Microsoft partners Dropbox to allow edit of Office files in Dropbox using Office Online

Microsoft in partnership with Dropbox has announced a new integration that will now allow users to view and edit their Microsoft Office files, including Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents, in Dropbox using Office Online using the web.

For users to use the new feature, when they are previewing the file on the web, then they will have the option to edit the file when they click the 'Open' button from their web browser using Office Online. The option is available to Dropbox for Business customers who have an Office 365 license as well as Dropbox Basic and Pro users, and those who are on the free tier of Office Online. The company says that the only requirement for using the free tier of Office Online is creating a free Microsoft account.

According to the TechCrunch web site, Customers can start using the new integration from today.

Also, users will be able to save new files to Dropbox without leaving Office Online.

Dropbox pointed out that the potential impact for its user base is large. The company says there are over 35 billion Office documents stored in its service at present, and the integration will allow millions of users to take advantage of the new functionality. In total, including desktop installations, Microsoft has over 1.2 billion Office users, 9.2 million of which are Office 365 Home and Personal subscribers.

Microsoft and Dropbox first announced a strategic partnership in November, that began to offer users the ability to edit Office docs from Dropbox's mobile app, the ability to access Dropbox docs from Office apps and better support for Dropbox within Office and vice versa. Also, users can now also use Dropbox on Windows Phones and tablets.