On Monday, Microsoft released a new Windows Phone 8 app called Office Remote. Office Remote turns your Windows Phone 8 into a presentation remote for a Windows 7 or Windows 8 PC, with Office 2013 and Bluetooth.
Office Remote currently supports PowerPoint, Excel, and Word. With this app you can perform actions such as jumping through slides, and using a remote laser pointer in PowerPoint. In Word and Excel, you can navigate through documents and zoom in and out. If you want to set up your Windows Phone as an Office remote for your PC, here's how:
Step 1: On your PC, download the Microsoft Office Remote PC Setup software and install it.
Step 2: Make sure that Bluetooth is enabled on your PC and Windows Phone 8, and that they're paired with each other.
Step 3: On your PC, launch the Office document you want to access, then go to the Office Remote tab. Click on Office Remote, then select Turn On.
Step 4: After you've installed Office Remote on your Windows Phone 8, open the app, then connect to your paired PC from the list. Once connected, you'll see your open document(s). Select one to interact with that document.
Once you've selected your document, you'll be able to navigate it with your Windows Phone 8. The supported functions will vary depending on the type of document you're working in.
PowerPoint
- Jump to the next, previous, and last slide
- View slide thumbnails and jump to a slide
- View speaker notes
- View presentation timer and slide numbers
- Laser pointer using touch on your phone
Excel
- Change worksheets by swiping
- Use Slicers, PivotTable, and Filters
- Jump to any named object in your workbook
- Move up or down the worksheet
- Change the zoom level
Word
- Jump to headings
- Jump to comments
- Screen up/down
- Line up/down
- Change the zoom level