Microsoft Word and Excel to get these new enhancements

Word feature called designer, can check for formatting and style issues in a document and offer solutions that can be easily applied. Users can also choose from multiple design themes, to quickly transform their documents.

April 16, 2021 06:19 pm | Updated 06:38 pm IST

Word users can now learn while writing, by clicking on a lightbulb icon to get short learning tips. | Picture by special arrangement.

Word users can now learn while writing, by clicking on a lightbulb icon to get short learning tips. | Picture by special arrangement.

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Microsoft has added new features in Word, Excel and OneDrive, to improve productivity and user experience. The software giant’s popular writing application now offers a text prediction feature. It can help users with quick predictions and save time while writing. In addition, using the plagiarism check feature, users can check a document and get suggestions for proper citing.

Text prediction and plagiarism check features are available in Word for web for Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers. Text prediction, is also available for Outlook users on the web, Android, and iOS, according to a Microsoft blog post.

Also Read | Microsoft buys AI speech firm Nuance for $19.7 billion

Word users can now learn while writing, by clicking on a lightbulb icon to get short learning tips. The feature is said to help people better grasp the concepts of grammar and style. It will be available soon in Microsoft Editor in Word for web to anyone with a free Microsoft account, the software firm noted.

Additionally, while checking spelling and grammar, using the Microsoft Editor Browser extension for Edge and Chrome, users can select up to three languages at once. The extension now supports additional websites, such as LinkedIn, Gmail, WordPress, and Quip, with support for Google Docs coming soon, the Redmond-based company said.

Also Read | Microsoft targets 50,000 jobs with LinkedIn ‘re-skilling’ effort

Another Word feature called designer, can check for formatting and style issues in a document and offer solutions that can be easily applied. Users can also choose from multiple design themes, to quickly transform their documents. According to Microsoft, the tool can help anyone create documents with a polished, professional, and consistent look and feel.

Designer is being rolled out in Word for web as a limited preview for anyone with a Microsoft account and as a benefit to Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers, it noted.

Microsoft had introduced Money in Excel last year. It is now adding cash flow insights, and an option to manually input transactions and account balances directly into Money in Excel.

Also Read | Microsoft announces new features for Office 365 mobile apps to boost productivity

Soon, Microsoft 365 Personal and Family subscribers will also have access to over 100 data types powered by Wolfram, in Excel for Windows, macOS, and web, enabling them to import and refresh data directly into Excel, according to the company.

For iPhone users, Microsoft To Do now offers three additional types of widgets – Your Tasks, My Day, and Add Task, to help them manage their daily tasks. In addition, iPhone users can now store, playback and share Live Photos using the OneDrive iOS app.

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