Microsoft Office 365 User Guide

The Complete Step-by-Step Manual for Beginners and Seniors to Master the Essential Features and
Functions of Microsoft Office 365 in 2022

Curtis
Campbell
Copyright © 2021 Curtis Campbell
All rights reserved.
It is not legal to reproduce, duplicate, or transmit any part of this document by either electronic means or in
printed format. Recording of this publication is strictly prohibited

Disclaimer

The information in this book is based on personal experience and anecdotal evidence. Although the author
has made every attempt to achieve an accuracy of the information gathered in this book, they make no
representation or warranties concerning the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book. Your
circumstances may not be suited to some illustrations in this book.
The author disclaims any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of this book. Readers are
encouraged to seek Medical. Accounting, legal, or professional help when required.
This guide is for informational purposes only, and the author does not accept any responsibilities for any
liabilities resulting from the use of this information. While every attempt has been made to verify the
information provided here, the author cannot assume any responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omission.
 Contents
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER ONE
WHAT IS OFFICE 365?
Download and Install Microsoft Office 365
WINDOWS –
FOR MACOS –
Installing Microsoft 365 on Windows
Installing Microsoft 365 on MacOS
Is There Any Difference Between Office 365 and Microsoft 365?
Applications in Microsoft 365 (A Brief List)
Why You Should Use Microsoft 365
Getting Started With Microsoft 365
CHAPTER TWO
CHOOSING YOUR PLAN (CHOOSE WHAT YOU NEED)
Microsoft 365 for Home
Microsoft 365 for Business
Microsoft 365 for Enterprise
Microsoft 365 for Education
CHAPTER THREE
MICROSOFT OFFICE 365 TOUR
The Home Page
Understanding the Navigation Bar
The App Launcher
Settings
Help
Using the Microsoft Search
CHAPTER FOUR
COMMUNICATING AND CONNECTIVITY WITH MICROSOFT TEAMS
Working Anywhere With Microsoft Teams
Enhance Team Work with Microsoft Teams
Easier Collaboration
Using Microsoft Teams
Creation and Management of Teams and Channels
Adding Apps to Teams
Setting Up Streams
 Getting Started With Streams
The Navigation Bar
Uploading Videos to Stream
Channels and Groups
Live Streaming With Stream
Creating Live Events
Stream Your Created Event Live
CHAPTER FIVE
OUTLOOK: CONTROLLING YOUR INBOX
Getting Started With Outlook
Sending and Replying Messages
Sending Emails To Multiple Recipients
Sending Emails With Attachments
Email Scheduling
Organize Your Inbox: Using Folders and Categories
Folders
Categories
Using Folders
Using Categories
Email Archive and Delete
Delete Messages
Archive Messages Manually
Using Outlook Search and Filter
Using Outlook from Anywhere
CHAPTER SIX
GET ORGANIZED WITH ONENOTE
What are the benefits of using Microsoft OneNote?
Take Your Organization to Another Level With OneNote
Using OneNote
CHAPTER SEVEN
POWERFUL STORYTELLING: SWAY AND POWERPOINT
Fundamentals of Telling Compelling Stories
Digital Storytelling
Digital Storytelling with Sway
Cards
The Storyline
Changing Your Sway's Design
Changing Your Sway's Layout
Previewing Your Sway
Share Your Sway
 Sway Free Vs. Sway Subscription
Tracking Sway Reading Analytics
Creating Animated Videos with PowerPoint
Why would you want to create a video in the first place?
Create Slides
Addition of Animations
Add Videos
Insert Music
Export Your Finished Work
CHAPTER EIGHT
MICROSOFT PLANNER: PLAN LIKE A PRO
To-Do, Planner, Task Apps
Using Microsoft Planner
Integrating With Teams
To-Do and Task App
Getting Feedbacks Using Planner
CHAPTER NINE
MICROSOFT 365 ADMIN CENTRE
Microsoft 365 Admin Centre – Getting Started
Navigating the Admin Centre
Users
To Create A User:
Groups
Creating Groups
Roles
Configuring Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Setting Up Multi-Factor Authentication for Your Users
View Usage Reports
Settings
Working With Add-Ins
Deployment
Compatibility
CHAPTER TEN
MICROSOFT EXCEL: ORGANIZE YOUR DATA, NUMBER, AND FORMULAS
Navigating Excel and Creating Your Spreadsheet
Formatting and Selecting Cells in Excel
Using Excel Autofill
Using the default Fill Handle to AutoFill
Using the Same Data to Autofill Cells in a Worksheet Column
Autofill Dates in Excel
 AutoFill a Linear Series
Growth Series AutoFill
AutoFill Days and Weekdays
AutoFill Months and Years
AutoFill Times
Converting PDFs to Editable Excel Formats
PDF to Excel conversion in Microsoft Office
CHAPTER ELEVEN
MICROSOFT FORMS
Using Forms
Creating a New Form
Creating a New Quiz
Creating a Branching Form
Previewing and Sharing Your Form
Getting Your Responses for Reports
Graphing Your Responses and Report
CHAPTER TWELVE
MICROSOFT 365 TIPS AND TRICKS
Common Issues with Microsoft 365
CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION
Understanding how to use a tool or an app is the first step to benefitting from it.
With the advent of more work, physically and digitally, technology has helped. It
is still helping us get things done in a better and more efficient way, and this very
all-inclusive package from Microsoft's table has a lot of benefits to offer you, so
long you know your way around it.

