Office Online now opens, saves Dropbox docs; in-place editing is now part of Dropbox Web UI Microsoft and Dropbox yesterday expanded the links between Office and online storage, coming through on pledges made last November when they inked their partnership. In joint announcements Thursday, the firms put the finishing touches on the moves they promised in 2014. Microsoft added Dropbox as a storage option for Office Online, the browser-based versions of Excel, PowerPoint and Word that are free to consumers and part of every commercial Office 365 subscription plan. “You can add your Dropbox account to easily browse, open and edit Office files with Office Online,” Microsoft said in a blog yesterday. “You can also create new files in Office Online, and save them directly to your Dropbox.” Meanwhile, Dropbox added an “Open” button to the previews of Excel, PowerPoint and Word shown in the storage service’s Web user interface (UI). When the Open button is clicked, the previewed document opens in the appropriate Office Online app. “You’ll … be able to access your Dropbox directly from Office Online, so you can open any of your Dropbox files — and save new files to Dropbox — without leaving Office Online,” the company said. The Office Online changes were the last steps in several that the partners outlined in November. At the time, they said the Dropbox-Office Online integration would appear in the first half of 2015. Previously, Microsoft had added Dropbox connections to the Office mobile apps on the iPad, iPhone and Android smartphones, and Dropbox had launched a Windows Phone app. Another piece of the partnership, however, is still not in place: Integration of Dropbox with the upcoming upgrades to Office 2016 on Windows and OS X. Neither company has hinted whether Dropbox will be offered as an online storage option for the on-premises suites, which are the biggest draw of Office 365 for both consumers and corporate workers. Office 2016 for Mac, for instance, which hit preview five weeks ago, does not offer Dropbox as a choice when adding another storage service. Related content news analysis Apple earnings: About that iPhone 'slump' in China Based on information from Thursday's earnings report, it seems that data pointing to an iPhone slump in China were over-baked. By Jonny Evans May 03, 2024 9 mins iMac iPhone Apple news Microsoft begins to phase out ‘classic’ Teams Microsoft is encouraging Teams customers to move to the new, faster version of the collaboration app; the older version will be switched off next year. By Matthew Finnegan May 03, 2024 3 mins Microsoft Teams Collaboration Software Productivity Software news analysis Apple confirms it will open up the iPad in Europe this fall The latest efforts to comply with Europe’s Digital Markets Act mean developers can offer to side load apps to both iPhones and iPads in the EU. Apple has also taken steps to improve what it offers to smaller and non-commercial developers in the By Jonny Evans May 02, 2024 6 mins iPad Apple Mobile Apps news Udacity offers laid-off US workers free access to its courses for 30 days Sign-ups will be available over the next 30 days By Lucas Mearian May 02, 2024 4 mins Technology Industry IT Jobs IT Skills Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe