Key Features

As mentioned above, one of its advantages is the variety of purposes that this tool offers, since it can be used for many reasons. Its key features are:

• Provision of templates – for each result, Microsoft Sway offers templates in order to facilitate the user. It even distinguishes some templates based on their purpose (e.g., presentation vs business presentation) and their topic (there is a search engine where users can search based on the topic of their preference).
• Possibility to add pictures, text, videos, and audio recordings – this key feature allows users to make their document as interactive as possible.
• Possibility to add content from other sources – it allows users to add videos from online platforms (such as YouTube) and to import files already developed in other Microsoft Office apps (for example, users can upload a word document e.g., a resume, and then improve it on Microsoft Sway).
• Autoplay slides – it puts the slides in the correct order and keeps playing independently.
• Easy navigation through the website – The website is divided in different sections e.g.:
  • The Home Page – it includes tutorials (How to Sway), examples (The Universe and Contoso Sales Training), and related links.
  • My Sways – the list of already developed documents associated with the account signed in. Here, Sways that belong to other users’ creations but were shared with the user are also demonstrated.
  • Start from a template – provision of a variety of templates.
  • The storyline and design features – Storyline is the space where users are able to edit their design and change what they don’t like. On the other hand, design is the space where a preview of the final product is provided, and it changes instantly based on the changes developed in the storyline space.