Microsoft Office 365 is a subscription service that includes a long list of tools
that help you as an individual, team, or organization. The service has virtually a
tool for everything you may need to do and aid you in doing it more effectively
and efficiently. If you have been looking for a tool to help you carry out tasks
the right way, with the least waste of time and effort, as well as an avenue to
rather work smarter rather than harder; the tools embedded in the entire
subscription services can achieve this for you, as long as you are subscribed to
the service. Get effective, target a goal and objective, a meet such goals with the
help of the right tools on hand for the right job.
With many great tools, like Teams, Planner, Forms, and the likes, your
efficiency, effectiveness, and productivity can only get better.
This user guide will help you know how to get maximally the best from this
subscription service to take your personal and work-life to the next level.
 CHAPTER ONE
WHAT IS OFFICE 365?
Now called Microsoft 365, either of the two, you probably have heard of Office
365 and don't know what it is all about.
Microsoft 365 is aimed at improving the productivity of individuals. It is a
subscription service that ensures access to the most up-to-date versions of
Microsoft's modern productivity products available. It offers lots of plans
available for home and personal use, as well as for small and mid-sized
businesses, big enterprises, educational institutions, and non-profit organizations.
Microsoft 365 plans for home and personal use contain the powerful Office
desktop applications that you're already acquainted with, such as Word,
PowerPoint, and Excel, as well as other features. Additional online storage is
included, as are cloud-connected tools that allow you to collaborate on
documents and other related files in real-time. With a subscription, you'll always
get the most up-to-date features, fixes, and security updates, as well as unlimited
technical assistance at no additional charge. Monthly or yearly payments are
both options for paying for your membership service. A lot more will be said
about plans in the second chapter.
Unlike other cloud computing services, Microsoft 365 plans for businesses,
schools, and non-profits include fully installed desktop applications. However,
Microsoft also offers basic plans that feature online versions of Microsoft Office
and file storage and email services. You select what is most effective for you,
whether you need it for your small business, an enterprise, a school, or a non-
profit organization.
Download and Install Microsoft Office 365
Before downloading and installing Microsoft Office 365, the system
requirements must be taken into consideration first. Check out the minimum
system requirements for Windows and MacOS as shown below:
WINDOWS –
Operating System: Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2019, 2016
Processor: 1.6 GHz or higher, 2-core Intel processor
Minimum Memory: 2 GB or 4 GB RAM

System Hard Disk Requirement: 4 GB hard disk space

FOR MACOS –
Operating System: Most recent three versions of macOS.
Processor: Intel processor
Minimum Memory: 4 GB RAM

System Hard Disk Requirement: 10 GB hard disk space

Installing Microsoft 365 on Windows
Confirm that your device running the Windows OS meets the criteria for office
installation, then follow the steps outlined below:
STEP ONE: Visit the www.microsoft365.com/setup Online Portal.
Install Microsoft Office 365 by visiting microsoft365.com/setup on your internet
web browser on your Windows computer (Edge, Firefox, Chrome, the default
browser, or any other). After that, press the Enter key to be redirected to the
Microsoft 365 setup page.

STEP TWO: Provide your Microsoft Account Login Information.

To complete the setup process on the microsoft365.com/setup website, you must
first sign in with your Microsoft account ID/phone number and password by
clicking "Sign In." If new to the platform, you will need to set up a new account
to sign in. Click on the "Create Account" to create a new account and follow the
following processes.

STEP THREE: Enter the product key in the appropriate field.

If you haven't redeemed your product yet, you'll see a box with instructions on
how to do so. Type in the 25-digit key code that you presently have very
carefully and click "Submit." Note that you cannot install Microsoft 365
directly from Microsoft without having a premium subscription of any type; you
must have at least one of the plans, as will be stated and explained in detail in
Chapter 2.
STEP FOUR: Download and install the Microsoft 365 Installer on your
computer.
Select the "Install" and "Install Office" tabs on the following two pages to begin
the installation process. To begin the Microsoft 365 download, select one of the
options from the menu shown: Run, Setup, Save, or Save File, depending on the
browser presently in use. It will download the latest version of Microsoft 365
automatically.

