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Hey Mac users, want to be unpaid guinea pigs for Microsoft? Sure you do

Office Insider program extends to OS X

Microsoft is extending the Office Insider early build program to users running Office for Mac.

The Redmond software giant said that under the Insider program, Office 2016 for Mac users with Office 365 consumer subscriptions will be able to opt in and receive automatic updates of the test builds of Office. Users running Insider builds are able to test new features for Office that are later released as updates for non-Insider versions of the suite.

OS X users can opt in using the Microsoft Auto Update (MAU) software. The same opt-in box can be deselected to stop the Insider builds, though the switch to regular builds will not happen until the next update of Office is released.

Microsoft introduced the Insider build program last year with builds of Windows 10. In November, the program was extended to the consumer versions of Office on Windows, Android, and Windows Mobile versions. Microsoft offers a similar program, First Release, for users running the commercial version of Office 365.

In addition to the launch of Insider service, Microsoft is introducing a number of new features for both the Mac and Windows versions of Office. For those running tablets, Office will get a new "draw tab" as well as the ability to instantly recognize when a user switches to a pen stylus and convert hand-drawn shapes into formatted shapes.

PowerPoint Mobile for Windows will get real-time co-authoring support, allowing users to view changes to files as they occur. PowerPoint on iOS, meanwhile, will get a new Morph animation feature.

Microsoft said the new features would be introduced to users with updates "in the coming weeks." ®

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