Microsoft opens the doors to Sway, its newest Office software

By Adrian Diaconescu December 16, 2014

microsofts newest office product sway is now open for all — Image used with permission by copyright holder

When Microsoft first introduced Sway, a new online presentation app in the Office family, it was obvious the PowerPoint/Word/web editor hybrid needed work. A lot of work. But the foundation was solid, the idea original, and the necessary work has been put in over the last few months.

It’s evolved so much that Redmond feels confident it can open the preview’s doors to all. Previously available on request, after a requisite waiting period for an invite, Sway can now be accessed at this link by anyone with a Microsoft account.

Registration is a walk in the park and getting started shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. The app, while nowhere near as rudimentary as before, is still simplistic in its design and interface, and that’s perfect.

This is the ideal tool for people who want to build a multimedia presentation that looks modern but isn’t overly complex. You can begin by importing text, images or videos from the PC you’re using Sway on, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook or OneDrive.

A new feature in this open build lets users import a PDF and expand on it in the web app. The content of a PDF can be incorporated into your Sway after working on it without compatibility anomalies.

The slew of newly blended features and functions also includes Undo and Redo buttons that, in all frankness, should have been there from day one. Then there’s bullets and numbering, a text editing control that previewers all but begged Microsoft for. Other enhancements include Color Picker improvements and an iPhone-dedicated app available now in Australia and New Zealand.

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Adrian Diaconescu

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Adrian is a mobile aficionado since the days of the Nokia 3310, and a PC enthusiast since Windows 98. Later, he discovered…

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