STEP FIVE: Run the Downloaded File to Install

Run from browser downloads or double-click on the "microsoft365.exe"
installer file located in the default "Downloads" location on your Windows hard
drive to begin the installation. It will instantly begin the installation process.
STEP 6: Accept the Software's Terms and Conditions.
The User Account Control prompt alters the device setting for the Office 365
software installation; therefore, select "Yes" when prompted by the prompt.
After that, the software agreement appears, which you should read and accept.
STEP SEVEN: Finish off the Installation to Get Started
Patiently wait for a few minutes till the installation completes; how long depends
on the size of your system's memory. The message "You're all set! Office is
installed now" will show up when installation is complete. Either play the
animated video to find apps or select Close to exit the search process.
STEP EIGHT: Complete the installation by activating Office 365.
You must now open any application, such as Microsoft Word, via the Windows
Start Menu. After that, accept the license terms and log in to your Microsoft
account to complete the process. The Office applications have been activated
and are ready to be used.
Installing Microsoft 365 on MacOS
The installation of Microsoft 365 on MacOS is similar to the process of
installation on Windows. Ensure you confirm the system requirements before
beginning installation as well. The installer file downloads a microsoft365.pkg
instead of microsoft365.exe (it will download the latest version of Microsoft
365 automatically) file, and the installation goes on as usual. Follow the same
steps as seen in the Installation on Windows.
Is There Any Difference Between Office 365 and Microsoft 365?
Microsoft 365, which Microsoft presented in mid-2017, may have come up in
conversation, and it may seem a confusing concept with Office 365. Microsoft
365 should not be mistaken with Microsoft Dynamics 365 or Office 365, despite
having similar branding.
Although both Office 365 and Microsoft 365 are cloud-based suites of
productivity software, the latter is a package of services that includes Office 365
and other business tools. Office 365 can be purchased separately from Microsoft
365, although all Microsoft 365 subscribers will have access to the latter as well
as to Office 365.
It was created to provide businesses with access to all the baseline tools they
require to run their basic IT infrastructure, secure their organization, and get
things done. Microsoft 365 was developed to accomplish just that. Additionally,
Windows 10 Enterprise and Enterprise Mobility + Security (EMS) are included
in Microsoft 365, giving subscribers access to features like email and
calendaring, file storage, data protection controls, cyber-threat protection,
administration and deployment controls, and a 99.9 percent uptime guarantee,
among others.
Every service in Microsoft 365 is available separately. Yet, many organizations
may find it more convenient and cost-effective to purchase the Microsoft 365
package, particularly if they are not already existing Microsoft business clients.
In short, there is no significant difference between Office 365 and Microsoft 365.
According to the Microsoft 365 official frequently asked questions, what
happened from Office 365 to Microsoft 365 is a name change. In short, Office
365 is the old name of Microsoft 365. This cloud-based subscription is the new
version of Office. Microsoft 365 includes that was in Office 365 when it was
formerly named so. The name change was designed to expand its uses, helping
individuals and businesses achieve more with innovative Office apps, intelligent
cloud services, and world-class security.
Applications in Microsoft 365 (A Brief List)
Microsoft 365 is quite a significant tool. The average user of the subscription
package will most likely not use all features of the package. Knowing the
applications available for your use under the Microsoft 365 package is important
to know how to maximize your Subscription. At the same time, information will
also be given on the availability of each application under the subscriptions to
help you select your subscription.

Yes, we mean it. Microsoft 365 is quite massively large.

