Google has proven the best way: You can provide typical Office packages reminiscent of phrase processing, spreadsheets, and presentation packages on-line. Free of cost and with a variety of features that’s utterly adequate for many customers.

Google first launched its “Google Docs Editors” suite in 2006, and Microsoft responded with its personal on-line workplace suite in 2009. As with Google’s opponents, you solely want a person account to make use of it, and the technical necessities are restricted to a browser and an web connection.

Just log in together with your browser

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The central level of contact for the Office packages is the portal www.office.com. There you’ll be able to log in together with your Microsoft account or create a brand new account. As quickly as you could have logged in, you’ll be able to entry Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, OneDrive, Teams, OneNote, and To do in addition to Family Safety, Calendar, and Skype by way of the bar on the left and the sq. image with the 9 dots.

A lot of different packages reminiscent of Forms or Loop seem within the “Apps” overview, however you will have a paid Microsoft 365 subscription to make use of them.

Please word that the browser opens a brand new window every time you turn to a different Office software by way of the sq. image and the earlier software continues to run. To keep away from utilizing an excessive amount of reminiscence, merely shut the window with the beforehand used Office program if essential.

If you could have activated “Start page” within the left-hand column, you’ll be able to create a corresponding empty doc by way of “Document,” “Presentation,” and “Workbook” and begin the suitable software. Alternatively, click on on the icon of a program after which on “Empty document,” “Empty presentation,” or “Empty workbook.” Ready-made templates are additionally obtainable for every software.

Further studying: 6 reasons why a Microsoft 365 subscription is worth the money

Opening and saving recordsdata

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Office recordsdata saved regionally in your pc can’t be loaded immediately into the free on-line workplace. You can solely entry recordsdata saved within the cloud storage OneDrive. Every person who has a Microsoft account mechanically receives 5GB of free cupboard space there.

To do that, open the overview of obtainable apps by way of the nine-dot icon and click on on “OneDrive.” The following window exhibits the obtainable recordsdata and folders. Click on “Upload” on the prime after which on “Files” or “Folders.” In the next Explorer view, choose the listing with the native recordsdata or folders to be edited, choose the specified content material, and click on “Open” to put it aside to OneDrive.

Saving edited paperwork additionally works barely in a different way than with a desktop software. All new paperwork are mechanically saved in OneDrive — you don’t must do something and might merely shut the browser window with the open file.

Alternatively, you can even save the doc on to your PC onerous drive: To do that, click on on File > Save as > Download a duplicate. The file will then be saved within the obtain folder. The Office packages even provide to transform the recordsdata instantly by way of “Download as PDF” and “Download as ODT” (Word), “Download as ODS” (Excel), or “Download as ODP” (PowerPoint). PowerPoint additionally presents the “Download as images” command, which you should use to transform the slides of a presentation into particular person JPEG recordsdata.

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By default, the web Office ribbon shows a toolbar with necessary instructions in a single line.

Advantage: On smaller displays, reminiscent of on a pill, the menus take up much less area and the workspace is bigger and clearer.

Disadvantage: Not all obtainable instructions are displayed. To swap to the basic ribbon view, click on on the small downward-pointing arrow on the far proper of the toolbar after which choose “Classic ribbon.” You may also select to cover the ribbon.

The print operate has additionally modified in Online Office in comparison with the desktop model. This applies whatever the browser used. To print a doc with Word, for instance, open the file and click on on File > Print > Print. Next, you’ll see the message “All done. Your file is ready for printing” and the “Open PDF” button under it. Click on the latter to start out the linked desktop program for PDF recordsdata, from which you’ll then ship the file to the printer.

Word Online at a look

Even a cursory look on the free on-line model of Word exhibits that there are variations within the ribbons. For instance, it’s important to do with out the “Draw,” “Draft”, “References,” and “Transmissions” menus on-line, however among the instructions from the desktop model are simply in a unique place.

