If you need access to Microsoft Office on the move and specifically Word, Microsoft Word for Android allows you to use Microsoft Word on Android phones and tablets. Microsoft Office products are available as a package, or as separate downloads for Word, PowerPoint and and Excel, allowing you to do almost anything you can do on the desktop versions.
All of them, including Word for Android, have the familiar look, feel and quality of Microsoft Office for Word on desktop – with the added bonus of an intuitive touch experience designed for Android phones and tablets.
Word for Android is suitable for creating professional looking documents or if you just need to make quick edits to a document on the go. Word for Android preserves all the original formatting and you won’t lose any tables, images or other formatting when you switch devices or go back to editing on desktop. Much like with business-grade document management apps like Hightail or Stellar Library, you can access your Word documents in the cloud wherever you are, and Word for Android supports a variety of online storage solutions.
Feels just like the real thing
The look and feel of Microsoft Word for Android is almost exactly the same as the desktop version but, of course, it has been adapted to work with touch screens so accessing certain features is different to the way you would do it on desktop. However, it still retains the familiar navigation and menu options in the ribbon to help you get started and familiar with how it works.
All the same features you will recognize from Word such as images, charts, footnotes, formulas and tables have all been optimized for touch devices. Word in particular has been designed so that you can use it with one hand and type documents at the same time. If you need to whip up a document quickly, you can create professional looking docs instantly using templates which range from task lists to research papers or formal letters.
Microsoft Word for Android looks and feels just like the desktop version.
Microsoft Word for Android allows you to insert text boxes, charts, and images with the touch of your screen. It also has different views specifically for Android such as ‘Reflow View’ which adapts your document to fit perfectly on your Android device, so you can read documents eBook-style with simple swipes. You can also access your recent files from any Android device and go back to it later on another device and Word will remember where you left off (although this is only possible with an Office 365 subscription).
Documents on tap
You can save Word documents created on Word for Android in OneDrive, One Drive for Business, SharePoint, Google Drive, Box, and Dropbox. You can also share documents via all of these online storage solutions from within Word. Alternatively, you can share your documents with others by simply emailing a hyperlink or attachment. Word for Android also allows you to track changes, comment and mark-up docs with comments and transparency so that anyone sharing or looking at the document can see why the change has been made.
Word for Android supports many different online storage options.
Compatibility issues
A problem you might experience with Microsoft Word for Android is compatibility issues with certain documents. For some reason, you may find that documents downloaded from different sources may not open in Word for Android and there’s not much you can do if this happens other than post the problem on the Microsoft support forums.
Although downloading Microsoft Word for Android is free to use for viewing, creating and editing docs on devices with a screen size of 10.1 inches or smaller, you must purchase an Office 365 subscription to unlock all editing functionality.
Office 365 is also required to create or edit on tablets with a screen larger than 10.1 inches. If you don’t have a subscription, you can buy Office 365 Home or Office 365 Personal from within the application. An Office 365 subscription not only gives you Word but also entitles you to Word, Excel and PowerPoint experience on Android, iPad and iPhone. It also allows you to install Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote on PCs or Macs.
Conclusion
For anyone that uses Word regularly and needs to edit their documents on the move, Microsoft Word for Android is an essential tool. If you’re looking for a way to collaborate with teams on documents and projects from anywhere, you could alternatively try a cloud collaboration app such as eXo Platform, Confluence, or Igloo Software.