Down here, we take a look at some of the applications; as you can see, we
cannot possibly define them all.
CORE DESKTOP APPLICATIONS
The well-so-familiar desktop applications of Microsoft Office are all available in
the Microsoft 365 subscription. All applications include:
Microsoft Word is a word processor that is included with Microsoft
Office 365. With support for editing and formatting documents, Word
for Windows also includes support for the Portable Document Format
(PDF) and OpenDocument (ODF).
Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet editor whose history is remarkable that
it was developed to compete with and eventually outsell the popular
Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet editor.
Microsoft PowerPoint is a presentation program that allows you to
build slideshows that include text, pictures, and other objects. These
slideshows can be displayed on a computer screen and demonstrated by
the presenter, or they can be printed out on transparencies or slides.
Microsoft OneNote is a note-taking tool that allows you to collect
handwritten or typed notes, drawings, screen captures, and audio
commentary in one location. Often underused or unknown at all, with
OneNote, you can exchange notes with other OneNote users via the
Internet or a network.
Originally introduced in Office 97, Microsoft Outlook is a personal
information manager that replaces Windows Messaging, Microsoft
Mail, and Schedule+. It includes an e-mail client, calendar, task
manager, and address book. Outlook.com is a free web-based version of
this same Microsoft Outlook application that allows you to access your
inbox from anywhere in the world.
Microsoft OneDrive allows the possibility to sync files online and then
access them from a web browser or mobile device using the Microsoft
OneDrive service. Google Drive comes to mind as the closest
competitor.
Designed mainly for the Windows Operating System, Microsoft
Publisher is a desktop publishing application primarily used to create
printed materials like brochures, labels, calendars, greeting cards,
business cards, newsletters, websites, and postcards.
Microsoft Access is a database management system that combines the
relational Microsoft Jet Database Engine with a graphical user interface
and software development tools to form a comprehensive database
management system. Based on the Access Jet Database Engine,
Microsoft Access stores information in a proprietary format. Data stored
in other programs and databases can also be imported or linked directly
 to from within the application.
Unlike the other Office suites, Microsoft Project is a standalone project
management application for Windows that allows you to keep track of
events and generate network diagrams and Gantt charts.
Microsoft Visio is a diagramming and flowcharting application for
Windows that is not included in any Microsoft Office suites.
OFFICE ON THE WEB
Office on the web is a free, lightweight web version of Microsoft Office desktop
that principally consists of three web applications: Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Office on the web is a lightweight web version of Microsoft Office that is free. A
unified app switcher makes it easy to transition between Outlook.com, OneNote,
and OneDrive; all included in the package. Publisher, Access, Project, and Visio
are all unavailable in the lightweight web version.
ONEDRIVE FOR BUSINESS
Microsoft has a similarly named, but unrelated software plus service offering
called OneDrive for Business (previously SkyDrive Pro). While OneDrive is a
personal storage service on the web, OneDrive for Business is a managed cloud
storage for business users that replaces SharePoint Workspace. The physical
medium on which the information is stored can be either hosted on-premises or
purchased as a service subscription from Microsoft.
MICROSOFT TEAMS
Perhaps the most resourceful and most used feature of Microsoft 365, the
application and service gained a lot of momentum during the COVID-19
pandemic, predominantly in 2020. Microsoft Teams is the hub of Office 365 that
brings team collaboration, people together, and content and tools that teams need
to be more engaged and effective. Anyone can participate at any moment,
whether by chat, phone calls, or video, bringing everyone closer together.
Documents, photographs, videos, chat history, and meeting notes are always
available, making it easier to collaborate with other people. A translator is also
embedded into the Teams instant messaging tool, allowing companies to
collaborate regardless of their language preferences and limitations. With teams,
a workplace can be set up virtually with all of the apps needed so that workers
and collaborators can stay in one spot rather than moving around from place to
place. It is often regarded as the future of workplaces.
MICROSOFT FORMS
Microsoft Forms (formerly known as Office Forms) is an online survey
generator included with Office 365. Forms, which Microsoft released in June
2016, allow users to design surveys and quizzes that are automatically graded.
The data may be exported to Microsoft Excel for further analysis. In 2019,
Microsoft launched a preview of Forms Pro, which allows users to export data
into a Power BI dashboard, a feature that was previously unavailable.
YAMMER
Yammer is a social networking tool targeted at the Business and Enterprise
world. It is used for private and internal communication between employees. A
user's internet domain is used to assess whether or not they may join a Yammer
network, ensuring that only those with permitted email addresses can join their
particular networks.
Yammer looks similar to Teams but is still quite different. It is more like an
"outer circle" for delivering information, announcements, and engagements,
more like a digital company message board. Teams are more specific for more
intimate and closer collaboration than a public display of announcement to a
larger group.
DELVE
Take control of your activities. The Office 365 Delve application allows Office
365 users to search and manage their emails, meetings, contacts, social
networks, and documents that are saved on OneDrive or Sites in the Office 365
cloud environment. Delve makes use of artificial intelligence and machine
learning. It's been available on mobile since April 2015 on the App Store and
Google Play for customers who had an Office 365 subscription at the time.

MICROSOFT PLANNER
The name speaks for itself. Microsoft Planner is a planning tool that is part of the
Microsoft 365 platform and is accessible through the Microsoft Store. The
program is available to Microsoft 365 premium, business, and educational
customers who have purchased a license. Microsoft Planner is a team-oriented
application that may be utilized in various ways, depending on the situation.
Team management, file sharing, and organizing are just a few of the features
available on Planner.
Users and teams may use Planner to make plans, assemble and assign tasks,
exchange files, interact and work with other users, and get progress reports in
various ways. More information can be obtained on the planner website.
Because Microsoft Planner is integrated with Microsoft 365 Groups, users will
interact across the two platforms as needed. When a new plan is generated in
Planner, a new Microsoft 365 group is immediately formed in the background.

