iPad and iPad Pro users can now use the Apple Pencil, or their finger, in Office, Microsoft has announced. The update includes the addition of a new ‘Draw’ tab in the Office ribbon so users can access inking, drawing and writing tools quickly.

Instant inking has also been added so that an iPad will detect an approaching stylus, ensuring that you can move from typing to making notes or drawing without having to select a feature in the app. You can now also use the ‘Ink to shape’ feature in Office for iOS, which takes hand-drawn sketches of shapes and converts them into formatted graphics.

PowerPoint Designer and Morph (available last November for Windows desktop and Windows Mobile) has come to iPhone, iPad and iPad Pro, giving PowerPoint users thousands of ready-made layouts to choose from as well as offering suggestions on how to turn drawings, 3-D objects and text into animations to spruce-up your presentations. Microsoft added that Office Insiders on Android devices will be able to try both PowerPoint Designer and Morph in the next Preview build.

To make use of these new features download the latest version of PowerPoint, and for a short explanation on how to annotate and draw in PowerPoint have a look at Microsoft’s guide.

Lastly, Mac users can now join Microsoft’s Office Insider program. Up until now Office Insider has only been available on Windows desktop, Windows 10 Mobile and Android.

Photo credit: Microsoft Office blogs