Welcome back to Softwareload’s running blog on all things new and improved in Microsoft Office 2010, due to be released later this year. We’ve already had a look at the customisable ribbon, Backstage View and Outlook. Today We’ll be having a closer look at Microsoft’s addition of “Web Apps” to the Office 2010 portfolio. If you’re not sure what Web Apps are, how they work, or indeed why they’re necessary at all, then this is the post for you!

What are Web Apps?

Web Apps are in effect free, web-based versions of Office applications such as Word, One Note, Powerpoint and Excel, and have been designed to replace the Office Live Workspace . Web apps allow users to share and edit their documents on the go within a web browser  as well as share files and collaborate with other users online. Most of the modern internet browsers support Web Apps and are available to users via 3 sources – using a registered SkyDrive account via your Windows Live login, via a SharePoint server, or by subscribing to Microsoft Online Services. Web Apps however is not intended to be a replacement of the desktop-based full version, as can be seen/experienced by the limitation of the classic Office editing and document creation functions.

The big 4 – a closer look

Excel – Use the Excel app to view and edit your spreadsheets (as well as your colleagues at the same time!) at almost real-time speed with graphs, dependencies and formula options. As mentioned above,  menu functions have been limited to “the basics” (Home, Insert table and hyperlink), but competently display all changes and features made on the desktop version of the document.

Word – In comparison to the current offer from MS competitor Google Docs, the current beta version of Web Apps doesn’t allow its users to edit Word documents simultaneously, but does display all formatting and tables (unlike its file size-limited Google counterpart) and impressively crunches through larger MB-heavy documents. A large palette of editing tools have been made available to make your document as fancy-looking as possible, utilising OpenType fonts, a large selection of SmartArt and shapes, and the same screenshot and photo-editing possibilities seen in Outlook. The latest drag and drop features allow you to move document pages into any order you want with minimal effort required, automatically updting page numbering, providing each section is headed destinctly enough for Word to identify where one section stops and the next starts. One other big plus has to be the autosave function, allowing users to retrieve edits of documents ‘unsaved’ and avoid information loss from ‘little accidents’ like closing without saving / computer crashes etc.

One note – As it stands, OneNote allows an editable platform for worksheets, with right-click menu selection, current status information, and import options, such as adding clip art. The current status feature promises to allow users to see who has edited what and when in a worksheet via user names and email ID’s, set reminders for certain users to complete desired tasks by tagging the article, as well as automatically saving your edits and edits of other users as you go. Reformat text and fonts and click and drag as necessary.

Powerpoint – The Powerpoint Web App allows users to edit slideshows and view them in full screen mode, however currently with a few minor hitches. The current version has yet been updated to support viewing video content embedded in slides, as well as transitions and advanced animations being viewed online. Another thing for users to keep in mind is that the app version only offers a limited range of fonts a no templates, so it’s probably best not to use the app for putting a presentation together online, or editing photo image sizes(strange, but true, in the current version the size can’t be edited!).

All in all…

At the end of the day, Web Apps offers a great solution for business people looking for a powerful file sharing tool and a competent solution for simultaneous vieweing and, in most cases, editing and task delegation. Although hailed by Microsoft as “an office away from your office”, it obviously isn’t designed as an Office giveaway and therefore suffers a little bit due to ‘curbed’ functionality. Click and try the beta version for yourself and feel free to post your feedback on the comment box below.