2.4 Essentials of Microsoft 365

Accessing and Maintaining Microsoft Products

When you register for a Microsoft 365 account, you are given access to OneDrive, which is its product that provides online storage in the cloud. This offers many advantages. When you save a file to your OneDrive, you will be able to access it from any computer as long as you have an internet connection. There are different versions of Microsoft 365 available for purchase, but most software today uses this subscription-based model for a fee. The software programs are installed on your devices as “apps,” but can also be accessed through the web-based versions with some limitations to functionality. Updates to the programs are provided regularly by Microsoft and should be performed when prompted. Sometimes the information technology department (IT) will take care of these software maintenance issues with your company or school equipment. There are student editions of most versions of Microsoft 365 that can be purchased at a reduced cost or even for free. The student editions might also have some limitations to the functionality of the programs.

Applications

The Microsoft 365 suite includes software for many of the most common computer needs in today’s workplace, as well as for personal use, including word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, database management, an email and calendar interface, and a collaboration tool. Table 2.2 provides an overview of the applications within the suite. Other chapters in this text will cover these programs in detail. What comes next in this chapter is a breakdown of commands that are common to all the Microsoft 365 applications, so you can get a basic understanding of how to navigate.

Creating a New File

As you open an Office application, you will be introduced to the welcome screen, which shows your recent files on the left and your options on the right. See Figure 2.23. Because you are in Word, you can choose Blank document to start a new document, or you can select a template from the default template list. A template is a document with many fields already filled and formatted, ready for the user to work on.

Figure 2.23 The welcome screen gives you three choices: start from scratch with a new file, create a file from a template, or open a recent file you have already saved. (Used with permission from Microsoft)

To create a new document without using a template, simply select Blank document. A new document will be opened with a blank screen for you to create your file. This new document will be opened in a new window. You can then add the content to the document and save the document if desired. More about document creation will be covered in later chapters in the book.

Saving a File

The Save command is located at the upper-left corner of the window. Using the Save command saves your document in its same location, with its same file name. It is a way of making sure your work does not get lost in case your computer crashes or the application closes suddenly. A good best practice is to save your document occasionally, by either pressing on the Save icon or using Ctrl+S. You can also set up automatic saving at specified time intervals.

The Save As command, located on the File tab, allows you to not only save the file with a different name but also to change its location and its type. When you save the file to a new type (for instance, Save As PDF), the file opens in the new file format. The previous file type remains open. When you click on the Save As command, a dialog box will appear, asking you to select the location where you want to save the new version and what you want to name it.

Large companies like WorldCorp will typically give their employees a schema or convention to follow when naming files so that the company will have a unified system that all employees can easily identify and understand. This also allows people within the organization to be able to keep track of different information about the file, such as its version and the project or department it is associated with. For example, if the name of your market trends report is “market_report_v1.docx,” the next version could be “market_report_v2.docx.” This gives you a version history of the file, which enables you to keep track of older and newer versions. Figure 2.24 shows the current folder and the name of the file you want to change.

Figure 2.24 When you Save As, you can change the file name, the file format, or both. (Used with permission from Microsoft)

Save As can also be helpful in other situations. For example, you may want to save your file in a different format so that it can be opened by a different application. You would also use the Save As command to save the file in a different folder, with a different name for categorization purposes. The default Word file format is .docx, but you could also save it as a .pdf or .rtf.

Microsoft also offers the option to save to a different location—for example, your local computer, a shared private location (such as a company drive), or the cloud OneDrive. This allows you to save your work easily even if the device you are working on does not have saving capacity, and also gives you the ability to share your work with others. (You will learn more about collaboration later.) To share a file with others, first save your presentation to OneDrive. Choose File, then Share, and then Share with People.

Opening an Existing File

With the desktop version of Microsoft 365, your recent file list will be readily available in Backstage view. If the file you want does not appear in your recent file list, click on File and then Open. Locate the file, select it, and click Open. If you want a file to always appear in your recent file list, you can “pin” it: Go back to File, and the file that is now open will have a pushpin icon next to its name. Click on the pushpin, and the file will be pinned.

To access a file in Microsoft 365 online, you must set up an account with Microsoft if you do not already have one. Then, you can go to the program you are working in and you will find your recent file list. OneDrive also gives you access to files not listed in your recent file list. Locate the file you want and click Open. Your document should appear.

Printing a File

To print a file, choose the File tab. In the list of options on the left, you will see Print. When you click on Print, you will be shown a preview of your document along with print options. See Figure 2.25. The print options include a variety of settings, such as number of copies, printer selection, and paper size. You can also print on both sides of the paper or select only certain sheets to print. When you have chosen the desired settings, choose Print on the upper-left side of the screen.

