Microsoft's Word, Excel and PowerPoint for iOS Gaining Real-Time Co-Authoring, Drag and Drop Support

Microsoft today announced a major update for its Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps, which will see the introduction of real-time co-authoring, drag and drop support on the iPad, universal link support for shared files, and more.

With support for real-time co-authoring, multiple people can contribute to and edit documents in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on iOS devices. Changes made by each user will sync within seconds, plus you'll be able to see everyone that's working on a document and what they're working on.


Real-time co-authoring support on iOS devices follows the introduction of the feature in Microsoft's Mac apps earlier this month.

Microsoft is also adding drag and drop support for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on the iPad, which means you'll be able to drag files between Microsoft apps and quickly add links, text, photos, graphs, and more.

The three apps will also support universal links, which means anytime you're sent a shared Word, PowerPoint, or Excel file, it'll open right in the app rather than requiring you to authenticate in a browser, and there are new Accessibility features like improved VoiceOver support for better navigation.

Microsoft today also announced major changes for the OneDrive app, which includes an overhauled interface, support for the Files app, drag and drop support, and several other new features.

Microsoft says the new functionality in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint will be available "in the coming days" through updates available in the iOS App Store.

Microsoft Word [Direct Link], Microsoft Excel [Direct Link], and Microsoft PowerPoint [Direct Link] can all be downloaded from the App Store for free.