The "like" icon that shows a hand in a "thumbs up" position has been used for online comments for quite some time. While it wasn"t the first online service to use it, Facebook popularized the "like" icon when it launched on the social network in 2009.
Now a version of the "Like" button is going to appear in Microsoft"s new update for its Word app. In a blog post, the company said that it is rolling out the new "like" icon for user comments in Word for Windows.
Microsoft stated:
Previously, you would find yourself typing replies like “+1” to convey agreement. Now you can simply click a button to “upvote” a response, agree with a sentiment, or acknowledge that you’ve read a collaborator’s feedback. We heard from many of you that you wanted to be able to quickly and easily convey your reaction to a comment like you can do on Word for the web, Teams, or other social media apps. We’re happy to deliver!
The "Like" icon button will now appear on any comment that"s created for a Word document in the top right corner. You can just click on it to show that you approve of the comment. You can also hover the cursor over the button to see who else has liked it. You can also take back your "Like" by clicking on the button again.
Microsoft says the "Like" icon will not be available if a Word document is in a read-only mode. You can also react to a comment below the top comment by pressing the Down arrow. That will allow you to move through the list of comments.
This new feature is available now for Word for Windows beta testers, along with Word users on the web. It"s now rolling out for Current Channel (Preview) users running Version 2305 (Build 16501.20152) or later. The "Like" icon comment feature will be added to the Mac version of Word in the next few weeks.
At the moment, iOS and Android Word users won"t be able to see the "Like" reactions. Also, older Word documents with comments may not show the "Like" button but any new comments added will support it.