Microsoft Office 2016 has a number of new features that make it easier to work with your documents. One of these features is the ink feature. Ink allows you to add handwritten notes and drawings to your documents, which can be a great way to keep track of ideas or thoughts while you’re working on a project. To use the ink feature in Microsoft Office, first open the document that you want to add notes or drawings to. Then click the pen icon in the toolbar (or press Ctrl+P). In the pop-up window that appears, click the color wheel icon next to “Ink color.” This will open a color picker where you can choose the color of your ink. You can also change the size and shape of your pen by clicking on these icons. Once you’ve selected your pen and color, just start writing! You can use standard keyboard shortcuts (like Ctrl+A to select all of your text, for example) or drag and drop text from other parts of your document into your note area. You can also insert images by clicking on the image icon next to “Insert image.” Once you’ve inserted an image, you can resize it by clicking on its thumbnail and dragging it around. If you want to stop writing in your note area and return to editing mode, just click anywhere outside of the note area. If you want to save your note as a draft so that you can continue working on it later, just click “Save as draft” in the pop-up window that appears after clicking on “Ink color.” ..
Another handy ink feature is Ink Replay. With it, you can replay the drawings from start to finish. This is convenient for documents, spreadsheets, or slides full of handwritten markups that you want to decipher.
Microsoft Office’s Ink Features
You can use Ink to Shape, Ink to Math, and Ink Replay in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. PowerPoint also offers an extra tool called Ink to Text. Each feature works slightly differently than another and differently in PowerPoint versus Word and Excel.
The ink features are available in versions of Microsoft Office including 2016 and later along with Microsoft 365 on Windows and Mac. The Ink Replay feature, however, is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers.
Use Ink to Shape
With the Ink to Shape tool, you can draw a shape, connector line, or arrow and convert it to Office’s graphical equivalent for a nice and neat appearance.
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Word and Excel
Head to your document or spreadsheet and go to the Draw tab. Select “Ink to Shape” in the Convert section of the ribbon.
Choose a drawing tool and draw the shape. You should immediately see it converted to Office’s equivalent.
PowerPoint
Unlike Word and Excel, you do not select the Ink to Shape button before you draw your shape. Instead, draw the shape first.
Next, use either the Select or Lasso tool to select the shape. Then click either the Ink to Shape button in the ribbon or the icon on the top right of the drawing.
If your converted shape doesn’t look quite right, select the three dots that display after you convert it. You can then choose a different shape.
Use Ink to Math
With Ink to Math, you can draw your equation and then convert the numbers and symbols to Office’s equivalents, similar to the Ink to Shape feature. For more details on using this Ink Equation Editor, check out our full tutorial.
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Word and Excel
On the Draw tab, select “Ink to Math” in the Convert section of the ribbon. Draw your equation in the Write Math Here area.
If everything looks correct, click “Insert” to pop the equation into your document or spreadsheet. If you need to make corrections before inserting it, use the Erase or Select and Correct tools in the window.
PowerPoint
In PowerPoint, you can use the same equation editor described above or draw your equation right on the side and then convert it.
To use the editor, head to the Draw tab, click the Ink to Math drop-down arrow, and pick “Open Ink Equation Editor.” You can then use it to draw your equation and make any corrections as needed.
To convert your equation instead, use a drawing tool to draw it on the slide. Then, pick either the Select or Lasso tool to select the equation.
Click the Ink to Math button in the ribbon or the icon on the top right of the equation to convert it.
Like the above Ink to Shape feature, select the three dots on the top right of the equation if it appears incorrectly and you’d like to see the suggestions.
Use Ink to Text
As mentioned, the Ink to Text feature is currently only available in PowerPoint. And it works similarly to the other ink features.
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Go to the Draw tab and use a tool to scribble your title, subtitle, or other text. Use the Lasso tool to select the text.
Click the Ink to Text button in the ribbon or the icon on the top right of the text to convert it.
Like the other ink features, select the three dots on the top right of the text to see additional suggestions.
Use Ink Replay
Ink Replay is one of those features you’ll appreciate if you have a document, spreadsheet, or slide containing a lot of markups like circles, arrows, and text. You simply click the button and watch as each drawing appears as it was originally drawn.
Go to the Draw tab and select “Ink Replay” in the Replay section of the ribbon.
You do not have to select anything first. The feature then plays all drawings like a video for you to watch.
You can use the playback bar at the bottom to play, pause, rewind, and forward the replay. But you can also use it to move through the replay slowly. Simply move the dot on the slider yourself instead of using the play button.
If you like to draw shapes, scribble equations, or jot down text, you can easily convert these items so that they appear nicely in your Office documents using the ink features. Give them a try!
