Microsoft amps up Office Web Apps

After getting requests from users, Microsoft has added features to its Office Web Apps product to make the utility “faster and more reliable." Jenni French, senior product manager for Microsoft’s Office Web Apps, also hinted at more improvements to be introduced to users in the coming weeks. “One of the most important things you’ve requested from us is to make the Web Apps faster and more reliable. Today’s update includes a lot of behind-the-scenes improvements that do just that," French said in a blog post. Microsoft’s Office Web Apps is a web-based version of Microsoft’s popular Office productivity suite. It allows users to access documents from a browser. French also disclosed new features in the online productivity service, including:

• OneNote Web App Ink display, for OneNote customers who like to use pen-input devices on Tablet PCs to draw and write notes.
• Merge and Autofit cells in Excel Web App.
• Print directly from Excel Web App in the browser, to save time when one needs to print a spreadsheet, especially one accessed from SkyDrive.
• Right-click menus in Excel Web App, to reflect the right-click capabilities in the desktop version of Excel.