Office Live Files, Microsoft Office Add-In

The Microsoft Office add-in, Office Live Files closes the existing gap between Microsoft's popular Office suite and their online service Office Live. You see, while it is possible to save documents to Microsoft's Windows Live SkyDrive service it is not that easy to load the uploaded documents again in to Microsoft Office.

While it is possible to integrate Windows live SkyDrive in Windows, for instance with the free Windows Live SkyDrive Explorer tool, it may not be as intuitive as integrating the online service directly in Microsoft Office.

The Office add-on is compatible with any version of Microsoft Office which adds support for SkyDrive in Office editions that do not support it.

Installation of the add-in is simple and straightforward. Users need to execute the file after download. It is probably a good idea to close Office in case it is open.

The new options are then available under the new Office Live Files menu entry in the main interface. The interface offers to load, browse and save files to Windows Live SkyDrive. A sign in prompt is displayed and users need to enter their Windows Live ID and password to make use of the features.

It is then possible to load documents already stored on Windows Live SkyDrive in the appropriate Microsoft Office application or upload documents from the local computer to the online storage.

Office Live Files is available for download at the developer website.

Update: Office Live Files is no longer available, the website returns a 404 not found error when you open it on a web browser. Microsoft recently published an update for SkyDrive that offers better integration of the cloud hosting service on Windows.

The SkyDrive application adds a folder to the system after installation that contains all the files that are synchronized with the cloud. You can map SkyDrive to a drive letter if you want to make it even more comfortable.

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