The team at Microsoft has been busy developing the 16th installment of Microsoft Office, which is being aptly called, ‘Office 2016.’ According to the stats, Microsoft Office users reach a staggering 1.2 billion users worldwide. This includes those who are subscribed for Office 365 Personal, Home and Online users. So, it is only obvious that there are a lot of people who will be looking forward to the release of the new Office 2016 suite. While no official statement has been released on the features of Office 2016, here is what we do know so far.
Microsoft knows all too well that change is always good and while its users keeps demanding faster and more capable software, they are looking for these new enhancements without having to be inconvenienced, which is something that the company seems to be very good at doing. It is without a doubt that any new enhancements which is going to help users adapt to the software will be a welcome addition. And since most of the Office programs offer several UI elements that are common, many of these enhancements will be suite wide as well. Most of the new upgrades to Office 2016 will be most beneficial for Mac users who haven’t got an update since 2011. Along with the new Office updates, Mac users will also get free integration with OneDrive as well. The following are some of the cross-platform features which should be expected I the new Microsoft Office 2016.
Tell Me
The next Microsoft office release will be the debut of ‘Tell Me’ which is a text field on the ribbon bar where users will be able to type in their queries. As those queries are typed in the program will try to match it with links to relevant data. This feature will be available for Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
HD Screen Support
While the resolution of 1080p was considered a lot a few years ago, the same can’t be said today with many laptops and hybrids supporting screen resolutions that are way higher than 1080p. This is why the new Office 2016 offers support for a higher resolution along with visually improved icons and fonts for all of its programs.
Small Screen Profile
If you don’t know what this is, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. Small Screen Profiles are basically layouts that can be saved according to the screen size and resolution of your device. In a wider sense, Small Screen Profiles help different devices adapt to content. This also means that the application window fits small screens better.
Backstage User Interface
Users will find that there have been many enhancements made to the backstage area, especially if you’re working with OneDrive or OneDrive for Business. The new Office 2016 also features many enhancements for those who work with files, such as, creation data or grouping by properties.
DLP (Data Loss Protection)
In Office 2016, the synchronization of Data Loss Protection policies have been extended to Word, Excel and PowerPoint, which basically offers companies with a unified policy across the content that, has been stored in SharePoint, Exchange or OneDrive for Business.
Microsoft has also said that the next Microsoft office release will have new features such as, Snap and Smart Scrolling which will make tapping and making other selections, including data manipulation much easier for the user. But, for now, we’ll have to make do with what we have.