Figure 2.25 You can also choose to have your document stapled if that option is available on your printer. (Used with permission from Microsoft)

Options

The Options command at the bottom of the File tab contains a multitude of choices that control the way your workspace appears, determine the way the text is corrected, and allow changes to many aspects of the program. A summary of the options available is shown in Table 2.3.

The Options command, present in all Office applications, opens an Options dialog box, as shown in Figure 2.26. Before you start working, it’s advisable to click on each of the Options items to see what each covers.

An Options item that is critical to your work is a Save option called AutoRecover. Just ask yourself, “Has my computer ever frozen in the middle of a sentence?” This happens to everyone, but AutoRecover can prevent a catastrophe by allowing you to set the program to automatically save your work every two minutes, five minutes, or whatever interval you choose.

Another helpful option is proofing, which allows Microsoft to check your spelling as you type.

You will find some options that you may never need to change. In the future, however, you will be glad to know where to locate these hidden settings.

Figure 2.26 The Options command, present in all Office applications, opens an Options dialog box with many available options or settings that can be changed. (Used with permission from Microsoft)

Customize Ribbon and the Quick Access Toolbar are useful features. Because you are likely to use both functions on a regular basis, you want their commands to always be visible. This is most easily done by customizing the ribbon or the Quick Access Toolbar.

There are probably some other commands that you wish you had immediate access to but did not know this was possible. For example, did you know that you can add an email command to either the ribbon or the Quick Access Toolbar? Suppose you want to email someone and add a presentation to your email as an attachment. If you add Email to your ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar, you can just click on the Email command, which will open your regular email program with access to your address book and add an attachment of the presentation to the email. No more need to open the email program independently, then search for the file on your computer, and finally attach it.

As another example, suppose you work with a lot of graphics. There are numerous commands associated with drawing and inserting graphics that are generally hidden. You may not even be aware that these functions exist, but when you change the scope to All Commands and look through the choices, you will find many commands that can save you a lot of time if you set them up for immediate access.

There are two ways to customize the Quick Access Toolbar. First, from the Options dialog box, select the Quick Access Toolbar, shown in Figure 2.27.

Figure 2.27 To customize the Quick Access Toolbar, add commands from the selections on the left to the list on the right. (Used with permission from Microsoft)

For example, to add a Quick Print option, scroll down to Quick Print in the list of commands on the left. Highlight Quick Print, click the Add button, and Quick Print will appear on the Quick Access Toolbar, as seen in Figure 2.28, which shows the result of customizing the Quick Access Toolbar.

Figure 2.28 Items added to the Quick Access Toolbar will appear at the top of the screen when you open the program. (Used with permission from Microsoft)

The second way to customize is to right-click on the Quick Access Toolbar, which opens a context menu. Choose Quick Print from the menu items, as shown in Figure 2.29. The Quick Print option should appear on the Quick Access Toolbar.

Figure 2.29 Using the context menu, you can easily add the Quick Print option to the Quick Access Toolbar. (Used with permission from Microsoft)

Customizing the ribbon is a similar process. Start at the Customize the ribbon command from Options in Backstage view. To add a command to the ribbon, you first have to create a new group, as follows:

1. Choose the tab on the right where you want to add the new command. (For the purposes of this demonstration, choose the Draw group, making sure there is a check mark next to the Draw box.)
2. Click on New Group, which will be listed when you click on the plus sign next to Draw.
3. In the box at the top left, select Commands Not in the ribbon (see Figure 2.30).
4. Scroll down to Borders and Shading and click Add.
5. Then, select another command, Brightness, and click Add.

When you return to the application, you will see your New Group with the options selected. Using this method, you can select any command from the left and add it to the ribbon commands on the right. This works for all the Office programs.

Figure 2.30 Customizing the ribbon can facilitate your productivity by including items you use frequently for quicker access. (Used with permission from Microsoft)

Format Painter

Format Painter, represented with a paintbrush icon, is a shortcut tool that is available in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. This tool lets you copy the formatting of a section of text, a cell, or whatever you choose to another place on a document, spreadsheet, or slide, respectively. It is especially useful when you need to reformat large amounts of text.

First, select the text that has been formatted in the way you want. Then, click on Format Painter, and the cursor will turn into a little paintbrush, as Figure 2.32 shows. Brush over the text you want to change, let go of the mouse, and the text will now be formatted in the desired style.

Note that if you want to use Format Painter again, you will have to repeat the steps outlined above. To format a lot of text, double-click on the Format Painter icon, and it will last until you click on it one more time.

Figure 2.32 Format Painter is a handy tool to brush, so to speak, over text and format it as you like. (Used with permission from Microsoft)