Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Microsoft Unveils Office Web Apps Preview

  • By Kurt Mackie
  • 09/21/09

Microsoft has commenced an invitation-only public technical preview of Microsoft Office Web Apps.

The invitees were a "select group of SkyDrive customers," according to the Windows Live blog. SkyDrive is part of Microsoft's Windows Live online service offerings and provides a hosted space for storing and sharing files. The public technical preview was announced Thursday.

Those who didn't get an invitation can get a notification from Microsoft when the public beta of Office Web Apps is released by filling out a form here. Currently, Office Web Apps can be tested in English and Japanese, but Microsoft plans to add other language versions some time in the fall.

The hosted apps that Microsoft unveiled Thursday include Excel Web App, PowerPoint Web App and Word Web App. All are lightweight Web versions of the applications found in the traditionally premises-installed Microsoft Office productivity suite. Office Web Apps will integrate with installed Office versions from Office 2003 onward.

When the Office Web Apps are released as a final product, users will be able to save documents to the Web directly from the desktop-installed Office suite.

Microsoft hasn't yet added all of the features to the test versions of Office Web Apps. For instance, testers will be limited to viewing and sharing Word documents for the time being. However, testers of Excel Web App and PowerPoint Web App will also be able to create and edit documents online.

Office Web Apps run in the browser and retain the same formatting and attributes seen in the desktop app, according to a video presentation in the Windows Live blog post. Supported browsers include Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari. The apps work across both PC and Mac platforms.

Users can collaborate on the same document using Office Web Apps and changes will sync across the Internet, appearing in near-real time without refreshing the browser. Office Web Apps use the same Fluent Ribbon user interface that Microsoft first introduced in Office 2007.

Office Web Apps will be an adjunct to Microsoft Office 2010, which is scheduled for general release in the first half of next year. They integrate "seamlessly" with Windows Live via SkyDrive, allowing editing, collaboration and document sharing. Microsoft eventually plans to make Office Web Apps available to its "500 million+ users of Hotmail, Messenger and other Windows Live services," according to the blog.

For business users, Microsoft plans to offer Office Web Apps through volume licensing with Microsoft SharePoint Server as the on-premises hosting option. Alternatively, businesses will be able to access Office Web Apps on a subscription basis through Microsoft Online Services.

Microsoft didn't include the OneNote Web App in this public preview but indicated in a press release that it would be "available at a later date."

After beta testing, Microsoft plans to release "feature-complete" Office Web Apps in the first half of next year.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is online news editor, Enterprise Group, at 1105 Media Inc.

Featured

  • large cloud icon on the right in an abstract world above a polygon with a dark blue background

    Cloud Security Alliance Expands Agentic AI Governance Work

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) has announced a series of CSAI Foundation milestones aimed at securing what it calls the agentic control plane, including a new catastrophic risk initiative, CVE Numbering Authority authorization, and the acquisition of two agentic AI specifications.

  • Neon email icon hangs from chain with fishing hook below.

    Report Emphasizes Importance of Building a Security Culture

    While security teams have invested heavily in e-mail protection, endpoint security, and identity controls, new research from Fortra suggests one challenge remains difficult to solve: users.

  • businessman holding tablet with holographic AI icons

    Google Moving AI Agents into Mainstream Product Portfolio

    At its recent I/O developer conference, Google positioned artificial intelligence agents not as a distant research project, but as a product strategy spanning Search, personal assistants, productivity software, developer tools, and smart glasses.

  • person typing on a touch screen schedule plan calendar

    Deadline Extended for ADA Title II Compliance

    Schools working to meet the Americans with Disabilities Act Title II regulations for digital accessibility have received a temporary reprieve: The United States Department of Justice has published an interim final rule to push back the compliance deadline by one year.