Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners And Seniors : The Complete Guide To Become A Pro The Quick & Easy Way Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, OneNote, Outlook, OneDrive and More

By Mike Wheeler

SAY GOODBYE TO SLEEPLESS NIGHTS SPENT SEARCHING ON THE WEB FOR DISORGANIZED AND UNCLEAR INFORMATIONS AND START MASTERING ALL THE OFFICE 365 PROGRAMS YOU NEED IN A MATTER OF MINUTES

 

NOW! Stop wasting time and money trying to figure out everything yourself and master all the functions of the Office Suite!NOW! Stop wasting time and money trying to figure out everything yourself and master all the functions of the Office Suite!

 

In today's fast-paced and constantly changing business world, companies need to stay agile and productive. Microsoft Office 365 is a cloud-based productivity suite that offers a range of tools and services designed to help businesses of all sizes collaborate and get more done.

In this comprehensive ebook, you'll learn how to make the most of Office 365's powerful features and capabilities. Whether you're looking to streamline your email management, create compelling presentations, or collaborate with colleagues in real-time, this ebook has you covered.

Inside, you'll find step-by-step guides and expert tips for using popular Office 365 applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneDrive. You'll also learn how to leverage newer tools such as Teams and SharePoint to facilitate online collaboration and teamwork.

Additionally, this ebook will cover important topics such as Office 365 security and compliance, administration, and licensing options. By the end of this ebook, you'll have the knowledge and skills you need to harness the full power of Microsoft Office 365 and transform the way you work

 

As you can see, this book covers the majority of the most important Microsoft Office programs and helps you understand:

• Ins and Outs of each program
• How to learn the fundamentals fast and use main functions effectively
• Different kinds of shortcuts and tips for smart use and speed
• Differences between them and when you should choose which program for a specific task
• Unique elements and functions you have to be aware of but probably have never used
• So much more!

Here is what's inside:

• EXCEL
• WORD
• POWERPOINT
• ONE NOTE
• ONE DRIVE
• OUTLOOK
• AND MANY MORE...

 

You are one step closer to acquiring the most in-demand skills in the market. What else are you waiting for?

DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS OPPORTUNITY! JUST ONE STEP AWAY TO BECOME AN EXPERT, EVEN IF YOU ARE A NEWBIE!

CLICK "BUY NOW" AND BECOME ONE OF THE FEW MICROSOFT OFFICE EXPERTS!

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: BLUE ROSE PUBLISHING
• Release date: Apr 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223785798

Book preview

MICROSOFT OFFICE 365

FOR BEGINNERS AND SENIORS

The Complete Guide To Become A Pro The Quick & Easy Way  Includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, OneNote, Outlook, OneDrive and More

BY

MIKE WHEELER

Copyright © 2022 by Mike Shepard 

This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the

material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation,

broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information

storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now  known or hereafter developed. Trademarked names, logos, and images may appear in this book. Rather than use a trademark symbol with  editorial fashion and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the  trademark.

The use in this publication of trade names, trademarks, service marks, and similar terms, even if they are not identified as such, is not to be taken as an expression of opinion as to whether or not they are subject to proprietary rights.

While the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication, neither the authors nor the editors nor the publisher can accept any legal responsibility for any errors or omissions that may be made. The publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein.

