Chapter 1

Office Nuts and Bolts

IN THIS CHAPTER

Introducing the Office applications

Exploring the Office interface

Opening, saving, and closing an Office file

Clamping a password on a file

Chapter 1 is where you get your feet wet with Office 365. Walk right to the shore and sink your toes in the water. Don’t worry; I won’t push you from behind.

In this chapter, you meet the Office applications and discover speed techniques for opening files. I show you around the Ribbon, Quick Access toolbar, and other Office landmarks. I also show you how to open files, save files, and clamp a password on a file.

Introducing Office 365

Office 365 is a subscription service from Microsoft. Subscribers can install and run Office applications on their computers; they can also take advantage of the Office cloud-based services. In computer jargon, the cloud is the name for servers on the Internet where individuals can store files and run online software. Microsoft offers many different versions of Office 365, some aimed at home users and some at business users. Visit this web page to compare and contrast the different versions of Office:

https://products.office.com

Office 365 applications

Table 1-1 describes the Office 365 applications. Not all versions of Office 365 include Outlook, Access, and Publisher.

TABLE 1-1 Office 365 Applications

Windows 10 must be installed on your computer to run Office 365 applications. The applications don’t run on computers running earlier versions of the Windows operating system.

If you’re new to Office, don’t be daunted by the prospect of having to study so many different applications. The applications have much in common, with the same commands showing up throughout. For example, the method of choosing fonts is the same in Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, and Publisher. Master one Office program and you’re well on your way to mastering the next.

Office 365 cloud services

Besides the applications described in Table 1-1, an Office 365 subscription entitles you to these goodies from the cloud:

• The opportunity to install Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on iPads and Windows tablets.
• Automatic updates to the Office software on your computer. As long as your subscription is paid up, Microsoft updates the Office software automatically.
• Storing and sharing files with OneDrive, Microsoft’s cloud service. As well as keep files on your computer, you can keep them on the Internet so that you can open them wherever your travels take you. At minimum, subscribers to Office 365 get 5 gigabytes of free storage space for their files on OneDrive (some plans offer more free storage than others). You can invite others to work on files you store on OneDrive. (Book 11 explains how to store and share files with OneDrive.)
• The opportunity to use the web (online) versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. To use a Web application, you open it in a browser and give commands through the browser window.
• Microsoft Teams for sharing files, chatting, and participating in voice and video calls with coworkers. (Book 10 and Book 11 explain Microsoft Teams, a service available only to Office 365 Business subscribers.)

Finding out what software and Office version you have

Follow these steps to find out which version of Office 365 you have and which Office applications are installed on your computer:

1. Open any Office 365 application.

2. Click the File tab.

   This tab is located in the upper-left corner of the screen. The Backstage window opens after you click the File tab.

   Here’s a fast way to open the Backstage window: Click your name in the upper-right corner of any Office application window and choose the Office User Info link on the drop-down menu.

3. Select the Account category.

   As shown in Figure 1-1, the Account window opens. Under “This Product Contains” is an icon for each Office application that is installed on your computer.

4. Click the Manage Account button.

   Your web browser opens to a Microsoft web page that tells you, among other things, what type of Office 365 account you have and how much free OneDrive storage space you are entitled to use. (If you aren’t signed in to your Microsoft account, sign in to view the web page.)

5. Return to the Office 365 application and click the Back button in the Account window.

   The Back button, a left-pointing arrow, is located in the upper-left corner of the Account window.

Managing your Microsoft account

All subscribers to Office 365 must have a Microsoft account. To find out whether your account is paid up, change the password to your account, pay your subscription fee, and do all else pertaining to your account, follow these steps:

1. Open any Office 365 application.

2. In the upper-right corner of the screen, click your name.

   A drop-down menu appears.

   If you don’t see your name in the upper-right corner of the screen, you aren’t signed in to your Microsoft account. Click the Sign In button and enter your sign-in credentials.

3. Select the My Microsoft Account link on the drop-down menu.

   Your web browser opens to a page at Microsoft.com where you can investigate everything you need to know about your account.

Beside your name in the upper-right corner of the screen is a diamond-shaped button called Your Subscription Benefits Center. You may click this button to open a screen that tells you how wonderful it is to have a subscription to Office 365. Most people click the button only once.

Finding Your Way Around the Office Interface

Interface, also called the user interface, is a computer term that describes how a software program presents itself to the people who use it (and you probably thought interface meant two people kissing). Figure 1-2 shows the Word interface. You will be glad to know that the interface of all the Office programs is pretty much the same.

These pages give you a quick tour of the Office interface and explain what the various parts of the interface are. Click along with me as I describe the interface and you’ll know what’s what by the time you finish reading these pages.

The File tab and Backstage

In the upper-left corner of the window is the File tab (see Figure 1-2). Clicking the File tab opens the Backstage (Microsoft’s word, not mine). As shown in Figure 1-3, the Backstage offers commands for creating, saving, printing, and sharing files, as well as performing other file-management tasks. Notice the Options command on the Backstage. You can choose Options to open the Options dialog box and tell the application you are working in how you want it to work.

To leave the Backstage and return to the application window, click the Back button. This button, an arrow, is located in the upper-left corner of the Backstage.

The Quick Access...