Microsoft updates Word for iPad with mouse support; Excel now works with multi-window mode

Microsoft has silently updated its Office apps to iOS today with some interesting features for iPad users. While Microsoft Word now supports mouse and trackpad interaction, the Excel app finally works with multi-window mode.

Microsoft announced these features in May last year, but the company has been releasing them in phases for each Office app. Word, which already supported multi-window mode, is now getting full support for mouse and trackpad on the iPad.

Users can connect any mouse or trackpad to the iPad, including the Magic Keyboard, and use them to select text and click on the buttons of the app interface just like on a computer. “Connect a trackpad or mouse to your iPad for another way to interact with Word. Use the trackpad from the all-new magic keyboard to interact with your document,” says the release notes.

This time, Excel has been updated with multi-window mode support — which lets users open multiple documents at the same time and even interact with two Excel spreadsheets side-by-side in the app. Although PowerPoint hasn’t received any of these features, the app has been updated with a new Presenter Coach that gives feedback and helps you improve your presentations.

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint are available for free on the App Store. However, an Office 365 subscription is required to access all app features. Mouse and multi-window support on iPad requires iPadOS 13 or later.