Search with your voice
Select the microphone in the search box in Word to find commands, content, and more using your voice.
Office apps now support OpenDocument Format (ODF) 1.3
ODF 1.3 brought many improvements to the OpenDocument format and these are now supported in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (file extensions .odt, .ods, and .odp).
September 2021
Here's what's new in Version 2109 (Build 14430.20234).
More natural voice options for Read Aloud
Try out a new, more natural sounding voice in the Read Aloud toolbar.
LEARN MORE
Office apps now support OpenDocument Format (ODF) 1.3
ODF 1.3 brought many improvements to the OpenDocument format and these are now supported in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (file extensions .odt, .ods, and .odp).
August 2021
Here's what's new in Version 2108 (Build 14326.20238).
Better collaboration with modern comments
Have control of when you send comments to your co-authors, easily @mention notifications, and be productive with a consistent commenting experience between Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
LEARN MORE
Office has a fresh look
The new visual refresh is modern and new, designed to make it simple, intuitive, and seamless experience across all your Office apps.
Track just your changes in your documents
Sometimes when you're collaborating, you only want your own changes to be tracked, without forcing this setting on others. To track only your changes, go to Review tab, select Track changes, and choose Just Mine.
July 2021
Here's what's new in Version 2107 (Build 14228.20324).
Proofread selected text with Editor
Review spelling, grammar, and get writing suggestions for just the selected text in your document.
March 2021
Here's what's new in Version 2103 (Build 13801.20266).
 Working with a comment 

Better collaboration with modern comments
Have control of when you send comments to your co-authors, easily @mention notifications, and be productive with a consistent commenting experience between Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
LEARN MORE
 Languages that could you dictate in  

Dictation is available in more languages
Dictation now supports 7 new languages: Hindi, Russian, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Korean, Thai, Chinese (Taiwan).
February 2021
Here's what's new in Version 2102 (Build 13801.20266).
 Dictation tools 

Draft documents with your voice
Use the new dictation toolbar, voice commands and auto-punctuation to draft documents.
December 2020
Here's what's new in Version 2011 (Build 13530.20316).
Use SVGs from Office across 3rd party apps
Paste SVG content from Office into 3rd party apps such as Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop.
November 2020
Here's what's new in Version 2010 (Build 13328.20210).
 Switch Office themes automatically 

Switch Office themes automatically
Office can automatically switch themes to match your Windows 10 theme settings. Go to File > Account and choose "Use system setting" under the Office Theme drop-down.
LEARN MORE
 Show's Save as picture 

Save shapes as pictures
In just a few clicks, save a shape, icon, or other object as a picture file so you can reuse it elsewhere.
LEARN MORE
 Click directly on a flagged term to get Editor suggestions. 

One-click writing suggestions
Apply writing suggestions with a single click. The updated Editor pane makes it easy to navigate between suggestions.
LEARN MORE
October 2020
Here's what's new in Version 2009 (Build 13231.20200).
 Show's Application Guard 

Help protect your data from malicious files
Application Guard helps protect you from malware by letting you read, print, and save Office files in an isolated container.
LEARN MORE
 Show's text 

Writing suggestions at your fingertips
Word and Outlook shows you writing suggestions that help you write more efficiently by predicting text quickly, timely and accurately. To accept the suggestion, just use the Tab key.
August 2020
Here's what's new in Version 2007 (Build 13127.20296).
 Show's Comments pane 

Better collaboration with modern comments
Add comments to objects, @mention colleagues, and resolve comment threads for a better collaboration experience.
June 2020
Here's what's new in Version 2006 (Build 13001.20266).
 Shows pinned folder location 

Save to your pinned folder
Pinned folders stay near the top of your Save locations so you can quickly access the folder you need.
LEARN MORE
 Shows co-author in Word 

Know who's in your document
See who else is working along with you, and where they are in the document. You'd find this experience across other Office apps.
May 2020
Here's what's new in Version 2005 (Build 12827.20268) .
 Shows Stock Images mock-up 

New images to bring your documents to life
Thousands of royalty-free stock images, icons, and stickers you can use in your documents. Go to Insert > Pictures > Stock Images to get started.
LEARN MORE
April 2020
Here's what's new in Version 2004 (Build 12730.20236) .
Annotate your private copy
Create hand written notes for your eyes by making a private copy of a shared document. Go to View > Create a Private Copy to get started.
LEARN MORE
 Shows Create a Private Copy button in a document 

Keep your tools handy
In your drawing toolbox, find the intelligent pen that allows you to add ink gestures to text.
LEARN MORE
 Shows drawing tools 

Up-level your writing
Go to Home > Editor to see everything from clarity to conciseness suggestions for your document.
LEARN MORE
 Shows Editor 

Jazz up your files and email
Give your presentations, documents, and email messages more flair with free, high-quality stock images and backgrounds.
LEARN MORE
 Shows Stock images 

March 2020
Here's what's new in Version 2003 (Build 12624.20320).
Pick your perfect color
Use hex color codes to choose exactly the color you want for your font, text highlight, and more.
 Shows Custom colors 

