Microsoft has linked all three programs to SkyDrive, its online storage service. And they allow you to edit documents created on your desktop without compromising the formatting. The Excel app has a full suite of formulas available and can, just like the desktop version, automatically create charts based on your data. In Word, for example, users can insert footnotes, page numbers, tables and pictures and can view, accept or delete revisions made in other versions of the program. The casual Office user probably won’t miss much because Microsoft has built into the program a lot of features. Other options are either hidden within buttons on the tool bar or aren’t present. Microsoft has streamlined the number of options users can see and easily access, highlighting only the most-popular ones - such as allowing users to make their text bold or insert bullet points in Word, or giving users the option to format their numbers in Excel. Microsoft has simplified the interface of the Office apps and enlarged the buttons and menu options, making them easier to tap with a finger. One of the great things about this version of Office is that it’s the first to be designed with tablets and touch interaction in mind. This spring, Microsoft released Office - or rather core Office programs Word, Excel and PowerPoint - for Apple’s tablet. But they weren’t the real Word or Excel and often didn’t support some of the features or formatting of those programs. You could find other productivity apps for the iPad, including some that would allow you to open or even edit Word and Excel documents. Until recently, though, the iPad has had one notable shortcoming: You couldn’t run Microsoft’s Office programs on it because Microsoft hadn’t released them for it. Many people use their iPads to take pictures, edit documents and do other business activities. When Apple released the iPad, many, including yours truly, saw it as a device for watching movies, playing games and surfing the Web rather than creating content.īut it’s clear now that was too narrow a view.

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