Microsoft released Office 2016 on September 22. Like Office 2013 before it, the new office suite contains several new & improved features.
Today’s Tech Tip will cover a new feature added to Word:
Co-Authoring. Co-Authoring allows a group of people to work on a single Word or PowerPoint document…at the same time.
Google Docs users have enjoyed co-authoring for a little while; this is the first version of Microsoft Office to include it. The feature has a lot of power though—worth waiting for!
How to Start Co-Authoring in a Word 2016 Document
Let’s see how easy it is to start co-authoring. You must install Office 2016 (desktop or Office 365 version) before following these steps.
- In Word 2016, click Share. Then click “Save to Cloud”.
- Choose the location you want: On your OneDrive, or SharePoint Online. (If this is the first time sharing, you’ll be prompted to “Add a Place” and sign in to your Microsoft Account.)
- In the Share Pane you see, invite others to co-author either by:
- Entering their email address in the “Invite People” box, or
- Clicking the “Get a Sharing Link” link & send them this link via email or IM.
- Either way, make sure you’ve set the permissions to “Can Edit”. Click Share.
- Once they accept the share invite, you can begin co-authoring. Each user will have a different-colored flag by their changes.
- Note: You may see a popup saying, “Do you want to automatically share changes as they happen?” (See the image at right.) You’ll want to click “Yes” so everyone sees what you’re writing in real time.
That’s it! You’re co-authoring documents now. No more emailing Word documents back and forth, no more wondering if you have the latest version.
Refer to this page for additional details on setting up co-authoring:
Collaborate on Word Documents with Real-Time Co-Authoring – Office Support