MICROSOFT BOOKINGS
Microsoft Bookings is a scheduling application that is part of the Microsoft
Office suite of products. It is available for both Windows and Mac computers.
Bookings allow clients of small businesses and corporations to schedule
meetings with the firm. The program is available to Office 365 Business
Premium subscribers and integrates with Microsoft Teams and the defunct Skype
for Business.
MICROSOFT TO-DO
Microsoft To-Do (formerly known as Microsoft To-Do) is a cloud-based task
management tool developed by Microsoft Corporation. Users may manage their
work from a variety of devices, including smartphones, tablets, and computers.
A team from Wunderlist initially developed the technology before Microsoft
purchased it, and the stand-alone applications are integrated with Microsoft's
existing Tasks function in the Outlook product line.

SHAREPOINT
SharePoint facilitates cooperation by providing dynamic and effective team sites
for every project team, department, and division to collaborate on common
goals. Files, data, news, and resources may all be shared. Its ability to be
customized makes the job of working staff more efficient. Seamless and secure
collaborations can be created with team members inside and outside of a
company on various platforms that can access the web, such as PCs, Macs, and
mobile devices.
MICROSOFT EXCHANGE SERVER
Microsoft Exchange Server is a mail server and calendaring server developed by
Microsoft and available on Microsoft 365 for Business. It can only be used on
Windows Server operating systems. An intelligent inbox that helps personalize
inboxes, and a more organized way to interact with emails, as well as a powerful
calendaring system that goes beyond just the basics of just making a schedule of
appointments and commitments. It can automatically capture events that need to
be attended to and their details from emails, which is an intelligent inbox. For
example, flight details and hotel reservations can be automatically captured from
mails and automatically added to the calendar.

POWER BI
Power BI: Reliable business intelligence (BI) gathering applications are among
the most powerful tools that any firm, regardless of size, can have. By way of its
Power BI application, Microsoft 365 for Business provides businesses with a
collection of tools for collecting, classifying, and presenting business
intelligence information.

POWER APPS
For those instances in which your company needs a specific app to perform a
certain task, PowerApps can be used to meet that need. Businesses may
construct powerful apps that utilize the capabilities, procedures, and processes
available in Microsoft 365 while utilizing simplified development
methodologies.
Why You Should Use Microsoft 365
Office 365 is unlike any other software program available. It has the ability to
bring your company, organization, or even just your team together and to
coordinate all your activities. Office 365 is a cloud-based service that stores,
manage, and interacts with the environment. Once you have an internet
connection, you can access lots of tools that make your life easier, and quite
cheaply too.

Most likely, your organization has a limited budget for IT maintenance and
improvements, and this is especially true for smaller organizations. There's also a
high possibility that some of your employees use their smartphones, tablets, and
other devices to complete part of their job (or at least attempt to do so). Hence, if
they will be using their devices to do some of the activities, Microsoft 365 has
the ability to unify every activity you may be doing in parts and increase your
productivity and efficiency.
Writing the benefits of Microsoft 365 will take way too many words; as we go
on in the package's features, the benefits will get clearer. However, suppose you
plan to collaborate with external contacts without worrying about your security
and less about maintaining and tracking your progress. In that case, there are a
lot of benefits accessible in Microsoft 365.
Getting Started With Microsoft 365
Microsoft uses one account for all things. Hence, to get started, an account needs
to be created with Microsoft. One Account for everything. Microsoft 365 can be
accessed either online on a browser or via downloading; either way, a plan must
be subscribed to either one of the standalone applications is to be used or one of
the applications in the package. Visit https://account.microsoft.com/account/ to
create an account with Microsoft 365 to get started.

Microsoft 365 can be accessed via https://www.microsoft.com/en-ww/microsoft-

365, where a suitable plan is selected based on the user's needs (more on that in
the next chapter). Also, as seen already, Microsoft 365 can easily be accessed in
full by installing it, whether for your Windows or MacOS.
More also on navigating your way through Microsoft 365 will be seen in
Chapter 3.
 CHAPTER TWO
CHOOSING YOUR PLAN (CHOOSE WHAT YOU

NEED)
Deciding which plan to use is an interesting decision any individual or
organization that has decided to use the Microsoft 365 solution will make. Not
all Microsoft 365 are available in every plan, and your plan determines how
much you get from Microsoft 365. And frankly, you do not necessarily need
every feature of Microsoft 365, whether as an individual looking to use it for
personal in-house usages or as a business.

Microsoft has also made this easier by grouping the plans into relevant sections
and, more importantly, subsections to help you optimize your decision on what
to use. Hence, a small business doesn't have to buy the same plan as a larger
business that may need more utilities from Microsoft 365, and this ensures
everyone can choose their plan and remain happy.
There are four plans available in Microsoft 365, each, of course, having its sub-
plans:

Microsoft 365 for Home.

