New pen tools and Draw tab customization in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows

Hi, Insiders! My name is Mark Rideout, and I’m a Product Manager on the Office team. I want to highlight some exciting new tools and customization options for doing digital inking and handwriting in Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows.

New pen tools and Draw tab customization in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows

We know that many of you loved the Fountain pen and Brush pen introduced in OneNote on Windows a year ago, and we’re excited to bring them to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint! Now, you can unleash your expressiveness and creativity with the Brush pen when adding ink and annotations in PowerPoint or Excel, or write your notes in Word with a bit more flourish using the Fountain pen.

These additions can make the Draw tab feel crowded for some of you, which is why we’ve also added the options to add, remove, and reorder your drawing tools. Now, it’s easy to customize the Draw tab layout to prioritize the pens, pencils, and highlighters you use most.

How it works

1. Open the Draw tab in a new or existing file in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint for Windows. Notice two new pens: Fountain and Brush.
2. To change the placement of a drawing tool, press and hold on the tool, then drag it left or right in the menu. NOTE: You cannot reorder the Select, Lasso Select, or Eraser options.
3. To delete a drawing tool from your toolbox, press and hold on the tool or right-click on it, then select Delete. Alternatively, you can expand the tools options and select Delete Tool.

Tips and tricks

• Use the Add (+) button at the end of the Drawing Tools toolbox to add additional copies of tools. NOTE: You can only add one Ink to Text pen.

Availability

This feature is available to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows users running Version 2508 (Build 19127.20000) or later.

Feedback

Let us know your thoughts or suggestions on this feature by selecting Help > Feedback in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint for Windows!

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