In Microsoft 365, underneath “References” you’ll discover features for engaged on tutorial works, reminiscent of instructions for creating footnotes and endnotes in addition to a desk of contents and bibliography or for inserting a caption.

You may also create footnotes and endnotes in Word Online, both immediately on the workspace utilizing the 2 rectangles on the prime and backside proper of the web page margins or utilizing the “View” ribbon.

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You may also use the “References” ribbon to create a desk of contents in addition to footnotes and endnotes. However, Word Online doesn’t work for mail merges that you just manage within the desktop model underneath “Mailings.”

It can be not doable to work with macros within the on-line model; present Word paperwork with macros can’t be opened. The similar applies to encrypted and password-protected recordsdata.

The choice choices underneath “View” are additionally very restricted: You can use the zoom to scale back the dimensions of the pages in order that a number of of them match into the Word window. However, they’re at all times positioned one under the opposite, and if there are greater than two pages, the textual content is now not legible.

Excel Online at a look

The on-line model of Excel additionally doesn’t help macros and, like Word, doesn’t usually provide VBA help. Overall, nonetheless, the interface differs much less from the desktop model than is the case with Word; the one factor lacking right here is the “Page layout” ribbon. Instead, there may be the “Draw” menu merchandise with six instruments.

Unlike Word, Excel may also draw, however with solely six instruments, the choices are fairly restricted.

Unlike Word and PowerPoint, it’s doable to load recordsdata immediately from the native onerous drive in Excel Online. If you go to File > Open > Open recordsdata from this system, you can be taken to an Explorer view for choosing a desk.

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What occurs subsequent is dependent upon the browser used: Firefox masses the chosen file to OneDrive, from the place it’s opened in Excel with out additional enquiry. However, this solely works if you happen to enable pop-ups to be displayed within the browser.

To do that, click on on “Settings” within the “Hamburger” menu on the prime proper, swap to “Privacy & Security” on the left and scroll all the way down to “Permissions.” There, delete the tick in entrance of “Block pop-up windows.” Alternatively, you’ll be able to outline an exception for the Microsoft Office web site: Leave the tick, click on on “Exceptions” after which enter the URL https://onedrive.live.com underneath “Website address.” Finally, verify with “Save changes.”

You additionally want to permit pop-ups to be displayed in Microsoft’s Edge browser. To do that, click on on the three-dot menu on the prime proper and go to “Settings.” Now click on on “Cookies and website permissions” and scroll to “Pop-ups and redirects.” Either swap off “Blocked (recommended)” or click on on “Add” subsequent to “Allow” and enter the handle https://onedrive.live.com. In Chrome, nonetheless, this technique fails, leaving you with the basic technique of first importing the file to OneDrive and opening it with Excel from there.

Otherwise, each Excel ribbon lacks among the features of the desktop model. Under “Insert,” for instance, you’ll miss the “Maps” and “3D maps,” the “Symbols,” or the sparklines, underneath “Formulas” there is no such thing as a “Error checking” and no “Monitoring window.” Although Excel Online may also deal with pivot tables, it can’t combine exterior knowledge sources. And: The on-line model solely acknowledges 4 file codecs: XLSX, XLSB, XLSM and XLS.

PowerPoint Online at a look

In the web model of the PowerPoint presentation program, nonetheless, the “Record” ribbon is lacking, whose instructions permit you to document the processes on the Windows desktop and save them as a video. The remaining menus correspond to these of the desktop model.

Microsoft has additionally thinned out the features. When printing, you solely have the selection between printing full slides, word pages, and handouts. Everything is first transformed right into a PDF, which you’ll then ship to the printer. Designer, which is an integral a part of PowerPoint within the desktop model, is barely obtainable on-line with a trial model for one month.

The device works with an AI that makes design ideas for the presentation primarily based on the subject of the presentation. Via Insert > Images > Search the online you’ll be able to seek for different appropriate designs utilizing a Bing search.

This article was translated from German to English and initially appeared on pcwelt.de.