Change a file

Change a file by asking

You change a file in the Office by saying what should be different, not by editing it by hand. The Office opens the file, changes what you named and saves the result as a new file. The file you started from stays as it was.

This works on a paper the Office made for you and on a Word, Excel, deck or PDF file you already have. Each change is an Office request and is paid in credits. See Levels and credits.

Change a paper the Office made

When a paper is ready, its card shows Open and Send it to…. The ⋯ on the card holds Share, Change something and, for a PDF, Sign.

1. Tap ⋯ on the paper's card.
2. Choose Change something.
3. Type what should change in the box, which asks What should change?, and send it.

After step 2 the app says Pinned — say what to change, and a Working on: row with the file's name sits at the top of the desk. The changed file arrives as a new card and becomes the file you are working on, so your next change builds on it. Tap × on the Working on: row to stop working on that file.

You can also skip the menu. When a paper is ready the desk says Ready. Anything to change?, and you can type your change straight into the box.

A change can also keep the paper as a project: the first paper becomes version 1 and your change becomes version 2, with the note Kept as a project. See Projects and versions.

Change a file of your own

There are three ways to bring a file to the Office for a change.

• From My files. Open My files, tap ⋯ on the paper and choose Change it. The desk opens with Working on: and the file's name.
• From the viewer. Open the file, tap ⋯ at the top and choose Change it. The Office opens with the file already chosen.
• From the + sheet. On the Office desk, tap +, choose Files, pick the file and say what you want done. A message has a limit on attachments, and the app tells you when you reach it.

A file of your own keeps its own look. The Output choices in Desk tools, such as paper size and alignment, shape the next paper the Office writes from your words, not an edit of your file. See Paper size, alignment, pictures and sources.

The Office works on the file itself and aims to change only what you name:

• Word. Styles, headers, footers and pictures stay as they are.
• Excel. Formulas stay formulas, and what you did not mention is left alone.
• Deck. The slide size and layouts stay, and slides are added or changed in place.
• PDF. Text you do not change keeps its fonts.

Explain it and Read aloud

When you open a file, for example with Open on a paper's card, tap ⋯ at the top of the viewer to see Change it, Explain it and Read aloud.

• Explain it opens Nourva One. She tells you briefly, in your language, what the file is and its main points, then asks what you want to know about it.
• Read aloud has Nourva One read the file to you. While she reads, the same row says Stop reading; after you stop, it says Continue reading.
• Change it takes the file to the Office, as described above.

If Nourva One is not already open, the viewer shows Opening Nourva One… while she starts. If a file has no text to read, it says Nothing to read. A conversation with Nourva One uses credits. See Talk to Nourva One.

What to say for a good change

Name the place, say the change and say what stays. A request that points at one place gets one change.

• Name the place the way the file does: a page, a heading, a slide title, a sheet name or a cell.
• When it matters, say what must not move: «leave the rest as it is».

On the first page, change the title to Annual report and leave everything else as it is.

In the Budget sheet, add a Total row under column D.

Make the summary shorter, two sentences at most.

The message that comes with the changed file usually says what changed and where, so look at that place first. If you prefer the earlier version, open the file you started from.

When a change does not go through

• The file expired. A file you chose a while ago may no longer be available, and the Office says The working file's copy expired — attach it again. Open the paper again from My files and choose Change it, or attach it from the + sheet.
• The file could not be read. The Office says Couldn't read the working file — attach it again. Attach the file again.
• Your credits run short. The Office says Your credit doesn't cover this paper — renew your plan and send it again. Renew your plan or add credits, then send the request again.