February 2020
Here's what's new in Version 2002 (Build 12527.20194).
Lasso your ink
The Lasso tool on the Draw tab helps you select objects drawn with ink. Select individual strokes, or whole words.
 Shows lasso select on document 

October 2019
See what's new in the October update, Version 1910 (Build 12130.20272).
Convert files to improve accessibility
Upgrade your files to the modern format to make them more accessible for everyone.
 Accessibility message asking you to consider converting the file to a modern format in order to take advantage of all accessibility features 

Create more accessible PDFs
Create a PDF and the accessibility checker will point out accessibility issues to fix before you save.
LEARN MORE
 Save as PDF dialog with yellow message box inviting you to check the accessibility of your PDF before saving 

September 2019
See what's new for you in the September update, Version 1909 (Build 12026.20264).
Say it another way
When you want to say it differently, Rewrite is there to help. Rewrite offers alternatives for finessing your phrases.
New in:  Word 
LEARN MORE 
 A Word file with suggested revisions to a phrase 

August 2019
See what's new for you in the August update, Version 1908 (Build 11929.20254).
 Insert icons page with "Cake" in the search box and 4 different cake icons displayed 

Search and enjoy
We've added Search to Insert Icons to make it easy to find the icon you want. And when you're selecting, the Insert button tells you how many you've picked.
LEARN MORE
July 2019
Read on to see what's new in the July update, Version 1907 (Build 11901.20176).
No more bouncing to the browser
You decide how links to Office documents open: in the browser or in the app. See Link Handling under File > Options > Advanced.
 Options dialog box with Open hyperlinks checkbox highlighted 

Erase with precision
Choose from two eraser sizes to fix small inking imperfections.
LEARN MORE
 List of eraser sizes: stroke, small, and medium 

June 2019
Read on to see what's new in the June update, Version 1906 (Build 11727.20230).
More icons to match your mood
We've added over 300 new icons. Find them at Insert > Icons.
LEARN MORE
 A selection of theater icons 

Get their attention with @mentions
Use @mentions in comments to let others know when you need their input.
LEARN MORE
 Comment with somebody @mentioned within 

May 2019
See what's new in the May update, Version 1905 (Build 11629.20196).
Switch seamlessly
The new account manager shows all of your work and personal accounts in one place. Switching between them has never been easier.
LEARN MORE
 Conceptual screenshot of account switching feature 

April 2019
See what's new in the April update, Version 1904 (Build 11601.20144).
Add color to your page
New page colors mean that if an all-white or all-black background isn't for you, it's a snap to change it up.
 A Word doc with a green background and the page color picker open 

March 2019
See what's new in the March update, Version 1903 (Build 11425.20202).
Improve comprehension with Line Focus
Move through a document, line by line, without distractions. Adjust the focus to put one, three, or five lines in view at a time.
LEARN MORE
 Line Focus drop down list in the ribbon and One Line option selected 

Increase the reach of your content
Accessibility checker keeps an eye on your documents and tells you in the status bar when it finds something you should look at. Try it by clicking Review > Check Accessibility.
 Status bar showing that the Accessibility Checker is running 

February 2019
See what's new in the February update, Version 1902 (Build 11328.20070).
Save your changes as they happen
Upload your files to OneDrive to make sure all your updates are saved automatically.
January 2019
See what's new in the January update, Version 1901 (Build 11231.20130).
Get their attention with @mentions
Use @mentions in comments to let co-workers know when you need their input.
LEARN MORE
 Word document comment that includes a mention of a colleague 

December 2018
See what's new in Version 18.12 (11126.20188).
Take your doc from static to stunning
Transform your document into an interactive, easy-to-share web page that looks great on any device.
LEARN MORE
  

Improve comprehension with Line Focus
Move through a document line by line without distractions. Adjust the focus to put one, three, or five lines in view at a time.
Bring out your best writing with Editor
Editor reviews your writing and offer suggestions for spelling, grammar, and stylistic issues, like making sentences more concise, choosing simpler words, or writing more formally.
LEARN MORE
See your Documents in Different Light
Try out a dramatic new look that's easy on your eyes and helps you focus on your work.
LEARN MORE
May: Version 16.49 (Build 21050901)
Get a Refreshed Look for your Office Start Screen on Mac
A new refreshed look that uses our Fluent toolkit to align with Apple's new design language in Big Sur.
April: Version 16.48 (Build 21041102)
Better Collaboration with Modern Comments
Keep control of when you send comments to your co-authors, easily @mention notifications, and be more productive with a consistent commenting experience between Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
LEARN MORE
March: Version 16.47 (Build 21031401)
 Dictate in other languages 

Dictate your Documents with Voice Commands
The new dictation toolbar, voice commands, and auto-punctuation make creating content with your voice fast and easy.
LEARN MORE

Have control of when you send comments to your co-authors, easily @mention notifications, and be productive with a consistent commenting experience between Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

  

Dictate Your Documents in Other Languages
Dictation now supports 7 new languages: Hindi, Russian, Polish, Portuguese (Portugal), Korean, Thai, Chinese (Taiwan).
October: Version 16.42 (Build 20100402)
 Jazz up your files 