Table Of Content 

New features and tools in Microsoft 365

Collaborating in the cloud

Collaborating with Microsoft Teams

Other 365 improvements and updates

The 365 suite applications

The different versions of the 365 app suite

Note

Hardware and software requirements for 365

Installing Microsoft 365

Note

Getting Help in the 365 applications

Tip

Getting familiar with the 365 interface

Note

Galleries

Note

Contextual tabs

Overview of the 365 application window

Note

Navigating the 365 applications

Working with the ribbon

Minimizing the ribbon

Accessing the ribbon with the keyboard

Working in the Backstage

Customizing an application interface

Customizing the ribbon

Tip

Tip

Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar

Tip

Note

Tip

Customizing the status bar

Configuring application options

Advanced Options settings

Add-ins

Using Application add-ins

Using the Trust Center

Caution

Trusted publishers

Tip

Trusted locations

Note

Understanding 365 file formats

Note

Saving files as different file types

Tip

Converting files to different file types

Configuring save file options

Caution

Creating and managing files

Managing files

Note

Creating a new folder

Tip

Creating a new library

Viewing file versions in an application

Searching for 365 files

Note

Protecting a 365 file

Preparing a file for sharing

The 365 options for graphics and pictures

Tip

Working with SmartArt graphics

Inserting SmartArt graphics

Caution

Modifying SmartArt graphics

Tip

Tip

Tip

Working with your digital pictures

Inserting pictures

Adjusting pictures

Tip

Tip

Cropping an image

Using the Background Removal tool

Using shapes and the 365 drawing tools

.

Adding and combining multiple shapes

Tip.........................................................................

Using the Shape Format tools

Tip

Using the screenshot tool

Using WordArt

What the Online apps can do

Note

Note

Where the Online apps live

Note

Saving Online application files to the cloud

Note

Tip

Saving a file to OneDrive or OneDrive for Business

Note

Sharing a file saved to the cloud

Note

Tip

Using the Word Online app

The Word Online app’s File tab

The Word Online app’s Home tab

Note

The Word Online app’s Insert tab

The Word Online app’s Review tab

The Word Online app’s View tab

Using Excel Online

The Excel Online app’s File tab

Working in the Excel Online app

Inserting functions and charts in the Excel Online app

Note

Using PowerPoint Online

Working with slides

Adding pictures and SmartArt

Book 2

POWERPOINT 365

BOOK FOUR

ACCESS 365

MICROSOFT SHAREPOINT 365

MICROSOFT ONEDRIVE

INTRODUCTION TO MICROSOFT ONEDRIVE

CHAPTER ONE

Definition Of OneDrive

Benefits of Microsoft OneDrive

Comparison Between OneDrive and SharePoint

Difference Between OneDrive and SharePoint

Comparison Between Google Drive and OneDrive

Difference Between Google Drive and OneDrive

How To Download OneDrive on Your Computer

Setting Up Your Microsoft OneDrive Account

Signing Up for Microsoft OneDrive

Signing In To Microsoft OneDrive

How To Sign in To Microsoft OneDrive (For Windows 10)

Signing Out from OneDrive (For Windows 10)

