Microsoft yesterday published a new blog post discussing new features and user interface updates to Microsoft Office Word Web App. As you know, this is the web version of Microsoft Word, offered free of charge to everyone. The update includes a fresh new look and feel, footnotes, and even a new way to interact with Word and get things done!

As you can see from the screenshot, the Word Web App now sports a sleek new look. The most obvious is the blue header on the top. In fact, the color of the header changes depending on the application you are using. For instance, the header is green for Excel, orange for PowerPoint, and Purple for OneNote. You may also notice that the ribbon is now darker and offers a bit more contrast! Personally, I want an option to have a really dark color scheme in addition to the light theme.

A new feature introduced in Word Web App is the footnotes feature. This allows you to quickly and easily add one or more footnotes to your document. They are automatically formatted for you, including assigning the appropriate numbers, resizing text, and adding lines. It ensures that you spend more time writing than formatting. I am personally thrilled with this feature!

The next feature is intriguing. It might actually hint at what is to come for the next update to the desktop versions of Office applications. It introduces a new user interface element. Microsoft is calling it “Tell Me”. It is essentially a textbox in the ribbon that lets you type what you want to do. For instance, if you type “print”, you will be given the option to print your document. This feature is very useful, especially if you don’t know or can’t remember where certain functionality is located.

Microsoft mentions other updates, including better rendering of shapes and textboxes, and also the addition of the individual Office Web Apps to the Microsoft consumer online services header bar, which you can invoke by clicking the arrow button beside Microsoft online services such as Skydrive or Outlook.com.

Source: Office Blogs