Microsoft adds iCloud save support to its Office suite for iOS

Posted:
in iPad edited February 2015
Users of Microsoft's mobile productivity suite for iOS have new storage and synchronization options for documents, following an update to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint that adds support for Apple's iCloud.




Microsoft's vaunted word processor, spreadsheet and presentation apps now use iCloud as a document storage provider. Documents can be opened, edited, and saved directly to and from the service for users on iOS 8.

Alongside iCloud support, Microsoft promises unspecified "bug fixes" in the latest versions.

The update comes just over three months after Microsoft overhauled the suite to allow users to create and edit documents without an Office365 subscription. Those new versions used Dropbox as a backend storage provider, and also brought the suite to the iPhone.

Microsoft brought Office to the iPad last March after years of stop-and-start development. In January, the company added Outlook, based on technology acquired from former top-selling iOS email app Accompli.

Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint version 1.6 are now available as free downloads from the App Store.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 18
    MacProMacPro Posts: 19,718member
    I guess when they have no alternative mobile business they had to do this. I suspect most iDevices users will be more than happy with iWork but this may be a great help to those stuck in corporate 'must use Office' type situations. Ironically it could well mean even less chance for anyone buying a mobile device from Microcrap. No need at all now.
  • Reply 2 of 18
    But, still no Calendar and Contact synchronization with Outlook. What will it take?
  • Reply 3 of 18
    As nice as saving to iCloud is for iOS versions, it still doesn't get my mac unchained from OneDrive with the 2011 software. MS needs to hurry up and get the mac desktop version compatible with the iOS version for cloud functionality.
  • Reply 4 of 18

    I really appreciate Microsoft for making outstanding efforts to support Apple's solid platform.  They make some of the best mobile apps on iOS...starting with OneNote.

  • Reply 5 of 18
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by sestewart View Post



    As nice as saving to iCloud is for iOS versions, it still doesn't get my mac unchained from OneDrive with the 2011 software. MS needs to hurry up and get the mac desktop version compatible with the iOS version for cloud functionality.

     

    MS is coming out with a new MAC version of office!  While your 2011 will never see that kind of support, the 2015 version I guess should.

  • Reply 6 of 18
    I have to say, Microsoft is trying hard. I like what they're doing with the Office apps and their storage solutions. And they throw in Skype minutes. If I had a second mobile phone, it would be a Windows phone.
  • Reply 7 of 18
    Has anybody actually tried saving to iCloud? I have 2 devices on iOS 8 with the latest Office updates and when i try to save a new document, I only get the option to save on one drive/dropbox. However if I try to open a document, I get the iCloud option (although I have to say it is buried under the "More" category along with Box etc.)
  • Reply 8 of 18
    Has anybody actually tried saving to iCloud? I have 2 devices on iOS 8 with the latest Office updates and when i try to save a new document, I only get the option to save on one drive/dropbox. However if I try to open a document, I get the iCloud option (although I have to say it is buried under the "More" category along with Box etc.)
  • Reply 9 of 18
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    Still crippled without a subscription. I prefer to pay a one time price upfront and get full functionality.
  • Reply 10 of 18

    Just save to iCloud Drive from Office 2011.

  • Reply 11 of 18



    Ah! I didn't realize I could do that. Sweet. 

     

    Just got my Office 365 license a couple weeks ago for my Mac, so it's still a bit new. 

     

    I have 2013 at work on my PC, which I hit excel bugs all the time in it. 

  • Reply 12 of 18
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    ^
    What sort of bugs? Has been ok for me so far...
  • Reply 13 of 18

    Has anybody actually tried saving to iCloud? I have 2 devices on iOS 8 with the latest Office updates and when i try to save a new document, I only get the option to save on one drive/dropbox. However if I try to open a document, I get the iCloud option (although I have to say it is buried under the "More" category along with Box etc.)

  • Reply 14 of 18
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by SixPenceRicher View Post



    But, still no Calendar and Contact synchronization with Outlook. What will it take?

    I assume you're talking about the rebranded Accompli app. For me Calendar works fine, but sometimes if strangely duplicates events, but if I remove one it removes the other. Contacts works fine too, but I don't necessarily like its implementation of simply throwing together your recent emails.  I use stock Contacts for contacts, and Outlook for Calendar/Mail.

  • Reply 15 of 18
    relicrelic Posts: 4,735member

    This is one of my biggest pet peeves with iOS, if I install say, the OneDrive client, like with Android I expect to be able to save directly to it from any app installed on the system. No, instead the app has to specifically programmed to support each of the individual cloud services. This is also a problem with the share function, each app has to be individually programmed to allow communication between other apps instead of just reading what apps are already installed and supports the app in questions protocols, then just lists those, again like in Android. Instead I get a list of possible apps to share with that aren't installed on the system or especially missing the ones I do want to share with.

  • Reply 16 of 18

    @sestewart, I don't know about Office 2013, but I have had no issues with Office 365. I think the iOS apps are very well done and the fact that it now supports iCloud Drive is amazing.

    The only issue is the new Outlook app not accepting Office 365 accounts. I hope they sort that quickly.

     

    Office 2011 for Mac is really, really long in the tooth and I am looking forward to Office 2015 release. 

  • Reply 17 of 18

    ignore please, inadvertent posting.

  • Reply 18 of 18
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by hexalellogram View Post

     

    I assume you're talking about the rebranded Accompli app. For me Calendar works fine, but sometimes if strangely duplicates events, but if I remove one it removes the other. Contacts works fine too, but I don't necessarily like its implementation of simply throwing together your recent emails.  I use stock Contacts for contacts, and Outlook for Calendar/Mail.




    No, I'm referring to Outlook 2015, which has no mechanism (ostensibly CalDAV and CardDav) for synchronizing Outlook with my OS X Calendar and Contact apps.  This essentially forces me to choose one or the other, where I would like to use both.  When SyncServices was present, this worked like a charm; updating a Contact item resulted in a corresponding Outlook contact item.  This is no longer the case, and now I'm stuck with two perpetually unsynced contact databases.  Why Microsoft can't get this concept through their thick skulls is beyond me; providing a simple sync tool would dramatically increase adoption and satisfaction with their product.  

     

    Outlook 2015 (combined with Office 365) has been a good product update, with good service availability and performance.  Providing a tighter integration with core OS X applications would make this product GREAT.  I just don't think that they're interested...

Sign In or Register to comment.