Office apps get major new features in the latest update for Insiders

Microsoft is today releasing a new update for the Office apps on Windows to Office Insiders in the Slow Ring. The latest update for the Office apps introduces a lot of new features which Microsoft detailed late last month. Firstly, Microsoft is releasing the new QuickStarter feature for PowerPoint which intelligently gives you design suggestions and research ideas for your presentations to help you get started quickly.

There are a couple of other new features in the update, which you can find below:

• A quick start to your research: PowerPoint QuickStarter gives you research ideas and design suggestions for a presentation on a subject of your choosing. Just choose the QuickStarter template from File > New, and specify the subject you want to study.
• Set things straight: On devices that have touch screens, you can use the Ruler on the Draw tab of the ribbon to draw straight lines or to align a set of objects. The Ruler pivots to any position you want: horizontal, vertical, or anything in between: it has a degrees setting so that you can set it at a precise angle, if necessary.
• Enhanced digital writing assistant: With additional intelligent services built-in, Editor is better able to recognize your words in context and offer the right spelling suggestions. Look for these improvements in Word and Outlook.
• Easier background removal: In Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, we’ve made it easier to remove and edit the background of a picture. You no longer have to draw a rectangle around the foreground of your picture; instead, the app will automatically detect the general background areas. In addition, the pencil for marking areas to keep or remove can now draw free-form lines, rather than being limited to straight lines.
• Move pages from side to side: In Word, navigate pages in Print Layout view by sliding them side-to-side like a stack of paper. To try it, click View > Side to Side.
• From Visio to PowerPoint in a few clicks: Take snippets of a Visio drawing and export them as slides to PowerPoint. To get started, open a diagram and click View > Slide Snippets Pane. In the pane, click Add to snip portions of your diagram and Export to send your slide snippets to a new PowerPoint slide deck.

Once again, these new features are available to Office Insiders in the Slow Ring and they should be available for the public soon — and we’ll let you know when that happens.