CHAPTER TWO

The Cloud Storage

Getting Additional Space in Microsoft OneDrive

How to create folder and other documents in OneDrive

How To Create A Document

How To Add File To The Microsoft OneDrive

How To Search for Files Saved in OneDrive Cloud

How To Upload Files in OneDrive

How To Upload Files on The Web in OneDrive

How To Embed Folders/Files

How To Save All Office Files to OneDrive

How To Create A Photo Album In OneDrive

How To Back Up Files with OneDrive

How To Turn Off Automatic Sync in OneDrive

CHAPTER 3

How To Sort Out Your Files

Searching For Your Files

Working With Your Folders

How You Can Move a File to A Folder

Other File Alternatives

How To Explore Other Alternatives On OneDrive Website

How You Can Access OneDrive Website

How To Create Dissimilar Files Using Office Online

How To Open A File In Desktop Or Online Office App

Procedures To Adopt to Access a File

How To Download A File Or Folder To Your Computer Or Mobile Device

How To Share A File Or Folder, Other People

How To Embed A File To Your Blog Or Web Page

Tools That Are Used for Sharing in Microsoft OneDrive

CHAPTER FOUR

How To Open A Document With Office Online

How To Turn Off, Disable, Or Uninstalled OneDrive

HOW TO UNLINK ONEDRIVE

How to Hide OneDrive

How To Uninstall OneDrive

How To Unlink for Windows 10

CHAPTER FIVE ONEDRIVE FOR BUSINESS

Benefits Of Microsoft OneDrive for Business

How To Use OneDrive for Small Scale Businesses

Installing And Setting Up Microsoft OneDrive for Businesses

How To Get Started with OneDrive for Business

Managing OneDrive for Businesses

The Key OneDrive Structures for Small Scale Businesses

Adopting OneDrive for Business

The OneDrive Files On-Demand

The Modern Attachments

The Known Folder Move

The Recycle Bin

How To Restore Files

INTRODUCTION

Microsoft Office Suite is the come to stay version of Word processor that can be periodically updated without any threat of software crash or unauthorized version. Office 365 has evolved and transformed to stay relevant in today’s business world but despite this, many businesses still use it exclusively for Microsoft Word and Excel only. If you find yourself looking at the other apps and features and wondering what they do, keep reading this guide to Office 365 till the end.

The most commonly used Office 365 apps include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. These applications are essential for creating documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and communicating both internally and externally but these are not all Office 365 entails, other apps like SharePoint, Access, etc. are also included in the Office 365 suite. This user guide has been specially prepared to teach you the in and out of these powerful programs in Office 365 with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, SharePoint and OneDrive being the specificity. This is a guide that does not only explain WHAT (theoretical application), but also HOW (practical application). I am excited because you have just made the right choice.

A SUMMARY OF OFFICE 365

Introduction to Office 365

In the past, Microsoft Office was always sold as box software, so when you buy your new computer, you have the options of buying Office whether Microsoft Office 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016 or other subsequent versions. You could pay $300USD to $500USD depending on the version you request for, and you will get the software on your machine which would be installed into your PC as infinity software, meaning you will pay once and never pay again for the software, this is how Microsoft deals with its previous products for very long time.

In the past years, many companies have started switching over to a subscription model of selling software such as Adobe, Photoshop, and other subscription software; you can’t just buy them completely anymore. You purchase a subscription and through that subscription, you always get the latest updated and upgraded version of any other program you subscribe for. So, with Microsoft, they sell box software which also leads to an upgrade in its service rendering for a quick solution to unexpected issues, flexible storage space, and secured information with other benefits only available to its subscribed users.

Office 365 Cloud Service: What Is It?

Office 365 is a collection of different cloud applications which serve different purposes but similar in features. It is important to note that Office 365 has been synchronized as Microsoft 365 which comes with many packages such as:

Word: It is a text editor specifically designed to process text, image, shapes & other features without the need to manually install it on your PC.

PowerPoint: It is the software majorly constructed for presentation purposes.

Excel: This is a calculation framed software used to solve the complexity of statistics, Mathematics, and plotting of graphs with other features in a flexible way. Outlook: Outlook is an email that is designed to receive incoming messages and also send outgoing messages.

OneDrive: This is an online storage space specifically designed for all Microsoft users to store personal data which can be accessed anywhere around the world. It also comes with a link privilege to share files and other items stored on it.

OneNote: OneNote is a note-taking software

To Do: It is a task management utility that is designed to take your regular activities schedule.

Family Safety: This is also another feature of Microsoft that gives the privilege to monitor your family activities such as setting screen time limits, filtering of content, activities report, and lots more to make sure family members are safe while using the internet with Microsoft.

Calendar: It is used to schedule and share meetings and event times. One can automatically get reminders.

Skype: This is a meeting software which is designed to make video and voice call, chat and share file or screen if need be.

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Difference between Microsoft 365 and Office 365

Office 365 is a cloud-based software collection of applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more. Microsoft 365 is a bundle of existing services under one license that includes Office 365 with several other services including Windows 10 Enterprise plus Security tools. Sooner or later, Microsoft will be branding its cloud-based productivity suite, Office 365, as Microsoft 365. This amendment in the naming resolution reflects Microsoft's strategy to convert all its products & services under one common name to avoid any confusion among its users by bringing everything under one umbrella.

