During Apple's MacBook Pro keynote last October, Apple briefly mentioned that Microsoft was working on introducing support for the new Touch Bar across its suite of Office applications.

While Microsoft has yet to officially roll out the support, Office users can opt to test the new Touch Bar features by becoming an "Office Insider", which is basically a public beta program.

f1477591830
In Word, Touch Bar users will be able to activate the distraction-free Focus Mode to remove the Ribbon, and access text formatting and font style options.

In PowerPoint, the Touch Bar will show a graphical overview of all slides in a deck, and offer the ability to reorder slides. Excel is set to get the most useful Touch Bar features though, bringing recently used functions, color cells, and chart options to the MacBook's OLED strip.

Lastly, Outlook brings a today view to the Touch Bar, allowing users to see calendar appointments for the day, while recently used documents will display when composing emails, for quickly attaching files. Skype call functions are also set to be available from the Bar.

Office users interested in testing the Touch Bar functions in the beta program – along with any attendant bugs/issues – can sign up to become an "Office Insider" here.

(via The Verge.)

Top Rated Comments

coolbreeze Avatar
108 months ago
Finally a use for it. Nice.
[doublepost=1486556345][/doublepost]
Microsoft - The company that gives more attention to the competitors OS than their own,
Yeah we are all waiting on Surface touch bar support. :rolleyes:
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
smacrumon Avatar
108 months ago
Pretty strange how this Microsoft support wasn't available at launch time. I would have thought Apple was more organized with their large partners.

Honestly, I'm still not convinced about the touch bar. Still gimmick in my opinion. Seems an interface that is a not as intuitive compared to direct input through touch on screen.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dreamlikestate Avatar
108 months ago
I just wonder how many years will it take for Apple to acknowledge they failed and ditch that ugly touch bar for good.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
GB148 Avatar
108 months ago
I hope that was a figure of speech and not an attempt to undermine any credibility you spent an essay building.
It wasn't a shot at you personally if that's what you're asking. I think there are a lot of people who would agree that Apple has gone from making some professional level products, to making some prosumer level products, to mass marketing average stuff that isn't cutting edge in any way, other than cost. And I think Apple now designs products around what young kids who use their computers to watch Youtube might like. I personally don't find the need for dongles to be as annoying as I thought it would be, as the thinness and weight offset the dongle issue. But the huge trackpad and touchbar seem to be gimmicks and not as effective as the hardware on the last iteration of the machine. And, FWIW, I've been waiting for this update for a long time and am coming from a 2008 MBP, and it's shocking how similar the experience is and how little improvement there has been in nine years...well, the negatives are that the ports are all gone and I can no longer upgrade the memory or the SSD, I've got a huge trackpad that doesn't work as well as the smaller one, and my function keys have been replaced with a touchbar that I have to look at, which is more expensive, and which takes many more key strokes to accomplish the same task. The plus is the screen is better, and given how huge and clunky the OS has become, I had to get a better processor just so it wouldn't lock up trying to run the OS. I can see where the touchbar could be useful if implemented in such a way that I could lock one particular group of menu items in it, such as the grouping and alignment tools in PowerPoint. But I really don't see that happening, especially when Apple has already applied it in a way that favors the "Gee doesn't it look cool with the little images" form over the "but it takes an extra three key strokes to do something really simple" lack of function.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
WinstonRumfoord Avatar
108 months ago
Hehe, doesn't matter if apple finds a cure to cancer, they will still be hated here..
That's not really true. All apple woudl have to do to not be hated here is make the MBP a bit thicker in order to improve battery and add necessary "legacy" ports, like, oh, say, ethernet and USB. Spec update the Mac Mini. Spec update the Mac Pro.

Donezo.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
1050792 Avatar
108 months ago
Microsoft - The company that gives more attention to the competitors OS than their own,
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

Apple Glass

Apple Smart Glasses: Everything We Know So Far

Wednesday May 21, 2025 8:21 am PDT by
Google recently made waves by showcasing a set of lightweight smart glasses featuring deep Gemini integration and an optional in-lens display. The demo has reignited interest in Apple's own smart glasses project, which has been the subject of rumors for nearly a decade. Here's a recap of where things stand. Current Development Status Apple is actively working on new chips specifically...
Apple Glasses Purple Feature

Apple Smart Glasses Launching in 2026

Thursday May 22, 2025 12:22 pm PDT by
Apple is planning to launch a set of smart glasses by the end of 2026, reports Bloomberg. The glasses will be comparable to the Meta Ray-Bans and the Android XR glasses that Google showed off earlier this week. Apple's smart glasses are expected to include cameras, microphones, and AI capabilities, much like the Meta Ray-Bans. The glasses will be able to take photos, record video, provide...
Apple CarPlay Ultra instrument cluster themes 01

Apple's CarPlay Ultra Is Here – Does Your iPhone Support It?

Thursday May 15, 2025 5:17 am PDT by
Apple's recently announced CarPlay Ultra promises a deeply integrated in-car experience, but not all iPhone users will be able to take advantage of the new feature. According to Apple's press release, CarPlay Ultra requires an iPhone 12 or later running iOS 18.5 or later. This means if you're using an iPhone 11, iPhone XR, or any older model, you'll need to upgrade your device to access...
maxresdefault

OpenAI Buys Jony Ive's AI Startup to 'Completely Reimagine What It Means to Use a Computer'

Wednesday May 21, 2025 10:27 am PDT by
OpenAI is acquiring io, the hardware-based AI startup co-created by Jony Ive, OpenAI announced today. Ive has been working with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on io for two years, and the duo expects to develop a family of AI devices. In a video shared by OpenAI, Altman and Ive outlined their partnership and what they expect to create as a result of the merger. "I have a growing sense that everything ...
WWDC 2025 Banner

Apple Announces WWDC 2025 Schedule, Including Keynote Time

Tuesday May 20, 2025 8:13 am PDT by
Apple today announced a more detailed schedule for its annual developers conference WWDC, which runs from June 9 through June 13. The schedule confirms that Apple's keynote will begin on Monday, June 9 at 10 a.m. Pacific Time, with a live stream to be available on Apple.com, in the Apple TV app, and on YouTube. During the keynote, Apple is expected to announce iOS 19, iPadOS 19, macOS 16,...
macOS 16 visionOS Inspired Feature 1

macOS 16: Everything We Know So Far

Tuesday May 20, 2025 7:31 am PDT by
The Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), Apple's annual developer and software-oriented event, is less than three weeks away. We haven't heard a great deal about macOS 16 ahead of its announcement this year, so we could be in for some major surprises when June 9 rolls around. Here's what we know so far about the next major update to Apple's Mac operating system. macOS 16 Name? Every year ...
iPod shuffle generations

Kuo: Jony Ive's Futuristic OpenAI Device Like a Neck-Worn iPod Shuffle

Thursday May 22, 2025 8:05 am PDT by
The big news in the technology world this week is that ChatGPT maker OpenAI is working more closely with Apple's former design chief Jony Ive on a futuristic AI device. The company is remaining tight lipped about the device, but Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has shared some alleged details about its design. In a social media post today, Kuo said the device will be "slightly larger" ...