Microsoft has dropped the "preview" label from Sway and launched it for everyone to use, along with a new Windows 10 desktop app for the product and a slew of new features and ways to share stuff.

Microsoft has described Sway as a "digital storytelling app", but it's basically an app that allows you to create and share presentations, interactive reports, assignments, lessons, projects, and more for the web. You can add text, pictures, and videos to your presentations, and you can use Sway with a range of devices (phones, tablets, laptops, PCs, etc).

How is Sway different from PowerPoint?

Sway is all about helping you make a professional-looking presentation design in minutes. It has an "intelligent design engine" that's able to create a sleek layout cohesively filled with all your images, text, videos, and other media. Sway makes your presentation dynamic as well, so it'll look good when viewed across a range of devices.

In other words: Sway is like PowerPoint, but it takes away the hassle of having to decide where things are placed. Microsoft told VentureBeat that it doesn't see Sway as replacing PowerPoint, because it can also be used to create other types of content, such as newsletters, manuals, brochures, blogs, and even fully-working websites.

Has Sway been updated since the preview debuted?

Yes. Microsoft said hundreds of thousands of Sways have been created and shared since last October and that it has been going through users' feedback in order to make improvements to the product.

Microsoft has, for instance, just launched the Sway for Windows 10 desktop app. It's like Sway for the web, bit with new features just for PCs and tablets. You can now capture and then add photos using your computer’s built-in camera, for instance, as well as view content offline and simultaneously use multiple accounts.

What is Docs.com?

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Microsoft

Sway.com has always allowed you to create and share Sways, but now Docs.com works with Sway, with the purpose of letting you share Sways with people who don't actually use Sway. All you have to do is tap or click the share button in Sway, then choose to publish to Docs.com, and voila. Docs.com also supports Office files.

Docs.com is basically a place for you to publicly display your Sways and other Office content as well as organise them into collections. You can even create profile pages for Docs.com. It's just a hub for sharing your Sways and documents - and it lets you know how many people have viewed your stuff. People can even post comments.

Search engines can also discover any Sway, document, collection, or profile.

When will Sway be generally available?

Although Sway launched last October as a preview, it is now onto general availability, meaning anyone can try it with a free Microsoft account. You can download the Windows 10 desktop app from the Windows Store. You can also try the iOS app or use it on the web. Android and Windows Phone users don't yet have a native app. 

Want to know more?

Check out Microsoft's blog post for more information about Sway.