I've used Sway before to create a picture retrospect for our IT/Dev Connections 2014 conference, but, honestly, since then I've not even thought about it. I'm sure there are those use it more than I do, but to me it's just a novelty and I'm not exactly sure where Microsoft is going with it. It's neat, but not something I see infiltrating my daily computing habits anytime soon. When first released as a public preview, some suggested Sway might eventually become a PowerPoint killer, but I just don't see that happening.
Microsoft remains intent on improving Sway, though. On Tuesday the company announced some feature additions, including:
- OneNote integration
- New embed support (Office Mix, Infogr.am, Mixcloud, and Sway itself)
- Suggested searches improvements (YouTube videos, Bing image search)
- Interactive photos (compare images, slideshow components, cards view)
- New sharing options (public, links, private)
The OneNote integration is probably the most useful for me, considering I use OneNote constantly and I know OneNote is a hugely popular free app for all major platforms. The unfortunate thing, though, is that the integration is one-way, meaning you can access OneNote images and sift through personal notebooks in Sway, but you there's no option in OneNote (online or the app) to "export to" Sway. Since more people clearly use OneNote, it might get more people interested in Sway if OneNote included that option.
To use the OneNote integration in Sway, tap Insert in the menu.
Then, choose from 'Recently added images' or tap the 'Notebooks' button to go searching OneNote on your own.
Even with these feature additions, I'm still having trouble figuring out how I might use it exactly. It's neat. And, I'm sure there's a need for it somewhere. Maybe my reluctance to understand it is simply because my focus isn't as a consumer but as a business person.
Have you used Sway? If so, is it something you'd use regularly?
