Microsoft has had mobile versions of the Office components in the app stores for quite some time now. Recently, an all-in-one Office package has also been added. If you want to download Office for smartphones, you may be wondering which one you should have. The all-in-one version or the separate apps? And what can you do with it?
We discuss the version for Apple devices here, but the information below also broadly applies to the Android version. The advantage of the universal all-in-one Office app from Microsoft is that it takes up much less storage space than the separate components Word, Excel and PowerPoint. There are also some extras hidden in the all-in-one version. In short: a switch is obvious.
The parts in the complete package all work exactly the same as individual parts, so you don’t have to worry about that. If you also consider that the all-in-one version takes up about the same amount of space as each of the separate parts, then the choice is basically made quickly.
Don’t rush to delete old apps!
In principle, because before switching over and enthusiastically deleting the old, separate parts, you should bear in mind that locally stored files also disappear during a deletion. The all-in-one app does not have the ‘intelligence’ on board to import documents from the app folders. Although that would have been very easy in the case of the Office components in particular, because each app simply has its own folder in the app Files from iPad and iPhone.
It means that the entire Office app is installed bare. We did see that the login details for our Office 365 subscription were taken over, so we did have direct access to the files stored online. If you are someone who never saves Office files locally, you can get started right away and pick up where you left off.
Looking for the various document folders
Because many people also use their – in particular – iPad on the road, undoubtedly also in places where internet is not available for a while, it is important to check what is floating around in the document folders before you remove the individual Office components. Start the app for that Files and browse to On my iPad† can be found in the column on the left.
You will now see a whole series of folders. Including (depending on which Office components you actually installed) folders for Word, Excel and PowerPoint† Plus a folder created when installing the complete Office suite office† If for some reason it is not there, create a document in one of the Office components in the newly installed Microsoft Office and save it locally. Then the folder will definitely be created!
The idea is simple: move all files in the Word, Excel and PowerPoint folders to the Office folder. Don’t divide into subfolders, just put everything together. Only when you have done that can you safely remove the three separate Office apps mentioned. If you now start Office, you will see all your documents collected in the file manager of the complete Office package.
The all-in-one app still needs to ‘warm up’. This is how the list with Recently used documents (not yet. That will all work out if you use the app for a while.
File type filter
Because Office places all file types in one collection folder, a file type filter has been considered. Click on the button at the very top left of the screen. You can now select which file types you want to see, selecting multiple types is possible.
When you are done with the selection click on To apply† Then only the document types that you have set are visible, for example only Excel files.
Now it would have been really handy if that filter could be applied not only to the list of recently used files, but also in the Office file manager. Or the part that you open by clicking the button in the form of a folder in the column on the left. Strangely enough, it is missing there, with the result that this is much more – by analogy with Windows – a folder My Documents has become. Maybe Microsoft will change that again.
It remains to be seen which direction Microsoft wants to take with its Office apps. Certainly on an iPad, the current versions – including the all-in-one – are quite short on the possibilities that this device has to offer. However, due to the large saving of file space via the complete app, there are possibilities for expansion.
Also under Android, the jump to all-in-one has been made a while back. The separate Office components will probably be phased out in the future, because they are now superfluous and far from efficient. So switching is not unwise.
Bonus parts
Furthermore, as mentioned, the Office app has some bonus parts on board. Tap the button with four balls in the column to the left. You will now see several darn useful tools, all built-in and ready to use. They speak – in name – for themselves. For example, you can convert a PDF file to an editable file in Word, apply OCR to images and then extract text or tables from it. But also making a PDF of a selection of photos, scanning QR codes and creating forms are possible.
It also makes the Office app a true repository for a host of productive components that will come in handy for any business user sooner or later. Installing all kinds of separate apps for these things is no longer necessary, which of course also saves storage space. You can then – after you have checked the cat out of the tree perhaps – remove apps for PDF conversion, OCR and so on from your device.
Even more Microsoft apps
What we find a bit confusing is the dot grid button in the left column. This leads to an overview of other Microsoft apps, which you can then install directly from the Office app. Strangely enough, there are also the ‘old’ loose Office parts in between, which you just wanted to get rid of.
Undoubtedly there are people who will install them again, assuming that they are necessary. Don’t, because that would be a pointless attack on the storage space in your device! Things like Teams, OneNote or Outlook you can of course install it as you wish. But avoid duplicates.
In the future, also pay close attention to whether Microsoft will integrate even more components in the all-in-one package. If that actually happens, it is again important to first secure the documents from the old separate app before removing it.
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