Office for Windows PC Slow Ring



Microsoft has released a fresh new build for Office for Windows Desktop (Current Channel (Preview)). In other words, Slow Ring insiders would be getting the update.


Version 2006 (Build 13001.20144 ) is now live and available for download.


Here is the official changelog

Excel, Word, and PowerPoint   

Pin your folders makes saving Office files easier   

We received feedback that users want more control over the folders available when a new file is saved. We’re excited to bring a new capability to you: pin your folders in the Save dialog. This new capability will make saving your Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files easier.   

Learn more.    

Pin your folders feature

PowerPoint   

Use your Surface Earbuds to control your PowerPoint presentations   

If you forget your clicker or don’t want to use, your Surface earbuds have you covered. You can swipe forward and backward on the left earbud to navigate your presentation when it is in Slide Show mode. You can play or pause videos embedded in your presentation by double tapping.    

How it works   

Once paired, you’ll need to enable the feature in PowerPoint.    

  • Start a presentation by pressing F5 or selecting Slide Show > From Beginning.
  • In Slide Show, right click on the slide and under Surface Earbuds Settings choose Use Gestures to Control Presentation. This setting will be remembered for all future presentations.

Learn more.  

Surface earbuds

Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook   

GIFs now play   

Animated GIFs now play in the editor when previously there were static. They also have user controls with play and pause buttons.   

Export file to animated GIF.

Excel    

Import and refresh data from PDF documents    

We’re excited to announce that the #9 request on the Data Import related asks on Excel UserVoice is now available. You can now import and analyze data from PDF documents. To enable this feature, select the Data tab > Get Data > From Files > From PDF.    

Longer file names  

Excel for Windows desktop now supports OneDrive/SharePoint files with names and paths of up to 400 characters.  

Word 

Confirmation of action in screen readers  

Confirmation of action is an important accessibility requirement. With the introduction of a new Notification API from Windows, we are now able to alert screen reader users about the success of their actions. Cut, copy, paste, bold, italic, underline, undo, redo, auto corrections, and auto-capitalizations are now all announced to Narrator users in Win32 Word. To enable this feature, turn on Narrator by pressing windows + ctrl + enter.  

Learn more. 

Know who is in your document     

This new feature lets you see who else is working along with you, and where they are in the document.   

Retain text in vectors 

Now you can retain the text in maps, charts, and other SVG vectors when converting these objects in Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.  

Outlook   

Pick where to search   

The new search scope drop down allows you to more easily modify your search and switch between Current Folder and Current Mailbox. Thank you to everyone in Coming Soon who provided feedback on the new Search at Top experience. This design and update came out of that feedback!