Microsoft Updates Office Apps for iPad With Mouse and Trackpad Support

Microsoft today announced that the Word, PowerPoint, and Excel apps for iPad are receiving updates that will allow them to use the trackpad and mouse support in iPadOS.

microsoftofficetrackpad
The apps will feature a cursor that transforms into the tool that's needed depending on the context of what you're pointing to for easy cursor control, fluid navigation, and precise adjustments. Microsoft says that the trackpad experience will be familiar to those who have used Office on a Mac or PC.

And using a mouse or trackpad with iPad for common tasks like highlighting a passage of text in Word, selecting a range of cells in Excel, and moving and resizing graphics in PowerPoint are as simple and intuitive as ever. This experience will be immediately familiar to anyone who has ever used Office on a Mac or a PC and helps make iPad even more versatile and capable for getting more work done.

Along with mouse and trackpad support, Microsoft is adding new start screens and a new ribbon of feature menus to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for a cleaner and more modern user experience.

According to Microsoft, many users have already started receiving the updates through a phased rollout, which will reach all users within a couple of weeks.

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature Purple

iPhone 17 Rumored to Feature Mechanical Aperture

Tuesday July 23, 2024 9:32 am PDT by
Apple is planning to release at least one iPhone 17 model next year with mechanical aperture, according to a report published today by The Information. The mechanical system would allow users to adjust the size of the iPhone 17's aperture, which refers to the opening of the camera lens through which light enters. All existing iPhone camera lenses have fixed apertures, but some Android...

Top Rated Comments

Simmias Avatar
49 months ago
With the latest Office updates, I am very close to being able to use my 12.9" iPad Pro as my full time work computer. In addition to trackpad support, Word and PowerPoint now allow multiple windows/documents to be open at the same time. For some reason, Excel still only allows one spreadsheet to be open at a time. I'm not sure why it's taking so long (it took nearly a year to add multi-window support after it was demoed onstage at the WWDC iPad OS 13 keynote), but I'm glad the updates are finally coming. Once Microsoft enables multiple windows in Excel, I will finally be able to use the iPad for 99% of my professional workflow!
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ct2k7 Avatar
49 months ago
Awesome, a little late, but a welcome change.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheDailyApple Avatar
49 months ago
About time! Using office without a mouse is miserable.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ugahairydawgs Avatar
49 months ago
It's about damn time.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Pangalactic Avatar
49 months ago
Wow, wonderful!

Meanwhile still waiting for 50% of the apps to at least rotate into horizontal mode...
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
gautampw Avatar
49 months ago

I wonder how this fits in with the "unified Office app on iOS, but keep using three separate Word/Excel/PowerPoint" apps on iPadOS scheme... Hmmm...
They’ve already said the unified iPad app is in development
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)