Microsoft 365 for Business.
Microsoft 365 for Enterprise.
Microsoft 365 for Education.
Each plan comes with its feature and available applications, and this chapter will
guide you on what plan to use.
***Before subscribing to any of the Microsoft 365 plans, it is required you are
logged in to your Microsoft account. Remember, it is one account for everything;
create your account and get checked in.
Microsoft 365 for Home
Want to purchase immediately? Visit https://www.microsoft.com/en-
us/microsoft-365/buy/compare-all-microsoft-365-products and select the "FOR
HOME" tab on the page.

There, you can select any of the four tabs and go ahead to purchase your
subscription.
Microsoft 365 Family.
Microsoft 365 Personal.
Microsoft Office Home and Student.
Microsoft Office Home and Business.
Microsoft 365 for Business
Want to purchase immediately, visit https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-
365/business/compare-all-microsoft-365-business-products

There, you can select any of the four tabs and go ahead to purchase your
subscription.
Microsoft 365 Business Basic.
Microsoft 365 Business Standard.
Microsoft 365 Business Premium.
Microsoft 365 Apps for Businesses.
Microsoft 365 for Enterprise

Want to purchase immediately, visit https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-

365/compare-microsoft-365-enterprise-plans
There, you can select any of the four tabs and go ahead to purchase your
subscription.

Microsoft 365 E3.

Microsoft 365 E5.
Microsoft 365 F1.
Microsoft 365 F3.
Office 365 F3.
Microsoft 365 for Education
All Education plans are strictly out of reach for ineligible personnel. The plans
contain free productivity tools that can help you improve collaboration in the
classroom and at school, whether as a student or a teacher. To take advantage of
these offers, you will need to prove that your institution is an accredited
academic institution.

Want to purchase immediately, visit https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-

365/academic/compare-office-365-education-plans

There, you can select any of the four tabs and go ahead to purchase your
subscription.
Microsoft 365 A1 (for students)
Microsoft 365 A1 (for teachers)
Microsoft 365 A3 (for students)
Microsoft 365 A3 (for teachers)
Microsoft 365 A5 (for students)
Microsoft 365 A5 (for teachers)
 CHAPTER THREE
MICROSOFT OFFICE 365 TOUR

The image above shows the Microsoft 365 homepage after being logged in. The
page cannot be accessed without a valid Microsoft 365 subscription. Creating an
account is as easy as it's been said already; one account for everything. Visit
www.office.com, create an account and log in if you do not have an account
already.
As said in the introductory chapter, you can only access Microsoft 365 through
the online service and not the installed version on your PC before having a
subscription.

To get a plan, click "Buy Office," as seen on the page; if you click install office,
you'll be required to log in with your premium account and input a product key.
However, the online version of Microsoft 365 and the installed version on your
PC works pretty much the same way.
The Home Page
Pretty much as it has been shown already, the Microsoft 365 homepage looks as
shown above. Recent Tab shows your most recently opened files as linked with
your OneDrive files.
Understanding the Navigation Bar
The Navigation Bar contains the following:
App launcher
Settings
Notification Settings
Help
Search
The App Launcher

Clicking the 9 dots icon on the top left reveals the list of apps in Microsoft 365.
As expected, some apps will not show up depending on the subscription you are
on currently.
Clicking "All apps" opens the page containing all apps.

From this, all applications available in your package can be redirected too.
A similar page is seen when an app is opened, for example, going to Outlook by
clicking the Outlook app under the App Launcher.
The Microsoft 365 homepage can be returned immediately by clicking the App
Launcher from Outlook and clicking "Office," which returns you to the
homepage.
From the app launcher, the files that you have saved on OneDrive like Word
documents, Excel spreadsheets, and PowerPoint presentations can be edited
using the online versions of the app shown in the app launcher.

The "Office on the web" versions of your desktop apps, from here, your files
can be edited in real-time and updated immediately and synced. With this, you
can work on your files saved on OneDrive on your PC anywhere, even without
having access to your PC.
Settings

From the Setting Tab,

The Start Page can be edited; you can change the default page, which
comes up when you sign in to office.com.
Notifications help you select the messages you want to show up in the
"notifications" icon. This isn't available without being on a Microsoft
subscription.
Password can be changed as usual.
Language can also be changed to your preferences.
You can move to a dedicated page for your Microsoft 365 settings or
select specific settings for specific apps using your app settings. Within
the dedicated settings page, all the above settings can be accessed and
other robust settings on your Microsoft account and to view the state of
your current subscription.
Help
The Question mark symbol on the Navigation Bar helps you to find help. Yes,
that it is. You can choose one of the default help topics or search for your
question using the help search box.
Using the Microsoft Search
The top center of the navigation bar contains the navigation bar. Here you can
search anything, ranging from searching for your apps, files, templates, etc. It
also extends your search to find other relevant results that may help what you are
looking for. If you search for an app that isn't part of your subscription, the
search will, of course, not bring the required result.
 CHAPTER FOUR
COMMUNICATING AND CONNECTIVITY WITH

MICROSOFT TEAMS
Meet, chat, call and collaborate all in one place.

