Only over one month after Microsoft introduced its well-regarded Office for iPad software suite, the company released its first of a series of updates, which include the ability to print directly from the apps.
Microsoft shipped Tuesday, April 29, a triad of updates for its Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps for the iPad. The updates include printing support, which, according to Microsoft, is the most requested improvement customers would like to see in the apps. Smart Guides for PowerPoint and AutoFit for Excel, as well as a number of undisclosed stability and bug fixes, were also included.
Users can now print directly from Word, Excel and PowerPoint using AirPrint, an Apple feature that allows users to print using a printer that is wirelessly connected to the iPad. AirPrint supports a number of printers, including models from Epson, Hewlett-Packard, Samsung, Brother and Ricoh.
Users can also choose to print whole documents or a selected range of pages, spreadsheets or slides, as in the desktop versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint. They can also choose to print documents with or without markups.
SmartGuides is designed to help users line up images, text boxes and other objects in a presentation on PowerPoint. AutoFit, on the other hand, allows Excel users to automatically adjust the width of multiple rows and the height of multiple columns at the same time.
Although printer sales have declined in the last few years due largely to the fact that devices like the iPad can now make a good experience out of viewing a document onscreen, the demand for a printing option confirms that paper still holds its place.
This is the first of what Microsoft promises will be a series of updates to keep improving the apps.
"Keep your feedback and requests coming! We're already working on the next update and we're committed to keep improving the apps," said Microsoft in a blog post.
The apps grabbed the Apple App Store by storm when Microsoft released them in March. Word shot up to the second highest spot on the free apps chart, with Excel and PowerPoint taking the seventh and eighth places respectively. Microsoft reports that the apps have generated around 12 million downloads in their first week on the app store alone.
Users can view and print documents, worksheets and presentations on the apps. However, one needs to purchase an Office 365 subscription to be able to edit the documents. Office 365 Personal is the most affordable plan, which sells for $70 a month. Business users can purchase more expensive plans, which cost anywhere from $100 to $264 a year.
Microsoft did not make clear how many of the 12 million Office for iPad users are paying for an Office 365 subscription, although the company said Office 365, which now has 4.4 million subscribers, is well on its way to making $2.5 billion in yearly revenue.
