A quick look at Microsoft Word Online

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) released its online version of Office this week, and I decided to test it out by writing my post about it using the Word online tool. You start by signing up for a Windows Live ID, after which you access the Office Online tool set. This includes Word, Excel, Powerpoint and OneNote. You then need to select a document type. I chose Word. 

Next, you name your document before entering Word--a workflow I found awkward. Finally, after naming the document, you enter Word. I found it took a really long time to load. At first, I attributed this to the fact I was using Google Chrome, which is not a fully supported browser, but when I switched to Firefox, I didn't see much improvement. Part of the problem, I believe, is the graphical ribbon bar, which takes a long time to load. 

Having used Google Docs for some time, I like how it automatically saves your document. Online Word requires you to explicitly save your document, but there is no Save button in the default ribbon bar. Instead, there is a very small (easy to miss) button above the ribbon. Seems like saving is the most important action and would warrant a nice, large button for that purpose. 

It's also worth noting that (unsurprising), documents are saved by default as docx files, which not everyone can read. Ultimately though, in spite of what Microsoft may tell you, their online tools are really about sharing between Office users, so in this context saving as docx makes sense. 

Documents are saved to the Skydrive, online drive where you can access, share and discuss them. Overall, I would say, Microsoft has tried a little too hard to maintain the desktop experience here, and in the interest of speed may want to rethink their approach. For Office users, however, who want to share documents online, this is a big step forward and I'm sure it will be a welcome addition.

For more information:
- see the Windows Live blog post announcing Office on SkyDrive.

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