Microsoft Teams is a robust tool that brings your world of connecting and
communicating with your team members to another level.
Working Anywhere With Microsoft Teams
Working anywhere is possible with Microsoft Teams, whether in twos, threes, or
even a ten thousand. Teams all across the world are embracing the concept of
remote work. By making Microsoft Teams available to as many individuals as
possible, Microsoft hopes to keep teams linked even while working in different
locations. Teams enable you to talk, meet, call, study, and collaborate in one
location, with no need to go anywhere else. Sign up and start using Teams for
free right away, and keep reading for some helpful hints on working from home.

As it is called, Microsoft Teams bring to life the "future of workplaces."

Utilizing Microsoft Teams for your video conferencing and communication
requirements can help you get up and running quickly. Go through the details of
this chapter to know how it can perfectly work for your team.

In a recent survey conducted by Work Reworked, individuals expressed the

belief that a startling 52 percent of their working time is wasted each week due
to unneeded interruptions, looking for information, and unproductive meetings.
The end-to-end capabilities of Microsoft Teams meetings can do a great deal of
help in the elimination of the irritation and inefficiency by integrating everything
you need for every meeting into one location, making it easier to manage. As
you prepare for meetings, you may utilize the chat feature to add items to the
schedule, papers to be reviewed ahead of time, and other subjects of discussion.
As a result, there is no need to go through your emails for the meeting notes
because everything is in one spot.
When the meeting begins, you may utilize video to keep everyone focused on
the subject at hand by turning on the camera, blurring the backdrop to prevent
distractions, and displaying live subtitles throughout. In addition, you may
collaborate on Office 365 documents and create ideas in real-time by utilizing
the digital whiteboard provided with the software.
Along with the ability to have discussions, Teams also provides a repository for
storing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other media files.
Additionally, you may interact with peers on any of these files in real-time, on
top of saving them. Teams enable you to collaborate on projects using Office
applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint in a single location.

You may establish a team with a name and a description and then invite people
to join it. Simply including the "@" sign in a chat or asking someone to join a
team will accomplish your goal of including them. Microsoft Teams is also
available fully on mobile with all features on the desktop edition available. Thus,
your workplace can always be with you whether or not you are with your PC.
Enhance Team Work with Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams allows you to take your collaboration to the next level by
allowing users to collaborate in digital "teams" within the platform. Using
channel chats, you may foster a more open dialogue among your various teams,
hold online "meetings," and have quick access to the applications you need to
accomplish your work. Microsoft Teams, a unified software that pulls together
all of the tools needed to be productive, enables workgroups to collaborate more
effectively by presenting them with a single, unified app. In short, with
Microsoft Teams, teamwork can be taken to another level, more robust and
better, more possibilities, less work. Microsoft Teams bring everything you
need together all in one place. Instead of opening emails separately, having
phone calls separately, scheduling meetings, then meeting on another app
(Zoom, Google Meet, and the likes), everything can be brought all in one
app with smooth, seamless collaboration…

With the number of emails your team members receive, it's easy for information
to become lost in the mix and lost in the crowd of emails. Microsoft Teams can
assist in addressing this problem by providing your employees with a centralized
location where they can collaborate. In a chat-based workspace, discussions are
saved in a central location, making it simple to look for and evaluate them. It
allows you to save files, notes, and other information right next to the chat
window, making it available to any team member at any time. You may also go
back and look at the chat sessions produced during audio or video conversations
to understand better what happened during the meeting. You can unleash your
creativity and ideas speedily. Meetings in person, phone conversations, hallway
talks, and brainstorming sessions are excellent methods for generating creative
ideas, but they are not always convenient for everyone involved. You must wait
until everyone has arrived at the same location. Also, if inspiration hits at a
different time than usual, there is no simple method to communicate and expand
on that inspiration.
Teams allow for a more spontaneous approach to collective creation, which is
beneficial. When members of your team have suggestions or queries, they may
communicate them using the chatbox. Starting an impromptu meeting is quick
and straightforward, whether done by text, video, audio, or all three of these
methods. When individuals are available, you can simply check when they are
available and contact them to move things ahead. Working in groups allows you
to move at the pace of ideas. All in one place.
Easier Collaboration

These days, it isn't the work of a single person to create documents,

spreadsheets, and presentations from start to finish. Unfortunately, sending data
back and forth over email is not the most effective approach to cooperating with
other people. It is easy to lose sight of the point. Subtleties are lost in translation.
Furthermore, the effort is lost attempting to determine which version is the most
recent.
Teams enable you to collaborate in real-time from any location using familiar
Office applications on the desktop or the internet. Because of its co-authoring
feature, you may complete a final draft more quickly, knowing that everyone
engaged is on the same page.

