Earlier this year we announced real-time co-authoring support for Word 2016 as part of the Office 2016 Preview. For the last several months, this feature has been available to preview users co-authoring Word documents stored on SharePoint Online. Today, we are pleased to announce that real-time co-authoring is also available as a first-look for Word documents stored on OneDrive as part of the latest Office 2016 Preview release.
Now when two or more users running the latest preview open the same Word document from OneDrive, they can co-author with others in real-time, which allows them to see the cursor location and text edits made by the other users automatically appear as they happen.
You are encouraged to try real-time co-authoring on OneDrive today. If you are receiving regular updates throughout the preview, you should have received this functionality as an update by 11 a.m. this morning.
To try out this feature, all you need is a Word document stored on OneDrive and two or more people running the latest preview. Make sure to give both users edit permissions so they can both edit the file. If this is the first time you’ve tried real-time co-authoring, you will see a prompt in the upper right corner of Word asking you if you’d like to automatically share your changes.
All you need to do is click Yes to join the experience. Once both authors have clicked Yes, you’ll see a flag representing the other author’s cursor position and then you will automatically see their edits come in.
With Office 2016, you regularly get new and improved features. Take a look below to see what's available to you today and come back later to find out what else has been added.
In Word and PowerPoint
Work with others simultaneously on a document regardless of the device you're using.
Learn more about co-authoring in Word and PowerPoint
Simplified Sharing
In Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
Just click the Share button in the Ribbon for easy sharing right from your Office documents. See who has access to a given document and who is currently working in the document, and change individual authoring permissions for any document you own.
Shared Notebooks
In OneNote
Collect any and all relevant information (e.g., photos, videos, clippings, drawings,...) in one central location, work with others, and watch the app sync changes within seconds.
Shared Notebooks
In OneNote
Collect any and all relevant information (e.g., photos, videos, clippings, drawings,...) in one central location, work with others, and watch the app sync changes within seconds.
Real-Time Typing
In Word
As you collaborate with others in a document, see where others are working and view their edits as they happen.
Modern Attachments
In Outlook
Attach a document from your recent items and share them from OneDrive or SharePoint with email recipients. Also configure sharing permissions so that all the recipients have access to the attached file without having to leave the app.
Mail Triage
In Outlook
The Clutter feature learns how you prioritize your mail and then helps you by putting low priority messages in a separate folder (while still giving you a daily summary so you don't miss anything). When on the go, you can also take advantage of this capability by using the Focused Inbox.
Improved Version History
In Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
Refer back to previous snapshots and earlier drafts of documents during the editing process as you collaborate with others.
One-Click Forecasting
In Excel
With one simple click, create forecast charts based on historical data and predict future trends. This new capability uses the industry standard Exponential Smoothing (ETS) algorithm to give you reliable forecasting data.
New Chart Types
In Word, PowerPoint, and Excel
Visualize financial or hierarchical data, and highlight statistical properties of your data with new chart types: Treemap, Waterfall, Pareto, Histogram, Box and Whisker, and Sunburst.
