Microsoft aims to simplify how Office files are opened on mobile devices

Microsoft has moved to simplify how Office app files are opened on mobile devices after users cited uncertainty around the process. 

Opening a Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file on a mobile device typically means the Microsoft 365 mobile app will start up rather than the relevant standalone app.  

This has been the case since Microsoft introduced an Office mobile app for Android and iOS in 2019. The Office app combined Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps into a single app to create an “integrated experience” and reduce the need to switch between tools, Microsoft said at the time. 

(The Office mobile app was rebranded as Microsoft 365 in 2022.)

After user feedback, Microsoft announced last week that the standalone apps will be used to open files instead — as long as the standalone Office apps are installed on a user’s device; if not, files will continue to open in the Microsoft 365 app.

Aside from reducing confusion, opening the standalone app will make it easier to multitask, Microsoft said in a blog post, with multiple Office apps open at once. 

“For customers who want to open more than one Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file at once, the standalone apps can better handle side by side and windowing scenarios that modern tablet and mobile operating systems support,” said Samer Sawaya, a principal product manager at Microsoft.

Microsoft has started apply the change across its Office apps for iOS and Android, beginning with OneDrive. Outlook will follow this month and in November, while the timing for Teams has yet to be confirmed.