Types of Microsoft Office 365 Suite

For every Microsoft product and service, there is always an avenue for multiple choice for users. Microsoft Office 365 suite is divided into two categories:

Note

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Microsoft 365 for home plans: are for family usage which gives room for monitoring of family members’ activities for the sake of children.

Microsoft 365 for business plans: are mainly for organizational usage. It is designed to suit office performances and is also used to secure remote work.

Microsoft 365 for enterprise plans: This is similar to the business plan but different in some aspects, enterprise plan gives the privilege

Why should I use Office 365 over previous versions?

It is important to note that the world at large is moving fast beyond human imagination, just as we have our daily experience so also is the advancement of technology moving rapidly.

Over time, Microsoft has found it a bit difficult to release an update on the purchased version since all previous versions of Suite majorly work offline; auto-update will be difficult or impossible to occur to them all from Office 2007, Office 2010, Office 2013, Office 2016 to

Office 2019. Microsoft users find it a waste of time to update since everything is working perfectly, which led to the latest version which is online-based known as Office 365. It’s a cloud service that works directly from the Microsoft database for security and monitoring purposes. Very soon application installation won’t relent any longer due to the rate of technology advancement daily.

Becoming a Microsoft User

Many people find it difficult to create an account with Microsoft, which without an account you can’t enjoy the limitless benefits of Microsoft features. Below are steps on how to go about it

Go to your browser search for Microsoft office 365, make sure it is Microsoft link then click on Official Microsoft 365® Site - Formerly Office 365®

You will be brought into the Microsoft website, below is a link to Sign in, click on it or you can also locate an image icon at your top right-hand side, you can also click on it

Or you can directly type Microsoft website into your browser www.microsoft.com. Once the Microsoft website is done loading, look at your right-hand side you will see an image icon, click on it to create your user account

You will be brought here, simply enter your existing Microsoft account. If you don’t have one click on Create One.

In case you can’t access your account, click on Can’t access your account below create one, a dialog box will appear notifying you that your Windows 10 operating system will receive a security key that will give you access

Or you want a sign-in option without you having to enter your password for reasons best known to you, simply click on Sign-in options

If none of these is your case but want to create an account simply click on Create one

Simply follow the instructions to get your Microsoft account opened, once done, you will be brought into Microsoft 365 environment

New features and tools in Microsoft 365

The Microsoft 365 applications interface and the tools provided by the various 365 suite members changed fairly dramatically, starting with the 2010 version of Microsoft Office and continuing through the Office 2013 and the Office 2016 updates. Not only were the new interface and a host of functional changes rolled out over several iterations of the 365 suite, but the introduction of the Office for the Web apps was an even more dramatic moment. The Web apps use OneDrive as a primary storage solution for files that you create using the Web apps.

As the Microsoft 365 suite continued to evolve, new features related to online storage and strategies relating to sharing files and collaborating with others in real time have become baked into the apps. Both the Microsoft 365 applications and their Office for the Web–based counterparts have truly changed how we use the applications to share data and collaborate with others. Let’s take a look at recent enhancements to the Microsoft 365 apps and how this powerful productivity suite has continued to evolve.

Collaborating in the cloud

The Microsoft 365 application suite encourages you to save your files to the cloud via OneDrive. Different cloud storage options may be available depending on the environment where you use the 365 applications—home, small business, or corporation. If you are a home user, you can take advantage of OneDrive to store your files. You can then access your files on any device running 365 or any device with a web browser that provides you with access to the 365 Web apps. You can use the Web apps to view or edit files that you have stored on OneDrive. You can also create documents, presentations, and workbooks using the Web apps and then store those files on OneDrive.

If you are a small business user who subscribes to Microsoft 365, you can save your files to OneDrive for Business, a SharePoint site that is part of your subscription. As with the free version of OneDrive, you can access files stored on OneDrive for Business from multiple devices. In addition, corporate users of Microsoft 365 can also store files in the cloud by taking advantage of a SharePoint site hosted by their companies or institutions.

