In an announcement on Friday, Microsoft revealed that the new version of its PowerPoint software will come with two new features, called Designer and Morph, that will enable anyone to create professionally designed PowerPoint presentations.
The first new tool, Designer, aims to consolidate functionality rather than expand on it. The goal, according to Microsoft’s Chris Maloney, is to reduce the number of clicks needed for PowerPoint users to achieve a task. In doing so, the more advanced features that are typically avoided by average users due to complexity become a more attractive option for users.
Elaborating on this, Maloney explained that Designer could reduce the number of clicks by “about 150 clicks worth of work”, saving users a lot of time when putting together a specific design. He said that Designer’s ease of use will allow people to create new designs they wouldn’t think they were capable of.
You get to see new design ideas you probably never thought to do yourself.
The second feature, Morph, will allow users greater control over shapes and layouts in the images they use. Morph will come with the ability to create animations, in order to capture and hold the attention of an audience. According to Computer World, Morph will take two different slides and create a transition that fades and moves the elements of the two slides around in order to make an animation.
Microsoft’s head of PowerPoint, Shawn Villaron, said that these two new features are just a taste of what’s to come to Microsoft Office. Now that Microsoft licenses Office to consumers through a subscription model rather than selling the software, the company has pledged to provide more updates and features to its users.
Microsoft plans on launching a new program called “Office Insider”, according to The Washington Post, where users will get early access to new Office innovations. Participants are encouraged to submit feedback on Microsoft’s website to let them know what they’re doing right and what needs improvement.
