According to a recent post on The Verge, details of Microsoft’s Technical Preview version of Office 15 have been revealed. The next-gen office suite has lots to offer, with a host of new and improved features in each of the core applications of Office 15. New features such as Touch and Reading Mode and also Weather Bar feature are incorporated in Outlook 15. Following are the improvements in the new Microsoft Office 15:
Word 15
In order to improve the reading experience in its word processor application, Microsoft has included a new Read Mode that removes distractions from the user interface, and provides for an easy reading experience with text that aligns automatically into columns to fit the screen. The Read Mode also works well with a Resume Reading function that automatically bookmarks the last position in a document.
Microsoft has also included two new features to Word 15— Object Zoom, Expand and Collapse. With Object Zoom users can zoom in on pictures and objects by simply double clicking on them, filling the screen with tables, charts, and images. Whereas, Expand and Collapse will allow user a one-click option to hide or reveal paragraphs under their headings.In addition to this, there is a Touch Mode feature for Word 15 which lets users scroll through documents with touch, also enlarging the ribbon along the way.
Excel 15
With Excel 15 again, Microsoft is planning to make it more efficient and convenient for the users who work with large data sets. With Quick Analysis Lens, users can quickly access ways to visually represent data, and with the use of recommended charts and Pivot Tables, visualize information based on data patterns. Another feature named Flash Fill, simplifies the reformatting and rearrangement of data in an Excel spreadsheet. Excel 15′s Touch Mode feature is designed to let users browse through charts, graphs, and tables on tablet devices just by their touch.
PowerPoint 15
In order to improve the standard of presentation in the corporate world, Microsoft is planning to give users the functionality to do so by making the aspect ratio of PowerPoint presentations 16:9 by default in PowerPoint 15. This will allow PowerPoint 15 users to create professional-looking designs and presentations.PowerPoint 15′s new touch mode features will also let presenters move through slides and presentations using a touch screen or tablet PC.
Outlook 15
With Outlook 15, Microsoft aims to bring in some new features to improve user experience. Thus, a new Peeks feature which lets users see their schedule, view details about people they’re emailing, and review tasks all within the same screen.Also, a new Weather Bar feature will allow users to check the weather before accepting meeting invites or planning new meetings.
OneNote 15
In addition to preparing a Metro style version of OneNote for Windows 8 users,Microsoft is also bringing some new features to the desktop version of OneNote. Auto-updating file views let OneNote 15 users see content previews from embedded Excel and Visio files, including any updates made. Tables support in OneNote has been improved, allowing users to sort, add headers, and convert a OneNote table into an attached spreadsheet. The Touch Mode feature of OneNote 15 lets tablet users take advantage of their fingers and hands to move through pages and notes without a keyboard.
In totality a number of improvements and new features are incorporated in Office 15, and Microsoft is only at the beginning of testing some of these externally. However, Microsoft isn’t revealing any of the planned features for Office 15 just yet, but the features that have been detailed in this post are part of its key testing phase for the initial Technical Preview, which makes waiting for the beta to be released in summer worth while waiting.