Another aspect of sharing files in the cloud is the ability to collaborate in real time with other users. Microsoft 365 offers real-time collaboration for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Collaborators can edit and comment on files once you share a file and send invitations for the document, workbook, or presentation. Saving your files to the cloud becomes a requirement if you are planning on using the Web apps when you don’t have access to your desktop Office applications. Saving to the cloud not only makes it easy for you to access your important files, but it also makes it easy for you to quickly share a file with coworkers and collaborators.

For more information on saving files to the cloud, see Chapter 5.

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Using Microsoft Teams for collaboration

Another possibility for sharing information and collaborating with others is Microsoft Teams. Although Teams was initially introduced by Microsoft in late 2016, this collaboration workspace has slowly rolled out in enterprise deployments of Microsoft 365 and is now available for small business and personal use. You can sign up for a free Teams personal account at Microsoft’s Teams site (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-teams). The best way to describe Microsoft Teams is that it allows you to establish a team, which consists of the people you will collaborate with on one or more projects. Channels allow you to organize your team and topics into groups such as departments or by particular topics. The chats, meetings, and content (files) available in a particular channel of a Teams site are available to all the members of the team. The great thing about Teams is that it provides easy access to files and other information, and it allows the team members to talk in real time either via chats or meetings (including video conferencing).

More importantly to our current discussion, Microsoft Teams is also integrated with the Microsoft 365 applications and allows you to work with other team members in real-time content creation. The first time you open Teams (post-intallation), you are provided a General channel designed to manage a project. The home screen (shown in Figure 1-4) provides you with easy access to the Teams command taskbar, which provides one-click commands including Chat, Teams (for building the team), Meetings, Calls, and Files. Note that in Figure 1-4, selecting the Meetings command provides you with the ability to immediately start or schedule a meeting.

Figure 1-4 Microsoft Teams provides a new platform for collaboration.

Other 365 improvements and updates

Although Microsoft 365 is in some respects a fairly mature product, new improvements and updates—both big and small—continue to enhance the capabilities and usability of this powerful application suite. The following list highlights some of the changes that have been made to the 365 applications over the last year. More coverage is provided on many of these important changes within the chapters that cover specific applications such as Word or Excel.

Free Stock Images Library for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook: Microsoft now provides more than 8,000 royalty-free images for use with the 365 applications. In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, these stock images can be accessed by selecting the ribbon’s Insert tab, selecting the Pictures command, and then selecting Stock Images on the Insert Picture From drop-down menu. In Outlook, create a new message and then click in the body of the

email. To access stock images, select Insert, Pictures, Stock Images. Figure 1-5 shows the Stock Images window, which provides access to images grouped in various categories including Tranquility, Motion, and Growth. Chapter 4, Using and creating graphics, includes additional information on using the stock images library.

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Figure 1-5 Microsoft 365 provides more than 8,000 stock images for your use.

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New Excel function and data tools: The Microsoft 365 version of Excel now boasts a new version of the lookup function named xlookup. This new version of the lookup function provides an exact match by default and is simpler to configure than the vlookup function.

Excel also now provides linked data types that connect to source data provided by trusted sources such as the Bing search engine, Wolfram (an intelligence engine for computing answers), and Microsoft Power BI (a business analytics tool). Detailed coverage of Excel begins in Chapter 11, Essential Excel features.

PowerPoint: Create Animated GIFs. This new feature allows you to create animated GIFs using your presentation slides as source material. This PowerPoint feature even allows you to create animated GIFs with a transparent background. PowerPoint now makes it easier to create a link to another slide in the same presentation. PowerPoint is covered in detail, beginning with Chapter 17, Essential PowerPoint features.

Outlook lets you dictate draft messages and commands: The dictation toolbar provides you with the ability to draft Outlook items using your voice. You can also do a voice search (and filter the search) using everyday language. Outlook is covered in detail, beginning with Chapter 22, Outlook configuration and essential features.

