Microsoft Announces February Updates to Sway on the Web and Windows 10

Microsoft this week announced the February 2016 updates to Sway on the web and on Windows 10. The web-based Sway updates are available immediately, and the updates to the Sway app for Windows 10 will be “available soon.”

Here’s what’s new.

Sway on the web

Sway on the web has already been updated with the following changes.

Recent documents view. Sway now offers a view of recently-accessed documents when you choose Insert -> OneDrive. The idea here is that users often work on a document elsewhere and then want to import or insert it into a sway.

Import more web content types. Sway can now import Power BI reports and PollEverywhere.com live polls, two nice additions to the app’s support for third party web content types. You can find a complete list of the content types Sway supports here.

Easier Sway embeds. Microsoft has made it easier for those who wish to embed a sway elsewhere on the web: Sway is now supported by Embed.ly and oEmbed, so you can on supported services (including WordPress) embed a sway by inserting just a URL.

Better text formatting. Sway now offers improved text formatting, with access to the full text editing features in Preview mode, the ability to emphasize an entire text card (instead of just a word), and global text size customization with a single slider.

Sway app for Windows 10

A coming update to the Sway app for Windows 10 will include the following changes.

Recycle Bin. Added last month to Sway on the web, Sway for Windows 10 is getting a Recycle Bin so you can recover deleted content for up to 30 days.

Improvements to the full-screen experience. Emulating PowerPoint, Sway will prevent your Windows PC or tablet from going to sleep while you are presenting or viewing a sway in full-screen mode.

Better text formatting. As with Sway on the web, Sway for Windows 10 is picking up improved text formatting, with access to the full text editing features in Preview mode, the ability to emphasize an entire text card (instead of just a word), and global text size customization with a single slider.