). Bill claims that Phil’s beloved Microsoft has acknowledged the usefulness of an iPad as a business work device and not just a way to play Solitaire without shuffling cards.

Phil remains skeptical but intrigued. n

See you next month,

Bill & Phil

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