Here are the top 10 features people want in Microsoft Word

In the past few weeks, we have been discussing some of the top features that people want in Microsoft services such as Teams, Outlook, and OneDrive. These lists are being curated based on the requests that people have made on the feedback portal for Microsoft 365 services. Today, we'll be taking a look at the top 10 features that people are requesting for Microsoft Word.

As usual, we will only be listing issues that are "open", sorted by upvote count. As such, capabilities which Microsoft has rolled out in general availability or preview will be excluded. Also note that this list may cover multiple platforms and does not only include Windows. Furthermore, we have grouped requests for new languages to be added this time just to keep the list a bit unique rather than having half of it be about language support. With that out of the way, let's begin!

1. Add Avar spelling dictionary to Word for Desktop - 19,100 upvotes; Add Chenchen spelling Dictory to Word Desktop version - 15,800 upvotes; Add Kumyuk Spelling dictonary (Latin Alphabet) - 10,400 upvotes
   Microsoft response on all items: Thanks for your feedback! We have no current plans to add spelling support for this language, but we'll keep it in mind. Please keep the feedback coming.
2. Full version of Microsoft Office Applications for iOS - 1,372 upvotes
   Microsoft: Thank you for your feedback! We've recently added several new features to Word Mobile on Android and iOS. You can read about them here. Please let us know what features you're missing, in additional feedback and we will continue to prioritize accordingly.
3. Bring back "classic" text boundaries - 1,194 upvotes
   Microsoft: Thanks for your feedback! We’re reviewing your suggestion.
4. Feature Parity: Word Online should have all the features of Desktop Word - 1,191 upvotes
   Microsoft: Word Online is consistently working towards feature parity with our desktop applications, in addition to incorporating new features. Please let us know if there are any specific features you would like to see.
5. Make page breaks so one can see where the page ends - 990 upvotes
   No response from Microsoft.
6. Add videos, GIFS or maybe interactive videos for presentation - 719 upvotes
   No response from Microsoft.
7. Permanently Change/Set a New Default Font - 717 upvotes
   No response from Microsoft.
8. Add Dark mode feature to Word for the web - 687 upvotes
   No response from Microsoft.
9. Add ability to comment on Footnotes - 656 upvotes
   No response from Microsoft.
10. Enable use Tab Key on Word online - 595 upvotes
    No response from Microsoft.

Although it's nice to see Microsoft responding to the first few top-voted items in the feedback portal, it's quite disheartening that the company has not bothered to provide updates on any of the items in the latter half of the list. As such, there is no clarity on whether Microsoft is developing these capabilities right now, testing them, rolling them out in a staggered manner, or deprioritizing them completely. In a way, this lack of transparency destroys the purpose of a feedback hub as customers begin to lose faith that their complaints are even being listened to. Perhaps this is an area that Microsoft can improve upon, moving forward.

Do you use Microsoft Word? Which features would you want Microsoft to implement? Let us know in the comments section below and also inform Microsoft by submitting your feedback over here!