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Microsoft Office for iPad to Support Apple Pencil's Handwriting-to-Text Feature [Updated]

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Microsoft this week released a new beta version of its Office app for iPad with support for the Apple Pencil's handwriting-to-text feature Scribble. The feature allows you to insert and edit text in a Word document, PowerPoint presentation, or Excel spreadsheet using the Apple Pencil, with handwriting automatically converted into typed text.

iPadOS-Scribble-Feature.jpeg

After enabling the Scribble feature in Settings → Apple Pencil, the feature can be used by tapping the Scribble Pen button under the Draw tab in version 2.64 of the Office app. The feature can be tested now by members of the Office Insider program via TestFlight, and the update will likely be released on the App Store for all users in the coming weeks.

Scribble was added in iPadOS 14 for any iPad that supports the original or second-generation Apple Pencil, including any iPad Pro, the third-generation iPad Air and newer, the fifth-generation iPad mini and newer, and the sixth-generation iPad and newer.

Microsoft's unified Office app with Word, PowerPoint, and Excel gained iPad compatibility in February 2021 and is also available for the iPhone.

Update: The update to Office for iPad with Scribble support is now available on the App Store.

Article Link: Microsoft Office for iPad to Support Apple Pencil's Handwriting-to-Text Feature [Updated]
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2022/08/13/microsoft-office-ipad-apple-pencil-scribble/
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Cool feature, but I don’t find it particularly useful. It might come in handy if you want to just scribble a short phrase, but why would it be useful in MS Office? Is anyone going to write a whole report with his pencil when you can just type?
 
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NoelWalker said:
Cool feature, but I don’t find it particularly useful. It might come in handy if you want to just scribble a short phrase, but why would it be useful in MS Office? Is anyone going to write a whole report with his pencil when you can just type?
Click to expand...
Think a quick annotation while you’re away from the office and don’t have your Magic Keyboard with you. Or a quick change in a PowerPoint presentation right before you present it. There’s a lot of situations where you might want a short phrase when using Office on a portable device on the go.
 
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kc9hzn said:
Think a quick annotation while you’re away from the office and don’t have your Magic Keyboard with you. Or a quick change in a PowerPoint presentation right before you present it. There’s a lot of situations where you might want a short phrase when using Office on a portable device on the go.
Click to expand...

Why wouldnt you have your Magic Keyboard when using MS Office though when it is literally always attached to the device wherever you go? If you need to edit a PowerPoint immediately before a presentation you have bigger problems. Seems like a rare occasion to find an opportunity for this to be a useful feature. More options are always good but I can’t see this being a particularly useful addition.
 
NoelWalker said:
Cool feature, but I don’t find it particularly useful. It might come in handy if you want to just scribble a short phrase, but why would it be useful in MS Office? Is anyone going to write a whole report with his pencil when you can just type?
Click to expand...

Scribble is a system feature that is supposed to be available everywhere there is text input. Apple said as much. So you can either question why Apple made Scribble available for all text input or why Microsoft applications don't work with Scribble despite Apple making it a systemwide feature.

Microsoft OneNote for iPad is crippled compared to the Mac version which is crippled compared to the Windows version. Even with Apple Pencil, OneNote for iPad still does not support handwriting recognition, unlike OneNote for Windows.
 
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Coreymac84 said:
Why wouldnt you have your Magic Keyboard when using MS Office though when it is literally always attached to the device wherever you go?
Click to expand...

Because not everyone keeps it attached all the time.

Coreymac84 said:
If you need to edit a PowerPoint immediately before a presentation you have bigger problems. Seems like a rare occasion to find an opportunity for this to be a useful feature. More options are always good but I can’t see this being a particularly useful addition.
Click to expand...

In some cases it is a lot easier to write on the screen than type, such as when you’d have to juggle your iPad on your lap. I don’t see me writing long paragraphs of text, but like voice dictation it can come in handy at times.
 
kc9hzn said:
Think a quick annotation while you’re away from the office and don’t have your Magic Keyboard with you. Or a quick change in a PowerPoint presentation right before you present it. There’s a lot of situations where you might want a short phrase when using Office on a portable device on the go.
Click to expand...
But iPads also come with a software keyboard. What would be a situation where the pencil input would work better than just typing with the on-screen keyboard?
 
szw-mapple fan said:
But iPads also come with a software keyboard. What would be a situation where the pencil input would work better than just typing with the on-screen keyboard?
Click to expand...

Typing on the virtual keyboard is a pain, IMHO. You get no tactile feedback, need to look at teh keyboard when typing, and it covers a good bit of the screen. The pencil, OTOH, is like writing on paper.
 
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It’s about time! I use this feature every day while commuting in Outlook. So ridiculous it’s taken them this long to integrate into their main app that focused On Writing. I find Scribble super quick when on the train on the way to work.
 
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szw-mapple fan said:
But iPads also come with a software keyboard. What would be a situation where the pencil input would work better than just typing with the on-screen keyboard?
Click to expand...
When you are using your pen already so it is in your hand? Say, you are drawing something, then want to make a note.
 
This is a glaring limitation to be solved for iPadOS MS Office.
I find pen input much better on public transport. Sure you won’t write War and Peace, but you can edit, annotate etc etc much better than trying to use the onscreen keyboard on a bus.

And no, above, most iPad owners do not own magic keyboards, which would be pretty hopeless on a bus.

I can’t believe people a criticising a decision by MS to finally implement a improvement, but not that it is late to the party!
 
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MacRumors said:


Microsoft this week released a new beta version of its Office app for iPad with support for the Apple Pencil's handwriting-to-text feature Scribble. The feature allows you to insert and edit text in a Word document, PowerPoint presentation, or Excel spreadsheet using the Apple Pencil, with handwriting automatically converted into typed text.

iPadOS-Scribble-Feature.jpeg

After enabling the Scribble feature in Settings → Apple Pencil, the feature can be used by tapping the Scribble Pen button under the Draw tab in version 2.64 of the Office app. The feature can be tested now by members of the Office Insider program via TestFlight, and the update will likely be released on the App Store for all users in the coming weeks.

Scribble was added in iPadOS 14 for any iPad that supports the original or second-generation Apple Pencil, including any iPad Pro, the third-generation iPad Air and newer, the fifth-generation iPad mini and newer, and the sixth-generation iPad and newer.

Microsoft's unified Office app with Word, PowerPoint, and Excel gained iPad compatibility in February 2021 and is also available for the iPhone.

Article Link: Microsoft Office for iPad to Support Apple Pencil's Handwriting-to-Text Feature
Click to expand...

I find the pencil (iPad Mini 6) awkward except once in a while - it works for me to use it to sketch out a schematic. With sketch text notes/dimensions will be a big plus here. Of course that’s in pad’s notes app. It remains to be seen if it’s useful in Office - I just don’t see me doing much pencil work in that app.
 
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