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Ever really needed to edit or create an Office document, but didn’t have access to a computer with Office? Microsoft has just released Office Web Apps on SkyDrive, which means you can now edit and create Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote files for free from any computer connected to the internet.

These free versions have limited functionality, so they are not designed to replace Office on your desktop, but having the option to edit anytime and anywhere definitely makes working with these files more convenient.

The applications in Office Web Apps use a ribbon interface just like Office 2007, so if you are familiar with this you shouldn’t have any problems learning how to use it.

So what can you do with Office Web Apps?
There are no SmartArt tools and tools for working with pictures and tables are very limited, but all the basics are there. Office Web Apps also allows co-authoring in Excel and OneNote, which means you can work together with others on files at the same time.

How do you sign up?
Web Apps work as a part of SkyDrive, Microsoft’s free online file storage, which allows you to store up to 25GB of files. To use SkyDrive all you need is a Windows Live ID, so if you have a hotmail account you can use this or you can sign up for a Windows Live ID here.

Once you have a Windows Live ID you just need to click here and sign in to access your SkyDrive account. From here you will be able to upload Office files for editing or create new ones.

If you would like to read more about Office Web Apps from The Windows Blog click here.