Getting the most out of Microsoft Word: Add-Ins for 2021
Microsoft estimates there are 1.2 billion people across 140 countries using Microsoft Office, of which Microsoft Word is a big proportion. Microsoft Word can help you design virtually every kind of professional document, but when you want a bit more functionality, Microsoft Word add-ins can make Word more powerful to complete tasks quickly or add new tools to your word processor.
Accessing and installing add-ins for Microsoft Word 365, 2016, 2019 and Microsoft Word Online
Many add-ins are free; some have a subscription fee. Ratings and reviews can help you determine what to expect.
There are two methods of downloading add-ins for Microsoft Word:
1. Office Store (AppSource) lists all add-ins available for all Office applications. Sign into AppSource with your Microsoft account. Give permission to install. Select the application you want. The add-in will appear on the right of the Ribbon. Click the add-in button and a sidebar appears on the side of your document.
2. Within Word (including Word for iPad, Word for Mac, Word Online). Go to Ribbon -> Add-Ins -> Get Add-Ins. Use the Store pane to browse and install. Installed add-ins will be listed under My Add-Ins. Give permission to Microsoft to install. As per the Office Store, the add-in will appear on the right of the Ribbon.
Let's look at a few add-ins from the over 2000 which can transform your workflow and make your experience in Microsoft Word a more productive one:
Writing Assistant
Free. Improve your English with Artificial Intelligence. Writing Assistant is an artificial intelligence powered text checker that provides sentence level writing suggestions, and flags errors in your grammar, especially useful for non-Native English speakers. Helps to improve fluency, readability, and concise phrasing.
MyScript Math Sample
Free. A Maths equation editor that works by hand using a touchscreen, mouse, or drawing pad. The real-time handwriting recognition translates to a typed equation. The add-in supports more than 200 symbols.
Wikipedia
Free. Simple search for facts. When writing an academic essay or research paper, the world's largest open-source encyclopedia can be a first filter for fact-checking, or obtaining some extra knowledge, without the need to leave your Word document.
Woodpecker Legal Document Automation
Free. Lets you create standardised, frequently used Word documents (for example, contracts) with customisable blank fields, populating simple information, and streamlining everyday tedious paperwork. No need to maintain a library of templates in a separate application.
Pro Word Cloud
Free. Create beautiful word cloud images from your text to get your point across. A great way to add a visual element to any text document or presentation. The word cloud will give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently. It can also help summarise the core idea of any document. Word clouds are customisable with different sizes, fonts, layouts, colours.
Pickit
Free for 7 days, monthly subscription afterwards. Puts all the images you need right inside Word. Pickit is a stock illustration site than can complement your documents with beautiful photos, icons and clipart from Pickit's public image library, all legal and compliant.
DocuSign for Word
Free. Sign or request eSignatures securely for important documents from anywhere, anytime. Digital signatures have become foolproof and legally binding identification tools for critical documents. Streamline the signing process by specifying the signing route to the right people.
Emoji Keyboard
Free. Have some fun with colourful emojis with more than 1300 to choose from (Unicode 9.0 standard). Offers keyword-based emoji search, and skin tone modifiers. Licensed for use in commercial projects.
We hope these useful and mostly free Microsoft Word add-ins help you plug a few productivity gaps, reduce a few steps, and add up to a more efficient workflow at the end of your day. However, to make sure your writing represents the best version of your business, request a free trial, or quotation, to see what Editor's Pen can do for you.