Create a private copy of a shared document in Word: Typically, when you are collaborating with others on a Word document (stored via a OneDrive or Teams site), you will make annotations and edits on the document, which are then shared with all the collaborators who have been given sharing permissions for the document. In some situations, however, you might want to create a private copy of the document that you can then mark up with your own personal annotations. This feature also provides you with a link that allows access to the original shared document. Coverage of Word begins with Chapter 6, Essential Word features.

Hex color values now available in Microsoft 365: When you are working with colors for fonts, graphic objects, and the like, the Colors dialog box now includes an option for you to enter the Hex color value for a particular color. The Hex color feature is available in all the Microsoft 365 applications, including Microsoft Publisher, which is covered in Chapters 27 and 28.

Better Web apps: The 365 Web apps have added features, including PowerPoint for the Web’s ability to insert audio and playback settings for your slideshow. Excel for the Web now allows you to insert links to other workbooks and supports the linked data types discussed earlier in this section. The Web apps continue to evolve and can serve you well when you don’t have access to the installed versions of the 365 applications.

This isn’t an exhaustive list of changes to the 365 applications, but hopefully, you get the feeling that Microsoft 365 continues to evolve over time. Microsoft 365 is a powerful application suite, and you can do more in the applications and do it more effectively than ever before.

For more about the 365 Web apps, see Chapter 5.

The 365 suite applications

The Microsoft 365 applications are bundled in different versions. The applications available in your installation depend on the bundle version that you or your company purchased. If your 365 applications installation is part of your Microsoft 365 subscription, the applications you have access to depend on your subscription level. It is also possible that your release is not part of a subscription but was purchased as a perpetual version (meaning it will not be upgraded over time in terms of new features). We sort out the different versions and subscription application mixes in the next section. In this book, we concentrate on the following applications:

Word: Word has been the standard for word processing in the Windows environment for many years, and it provides many possibilities in this latest version. Whether you use Word to

create letters, short reports, or lengthy documents that include footnotes, a table of contents, or cross-references, you will find in-depth coverage of Word in Part II.

Excel: This powerful number cruncher continues to be the gold standard for spreadsheet software. Excel in-depth coverage can be found in Part III.

PowerPoint: Your PowerPoint presentations can be even more exciting than ever, with widescreen slide formats and theme variations. PowerPoint’s in-depth coverage is located in Part IV.

Outlook: This versatile personal information manager and email client enables you to communicate with coworkers and friends and manage all your messages, contacts, and appointments. Part V covers this application.

Publisher: With Publisher, you can create a range of publication types, from the simple to the complex. Publisher is a full-featured desktop publishing application. Part VI provides in-depth coverage.

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The different versions of the 365 app suite

Microsoft 365 (or Microsoft Office as it has been known for years) licensing has changed a lot in the past few years. If you do not work for a business or institution that uses Microsoft’s volume licensing, you probably choose to license Microsoft Office through a Microsoft 365 subscription. Volume licensing and retail versions of 365 certainly exist, although, at the time of the writing of this book, the large business and enterprise options for Office were somewhat vague. It is assured, however, that the DVD Office installation is dead, and most users will install their 365 applications through their Microsoft 365 subscriptions online using Click-to-Run. Enterprise business information technology gurus will install 365 on Windows PCs using MSI (Microsoft Installer) files, and these might pull the software files from the online software repositories.

If you derive your 365 software through your workplace, you really don’t have to worry about acquiring or installing the Microsoft 365 suite, so you may want to skip this section of the chapter. However, there is one thing related to institutional licensing that you might find interesting.

If you work at a large company or institution (particularly an educational institution), the licensing agreement purchased by your organization might even include perks such as allowing the installation of 365 applications on home PCs or personal devices. You might want to check with your IT department.

Note

If you don’t want to go the Microsoft 365 subscription route and want more Office applications than are provided by the Home & Student versions, you can purchase the full- blown application suite at a tech store or online. This will be the perpetual version (the latest perpetual version was released in 2019), which does not get upgraded over time; the Microsoft 365 subscription version updates as long as you continue your subscription.

