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Microsoft updates Office for iOS apps w/ support for iCloud, other third-party storage providers

Microsoft is today rolling out an update to its Office apps for iOS devices bringing the ability to save to iCloud and tap into storage from other services across all three apps.

The update is available today for Microsoft’s Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps for iPhone and iPad. Users will be prompted to update to Apple’s new iCloud Drive feature to take advantage if they haven’t already. 

While the feature will allow users to “open, edit, and save” documents to and from iCloud, you will be limited in file types. For example, a TextEdit document stored in iCloud will be viewable but not available to open for edits in the app. The iCloud support will, however, allow users to take advantage of iCloud storage opposed to perhaps having to buy Microsoft’s OneDrive cloud storage services. 

Microsoft recently announced Dropbox integration for managing and editing files stored in the service in a similar way, but today’s update also brings the ability to tap into other third-party storage providers, including Box, through currently installed apps on iOS 8 (as pictured above).

Starting today, third-party cloud storage providers can natively integrate into the “Locations” picker in the iOS Office apps. This will enable users to open, edit and save documents from these providers right from within Office. While we’re announcing availability of the iPad and iPhone integration today, we’re hard at work on the same type of integration for the Office universal apps for Windows 10 and the Office for Android apps

In addition to the new support for storage services, Microsoft announced it will begin allowing integration of Office Online into apps allowing users “to open, view, and edit documents stored in those services in any web browser.”

The updated apps, version 1.6, are available on the App Store now (Word, Excel, Powerpoint).

What’s New in Version 1.6

• iCloud support: open, edit, and save your work to iCloud and other online storage services (requires iOS 8).
• Bug fixes.

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Comments

  1. Jason Todd (@ccwdude) - 9 years ago

    Not sure how this works. I cant add Icloud as a place when i try to save a file

  2. brs165 - 9 years ago

    I just don’t know who Microsoft is anymore! It is exciting to see their new energy with multiplatform and services support. They seem to me making a lot of good moves.

  3. adibendahan - 9 years ago

    It’s 2015 and Microsoft still fails to provide RTL support for all Apple Platforms.

    MEGA FAIL.

  4. golfersal - 9 years ago

    I am totally confused with all of this outlook stuff.

    I used Outlook and went out of my way to buy the Office 2011 with outlook on it.
    Was a terrific program until two years ago when I started having problems with the sign up. Supposedly it was a bug in some setting that was taken care of, but I never wanted to hassle with Outlook again and haven’t used it in two years.
    I would really like to use it now, since I like having the email package combine with scheduling and such.

    But I am totally lost on all of this because the last thing in the world I want to do is “rent” the new office and Outlook. Just like I have done for years I want to buy the new office that will including Outlook and that is it. I also want it to be included on my phone and Ipad, but I don’t want to get suckered in on having to pay a monthly fee for all three products.

    Just wish Microsoft would clue us in on this update for Office 2011. It’s now four years since the last update, it’s beginning to look a bit like Quicken on the Mac, something that you can’t rely on anymore.

    Anybody else feel like this???

    • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

      I’m right there with you… It seems like Adobe jumped in d__k first into this whole subscription (rental) software model, and now Microsoft is going in as well. To them, it locks the consumer into paying monthly, guaranteeing cash flow, and milking the consumer for every cent they can. And they wonder why piracy still exists…

      I want to pay once, and potentially skip a major version update, save some money, and be happy using what I bought and own. I don’t want to pay yet another monthly fee for updates I probably won’t need or want.

      Both Adobe and Microsoft have just turned into a bunch of crooks.

  5. charilaosmulder - 9 years ago

    I don’t get it. I thought that OneDrive was the only cloud storage option one could use in Office for iOS, but now that iCloud, Box and even Dropbox will be supported, how’s MS to make any money on Office for iOS?

    • Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

      MS should just offer the apps for a one-time payment, and then let people decide how to use them. I would gladly hand over a one-time payment to own the app and be able to use however, with whatever storage medium, I choose, and not be dictated to.

  6. Edison Wrzosek - 9 years ago

    Until those crooks at Microshaft give me a pay-once choice so I’m not tied to their cloud subscription to gain full features of the app, they can shove it where the sun don’t shine…

    In the free version, even trying to apply something as basic as table cell shading in Word is considered a premium function, are you sh__ting me?!

    Also, the fact they only let the apps work with US-based cloud services means these apps cannot be used in other countries, like Canada, where adherence to laws such as FIPPA are mandatory.

  7. You cannot create a new document within the Office for iOS apps and save it directly to iCloud. You can only edit what’s already on iCloud, which will then be automatically saved. A step in the right direction, if half-assed.

Author

Avatar for Jordan Kahn Jordan Kahn

Jordan writes about all things Apple as Senior Editor of 9to5Mac, & contributes to 9to5Google, 9to5Toys, & Electrek.co. He also co-authors 9to5Mac’s Logic Pros series.