In the latest update to Office, Microsoft brings new and worthwhile features to PowerPoint. Ever ones to leap on anything PowerPoint and presentation-related, we looked into the new capabilities from the update.
The new update was immediately available to registered Office Insiders. It includes features for the entire Office suite, not just PowerPoint. As well as laying down some attention-grabbing benefits, the update to Microsoft Office also includes several bug fixes and general improvements. It also includes Microsoft’s regular security updates, so it’s a full-on win win deal.
The main features of the Office update are…
Live captions in PowerPoint
This is the feature we were most excited about, and one we covered in a previous news story. Essentially, the update for PowerPoint will now transcribe what you say during your presentation, live and on screen. The program will also translate that transcription, meaning you can present to people who don’t speak your language. Impressively, the new feature allows individual audience members to select their own language translation and follow along on their personal smart device. This is basically Star Trek stuff.
Save your changes to the cloud
This update feature, which applies to Word and Excel as well as PowerPoint, uses OneDrive with powerful effect. All changes will be saved to your cloud storage, so updates and tweaks you make will be secure. That’s regardless of the device you’re working on.
Formulas
Also new for PowerPoint is an update feature that might excite teachers and lecturers. When you hand write a mathematical formula or expression, PowerPoint will format it into standard characters. Nice, especially if you have appalling handwriting.
Online video
Another bonus for all those awesome PowerPoint users is the update ability to easily add video from an online source. Videos from the likes of Vimeo and YouTube (you really need to subscribe to our YouTube channel BTW) can be inserted into slides without hassle. We assume you’ll need an internet connection during your presentation, though.
LinkedIn sync with Outlook
It’s now possible to securely connect your LinkedIn account with your Office account. This will let you see information from those social profiles directly in the People Card in Outlook. This makes total sense and is a long time due, what with Microsoft now owning LinkedIn and all…
Find out more about the new update on the Microsoft Office home page. If you’d like some expert help and advice about how a professionally designed PowerPoint slideshow could make your presentation more impactful, get in touch with us.