Jazz up Your Files
Give your documents, slides and spreadsheets more flair with free, high-quality stock images, icons, and stickers. Go to Insert > Pictures > Stock Images to get started.
LEARN MORE
April: Version 16.36 (Build 20041300)
 Shows Tell me search box 

Find What You're Looking for
Use the search box to find text, commands, help, and more.
We fixed an issue related to text anchoring in SVG rendering.
We fixed an issue where the app closed unexpectedly when the user clicked on or used shortcut keys to turn the Read Aloud feature on and off repeatedly.
We fixed an issue where the cursor disappears from a comment while scrolling in a multi-page document.
We fixed an issue where a GUID was displayed rather than an author’s name during collaboration.
We fixed an issue where the application sometimes stopped responding when refreshing the table of contents.
We fixed an issue where the Undo command wasn’t working after changing the color of bullets in a document.
We fixed an issue where the alignment of a previous comment changed from right to left when posting a new comment with right alignment.
We fixed an issue where content controls reverted on reopening.
We fixed an issue where pasting text in a comment would unnecessarily add a new line.
We fixed an issue where the cursor does not appear in the reply box when inserting a new comment if any pane is open on the right side of the document.
We fixed an issue where writing a comment that mixes language directions (like English and Hebrew) resulted in the word order appearing incorrectly.
We fixed an issue with large URLs where a link could not be opened if its length exceeded a specific character limit.
We fixed an issue of a persisting zoom level when relaunching and opening documents saved at different zoom levels.
We fixed an issue related to page width when closing the comments pane with page width zoom selected.
We fixed an issue that caused auto-scroll mode to not function.
We fixed an issue with co-authoring mode where a revision might not be saved.
We fixed an issue where a graphic could be missing in certain documents.
We fixed an issue where certain font styles were not being mapped appropriately when pasting text as “Keep text only.”
We fixed an issue where a mail-merge formatted document couldn’t be saved in .doc format.
We fixed an issue where some tables spanning multiple pages would bounce up and down (due to redrawing) in a no-margin page view.
Improved coauthoring error recovery experience

We’ve developed an improved recovery experience to quickly restore users back to a connected state after experiencing coauthoring errors.

We fixed an issue where the app would stop responding when “at mentioning” (@mention) someone in a comment.
We fixed an issue where the application would stop responding when the user selected File > Save As.
We fixed an issue where the app would close unexpectedly when the user clicked on comment text while dictating a reply to that comment.
We fixed an issue where the Read Aloud playback sometimes jumps to a random location in the document.
We fixed an issue where the document was appearing and disappearing in a flicker motion.
We fixed an issue where emails forwarded with long image URLs wouldn’t display.
We fixed an issue where the BizUD gothic Japanese font was rendering differently between Office applications.
We fixed an issue where changes failed to sync and progress was lost in both the synced file and the locally backed up file.
We fixed an issue where Word would become slow to respond while using a high CPU percentage.
We fixed an issue where AutoCorrect was not working in Modern Comments.
We fixed an issue that negatively impacted the typing speed in a document when an animated GIF is playing.
We fixed an issue that caused the Save indicator to stop responding.
Excel
Data Loss Prevention policy tips
Additional sensitive information types configured as part of OneDrive and SharePoint data loss prevention (DLP) policies can now be detected by the app to show a policy tip. This update also brings accuracy improvements and globalization support
We fixed an issue where Read Aloud neural voice regression stopped responding.
We fixed an issue related to crashes when calling DCompositionCreateDevice.
We fixed an issue where typing Hiragana with the Japanese input method editor (IME), with the At Mention people picker open, caused the IME to stop working.

Support added for OpenDocument format 1.3
Support for the newest version of OpenDocument format (ODF) 1.3 is now available in Office! The ODF 1.3 specification adds support for many features already supported by the Office Open XML (OOXML) format; these features can now be saved by Word, Excel, and PowerPoint (file extensions .odt, .ods, and .odp). To use the new format, just click File > Save As and in the Save as type field, select the OpenDocument format.
We fixed an issue where enabling auto-save could cause recent edits to temporarily disappear.
We fixed an issue with the comments where icons, stickers, and illustrations were not visible if they were pasted along with the text in a comment.
We fixed an issue related to exporting a chart as an EMF, so the EMF has editable labels when inserted as a picture in Office.
We fixed an issue where Word was failing to render the base-64 encoded, embedded GIFs in the email body.
We fixed an issue with non-default ribbon configurations that could lead to the Style Gallery not functioning.
We fixed an issue where the Resolve button was disabled when the focus was on a comment.
Track just your changes
Collaborating with others is a key part of producing great content in Word, and the Track Changes feature is an essential part of that process. Previously, when you turned on Track Changes, everyone’s changes were automatically tracked. 

We fixed an issue with the Document.Save command.
We fixed an issue where the cursor may not be visible after a page break.
We fixed an issue where Word became unresponsive when updating the Table of Contents field via VBA when Track Changes was on.
We fixed an issue that caused inserting a GIF to show a security notice.