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In terms of the home or small business user looking for a consistent bargain with continued updates, your future use of the 365 applications will be tied to a Microsoft 365 subscription. An exception to this statement does exist: An Office Home & Student version of the 365 applications is available as a one-time purchase. This is a perpetual version of the application suite and will receive application fixes and upgrades only for a limited time. Also, some new laptops come with different preinstalled versions of Microsoft applications. However, most of these preinstalled packages do not include Microsoft Publisher or Microsoft Access. The Home & Student version also does not include Outlook. You can review pricing for these bundles at http://www.microsoftstore.com.

Office 365 subscriptions also come in a number of different flavors and can be reviewed at the Microsoft store. If you use Office for a small business, you might want to look at some of the business options that Microsoft offers. One of the advantages of some of these subscriptions is that you can install the 365 apps on multiple computers and devices. Some of the available Office 365 subscriptions are as follows:

Office 365 Family: This subscription provides Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook. You can install the Office software on up to six PCs, Macs, or other devices, and this subscription is not user-specific. The subscription provides 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage for each member of the family.

Office 365 Personal: This subscription provides Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook. You can install Office on one PC or Mac, and you can install the applications on one other smart device running Windows 10, IOS, or Android. The subscription also supplies 1 TB of OneDrive cloud storage.

Microsoft 365 Business standard: This subscription (which is currently priced per user per month) provides Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Publisher, and Access. This subscription also provides specific cloud services such as Microsoft Teams, OneDrive, and SharePoint.

Microsoft 365 Business premium: This subscription is similar to the Business standard subscription and also includes Microsoft Azure Information Protection and Microsoft Intune, which provides for greater security and control of organizational devices including phones, tablets, and laptops.

All the available versions of Microsoft 365 (both purchase and subscription) provide the core applications (Excel, PowerPoint, and Word). You will want to determine your own needs in relation to the application mix that you purchase or receive as part of a subscription.

Hardware and software requirements for 365

All the bells and whistles of the Microsoft 365 apps come with hardware requirements. It is always better to have a computer that exceeds the minimum hardware requirements for a software application. The more memory your computer has and the faster its processor is, the

more enjoyable your experience will be as you use the suite applications. This book concentrates on Microsoft 365 installations on a PC running Windows 10. Office is available on different operating system platforms across a range of devices. Research the 365 hardware and operating system requirements for your device before you purchase the software or attempt to install it. A good place to start gathering information is www.microsoft.com.

Running Office on a PC requires Windows 10. There are also hardware requirements. The minimum hardware requirements for Office on a PC and some realistic recommendations are as follows:

Processor: 1.6 GHz processor (at least). I recommend at least 1.6GHz or better to really take advantage of what Office has to offer—the faster, the better. Any new computer with a dual- core processor (or better) runs the Office applications at peak performance.

Memory (RAM): 2 GB for a 32-bit system, and 4 GB for a 64-bit system. I recommend a bare minimum of 4 GB on a 32-bit system and 8 GB for a 64-bit system. Memory is relatively inexpensive. The more RAM you have, the better these applications run, particularly when you want to run multiple applications at the same time.

Hard drive space: A minimum of 4 GB is required for installing the Office suite. If you are running low on space on the hard drive that also contains your Windows installation, get an external drive such as a USB drive, and clean up and move files off the main drive. You can then install 365.

Graphics card: You need a DirectX 12–compatible (or newer) graphics card with a resolution of 1280x768. As with everything else, the more powerful your video card is, the better the graphic-intensive Office features run.

