How to Use Microsoft Ink in Word on a Mac
Parallels Desktop 12 Update 1 adds even greater support for Microsoft Ink. (You can read an overview of Ink on the Mac here.) In this blog post, I will specifically discuss the uses of Microsoft Ink in Word for Windows 2016 running on a Mac with the use of Parallels Desktop 12.
As outlined in my earlier blog post, my Ink setup uses the Apple Pencil, an iPad Pro, and the AstroPad iPad app (Figure 1).
Figure 1
Ink in Word for Windows 2016
If you have installed Word for Windows 2016 as part of an Office 365 subscription, then there are a number of different ways you can use Ink in Word, and Parallels Desktop 12 Update 1 will enable the Draw tab in Word (Figure 2) so that you can access all of these Ink uses.
Figure 2
Ink Annotation
Ink is an excellent way to comment on or review a Word document (Figure 3).
Figure 3
You can use the standard proofreader marks if you are sure that the individual to whom you will be sending the reviewed document will understand those marks (Figure 4).
Figure 4
As you can see in the Word Draw tab, there are three conversion tools: Ink Editor, Convert to Shapes, and Ink to Math.
Ink Editor
The Ink Editor tool gives you the ability to perform simple document editing tasks using Ink as gestures. Currently, there are only two gestures: encircling to select text, and scribbling out to delete text, both shown in Video 5. I suspect that more editing gestures will be added in the future.
Convert to Shapes
The Convert to Shapes tool gives you the ability to add shapes to your document. I was not able to use this Ink tool to enter all 160 of the shapes from the Shapes menu, but the simple ones worked as expected, and some of these are shown in Video 6.
Ink to Math
The Ink to Math tool gives you the ability to enter typographically-rich equations in your Word document just by writing them naturally with a pen. Word added an excellent equations editor several years ago, but it is a bit tedious to use. The Ink to Math tool—shown in Video 7—makes entering an equation extremely natural.
Ink Replay
Ink Replay, the last tool in the Draw tab in Word, provides you with a type of animation for your Ink sketches.
I have found the use of Ink in Word to be an excellent way to annotate and add content to a Word document. Remember that while you need Word for Windows 2016 (in an Office 365 subscription) to enter or edit Ink in a Word document, any recent version of Word will correctly display Ink. As one example, I have used Word for Mac 2011 to display Ink in a Word document without any problem (Video 8).
I hope you find Ink in Word to be as useful as I have.
Have you tried Microsoft Ink in Word on a Mac yet? Share your experience with us in a comment, or reach out to us on Facebook or Twitter.
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