HOW TO
Collaborate With Microsoft Word on iPad
Microsoft Word
Create a Resume, Essay or PDF
Want to collaborate on Microsoft Word docs? Grab your iPad.
The redesigned iOS version of Word offers live syncing of a coauthored document across platforms—which means if you're working on an iPad Pro, your changes will sync in real time to your teammate on a PC.
To give someone a look
‣ Sometimes you need a second set of eyes on a project, whether it’s a history report, sales presentation, or idea for a new movie franchise. To share a read-only version of your Word doc via Mail or iMessage, tap Share, then tap Send a Copy. That creates a version your recipient can peruse but not change.
To coauthor and collaborate
‣ To work with others, tap the Share icon in the upper right corner (if you’re new to this, it’s the swooshy arrow), then tap Invite People.
Select your recipients, toggle the Can Edit option to your liking, add a message if you so choose, then tap Send. Your recipient will receive an email with the link to edit.
The mobile version of Word includes the famous Track Changes feature, so you can see what your collaborators have been up to—and vice versa. If something goes awry, jump back in time with version history.
To create and edit documents on an iPad Pro, you’ll need an Office 365 subscription. Those using an iPhone, iPad, or iPad mini just need a free Microsoft account. (You can sign up for both within the app.)
And real-time collaboration requires files to be stored in Microsoft’s SharePoint or OneDrive services. An Office 365 subscription gets you 1 TB of storage on the latter—enough space to write not just the idea for the movie franchise but all of its sequels.