In terms of the Windows operating system and Microsoft 365 compatibility, you can run the 32- bit version of Office on a computer that is running Windows 10. Make sure that your Windows installation is up to date on service packs before installing the 365 apps. Although it is not a hardware or software requirement for installing Office, get a Microsoft ID if you do not currently have one, particularly if you purchased an installation version of 365 rather than a subscription that includes OneDrive. A Microsoft ID enables you to use Microsoft’s free OneDrive. You can connect your OneDrive to your 365 applications, which gives you another possibility for saving your files to the cloud. Having access to OneDrive also gives you access to the Office Web apps

Installing Microsoft 365

If you work for a company or institution, chances are Microsoft 365 (at least a subset of the applications) is installed and updated for you. If you purchase a nonsubscription installation of 365, the installation instructions are provided with your purchase.

If you subscribe to Microsoft 365, you will have an account page that can be accessed via https://store.office.com. All you must do is log on and then select the My Account link in the upper right of the browser window. To install software on a PC or other device, select the Install link and follow the instructions to install your software.

You will find that the 365 installation on a Windows PC pretty much takes care of itself. You do have a role at the end of the installation process, though: You must activate the 365 apps suite the first time you launch one of the 365 applications.

To activate your installation, you will use the Microsoft ID that is associated with your Microsoft

365 subscription. If you purchased the software rather than subscribed, you do have the option of entering a product key to activate the 365 applications.

Note

If you use 365 on a corporate network, your network administrator more than likely dictates how you upgrade to or install the 365 application suite.

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After your 365 installation is activated, you can begin to use your installed applications. If you are new to 365, you may want to take a look at Chapter 2, Navigating and customizing the 365 interface, and Chapter 3, Managing and sharing 365 files, before tackling the sections of the book that are devoted to specific applications, such as Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Getting Help in the 365 applications

We briefly discussed the Search box earlier in the chapter and how it provides you information and help when you are working in one of the suite applications such as Word or PowerPoint. The 365 applications provide an intelligent Help system that provides access to application-specific Help files as well as access to web-based information without exiting the application. You can search for commands and features as needed. Selecting one of the commands provided by a successful search in one of the 365 applications allows you to actually access that feature or tool (rather than just read about it on a help page).

As already mentioned, the Search box also provides you with access to more traditional help with an application. The search results go beyond traditional help, however, and supply you with the option of accessing additional information by using Bing to do a web search based on your search terms. The Search results from the Bing web search are shown in the search, which opens on the right of the application window.

Figure 1-6 shows the Word application window and the results of a search using the Search box; the search string used was create chart. Note that the results provide the three possibilities that we discussed earlier: commands related to the search terms are provided in the Search box results (one of the possibilities shown is Add A Chart). The Search box also provides a link to get traditional help (by selecting Get Help On Create Chart).

Figure 1-6 The Search box and pane provide you with help and information based on your search string.

When you select More Search Results (at the bottom of the Search box), the Search pane opens on the right of the application window. The Search pane provides both traditional help (based on your search string) and information found by Bing.

Obviously, selecting a command provided by the search results allows you to return to your work immediately and access that feature or tool. However, for more conceptual help and background information on a particular task, you can take advantage of the traditional help links in the Get Help On area of the Search box or the More Search Results link at the bottom of the Search box. Both options will open the Search pane, which provides information from the application help system. Getting additional information via a Bing web search (based on your search terms) is a bonus and will often give you information that allows you to understand and successfully use any of the myriad features and functions provided by the Microsoft 365 application suite.

Once you have the Search pane open, you can run additional searches by typing keywords into the text box at the top of the Search pane. As already mentioned, links are then provided in your search results that enable you to explore related information. To close the Search pane, either

select the Close button at the top right of the pane or press the ESC key on the keyboard.

Tip

You can access Help at any time in the Office applications on your PC by pressing the F1 Function key.

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The Backstage—first mentioned at the beginning of this chapter—can also serve as an informational tool. It doesn’t give you help on a particular feature or command or let you search for help by topic. It can, however, give you information on the current document (or file you are working with) as well as information about your 365 installation and connected services.

Enter the Backstage by selecting File on the ribbon. To access the Info page for the current document, select Info from the Backstage commands. This page gives you the