Using Office Web Apps in SharePoint 2013 allows users to view and edit Office documents through a web browser on personal computers and mobile devices – this boost in feature enabled Microsoft to compete head-on with Google Docs, but only better. SharePoint’s enterprise grade implementation of Office Web Apps gives users a browser-based viewing and editing experience much like its counterpart, Google. Documents are rendered just the same as its Office client application and give a pretty straight forward user interface. When an Office Web App user chooses Edit in Word, Edit in Excel, Edit in PowerPoint or Edit in OneNote button, the file automatically opens in its associated Office client application installed on the client computer.
Office Web Apps in SharePoint 2013 is also packed with new features. To give users more ease in monitoring alterations made to documents, Office Web Apps has Change Tracking – it leaves revision marks on all changes. It also makes creating, viewing and replying to comments easier. This can be done both in Word and PowerPoint. Co-authoring or the process of collaborating on one document is also supported on Office Web Apps; this is extended to Excel and OneNote as well. Now, it is easy as well to embed Web Apps just like how it’s done in WordPress and Blogger. The Embedding functionality of Office Web Apps in SharePoint 2013 makes it a breeze.
Files that contain ink are also supported through Ink support. Installing Office Web Apps is quick. For more information, see Office Web Apps Server overview. There are also different licensing options for Office Web Apps use in SharePoint. You can learn more here. It is easy to view an item that a user rests over a search result in SharePoint through Quick Preview, and finally users can also send a quick reference to a document through Sharing by link.
Using Office Web Apps on SharePoint 2013 can really give a boost in productivity and mobility. If you think it’s time for your business to make the big move, our team at Portal Integrators can help.