Following after the company's surprise appearance during the launch of the
iPad Pro in yesterday's Apple special event, Microsoft has revealed more information of what to expect from its Office apps when iOS 9 ships. Multitasking, inking, extended wireless keyboard support and intelligent search functions have been outlined in an official
blog post, alongside some updates that will affect the Apple Watch when watchOS 2 is released.
Using Slide Over and Split View, two Office apps can run and be accessed at the same time, letting uses copy data from one to the other. When running the
Outlook app, tapping an attached Word,
Excel, or
PowerPoint file will open the corresponding app in Split View, letting the iPad show the attached file next to the email. After edits are made to the attached file, tapping the back button will create a new message in Outlook with the file attached, ready to send back or to another person.
Another example of how the multitasking tools can help involve presentations. When using PowerPoint with an external display or projector, the Presenter View will still be visible just on the iPad, with
OneNote in Split View able to display notes on the presentation to the speaker.
For the iPad Pro, Microsoft is adding inking to the Office apps, including pens, highlighters, thickness controls, and a color wheel that can be used with the Apple Pencil. The stylus can be used to make notes on top of existing Word documents, and can also be used with the shape recognition function in PowerPoint to quickly create graphics for slides.
The Intelligent Search function will now include results from OneNote notes and Outlook email messages, including messages with rights management protection, and OneNotes with handwritten or scanned content. Users of wireless keyboards with an iPad will be able to see all shortcuts by tapping the Command key for a quick overview.
Lastly, watchOS 2 will allow Microsoft to add data from apps as Complications. Outlook can show essential details about upcoming appointments and incoming mail, with Time Travel allowing the Digital Crown to be used to check future Outlook calendar appointments.
Microsoft Translator will be updated to allow recent or pinned translations to be played via the Apple Watch speaker, with it also able to show common local phrases automatically when the user is abroad. Lastly, Time Travel for Translator will show phrases usable for set times, such as morning greetings or saying 'good evening."
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