Many individuals can be working on the same document at the same time. When
someone modifies, you can see it immediately, making it simple to coordinate
edits with others. When you access a shared document, you will notice that any
modifications have been indicated. This removes the need to send documents
back and forth over email, leading to versioning difficulties and the loss of
valuable work time. With co-authoring, your team will be able to collaborate on
the deliverables that are the lifeblood of your company.
Keep in touch while on the go. When individuals work from home, on an
aircraft, at a client site, or just rushing between meetings, it can be tough to
retain essential team ties. Switching between devices makes it difficult to
concentrate. They will have one less item to worry about, thanks to a unified
collaborative center.
Using Microsoft Teams

You can access teams through the Microsoft 365 App Launcher, as seen in our
Microsoft 365 tour in Chapter 3. You can also access Teams by logging on to
teams directly through https://www.microsoft.com/en-ww/microsoft-teams/
Microsoft Teams, as said already, are also available on the different mobile
stores. As usual, one account ensures you can track all your activities with any
device, regardless of where you are.

You can also download Teams for your PC by clicking "Download Teams" on
the homepage of Microsoft Teams.
Creation and Management of Teams and Channels
To the crux of the matter, all these things must be put into use to enjoy all the
benefits explained above already.

In Microsoft Teams, a Team is a collection of individuals that work together to

accomplish a common goal, and it is often comprised of the entire organization.
Meanwhile, Channels are like subgroups under the organization; they are
separated into groups, with each group dedicated to a specific department,
project, or work.
For example, think of Teams as a company and Channels as the sales
department of the same company. Hence, channels are created after a team
exists.

Creating channels and teams can be done using the steps below:
Create a Team
Launch the Microsoft Teams application and select "Join or create a
team" from the options available at the bottom of the Teams sidebar
on the left.
 In the newly shown screen, select the "Create team" button.
On the following screen, you have the option of selecting:
Create a team from scratch; that is an entirely new team.
Create a team from an existing Office 365 group or team.
If your team was already using Office 365 before migrating to Teams, you might
already have groups that can be imported using the "Create from..." option.

If that's not the case, go ahead with "Build a team from scratch."
After that, determine who will be a member of the Team.
Determine which option is best for you based on how you want
your platform to be organized and arranged:
Private: When a team should only have a few particular members,
the option should be selected.
Public: This is the best option for teams with frequently changing
members.
The Org-Wide: This option is the best choice if you want to host your
whole company as a single "team" on the platform and utilize channels
to split departments and communicate with each other.
 After you've decided on the sort of team you want to form, you'll
need to give it a name.

Specify a suitable team name, such as "Sales" or "Social Media," and

then click the "Create" button in the bottom right corner of the page.
Your new team will now show on the new page after you have
created your new Team.
To add members to the team, click on the three dots next to the
Team name from wherever you are in the team app or use the 'Add
more people' tab on the Teams' homepage. Enter the names of the
individuals you wish to include in the group.
 If they are "guests," such as external users from outside your company,
you may instead provide them guest access by using their email address
as a username and password.
Create a Channel
Following the creation of a team, it's time to begin adding channels
to the group. You need channels within a team for proper
collaboration.
When Microsoft Teams is first launched, it automatically establishes
a generic channel for all team members. More channels can be
added.

First, select "Create more channel" from the menu within the
Team you wish to establish a new channel. The "Create more
channel" is seen on the homepage of the Team.
In the pop-up window that displays, you will be able; Choose a
channel name from the menu; include a description for the
channel; change the privacy settings to give access to all team
members or only a select few team members to view the
information.
Once you've finished configuring the channel, click on the "Add"
button to start the process of creating it.
Adding Apps to Teams
For use within the Microsoft Teams application, you may need to add external
apps, like Planner, To-Do, Sway, and the likes; it's easy to do so long the app is
available under your subscription. Open Teams, and on the bottom left, search
and select your favorite app (again, it must be within your subscription) and
add it.
After you've chosen the app you want, a description screen will appear. Take a
moment to go through the many subsections (e.g., Tabs, Messages, Personal
app.) This section describes the features of the app—as well as how and where it
will appear in Teams, ready for you to use or customize.

Afterward, Click Add and then, your app is available for usage within your
teams' app.
Setting Up Streams
Microsoft Stream is a corporate video solution that enables you to produce and
share films inside your company securely. Stream is simple to operate. You and
your co-workers may collaborate on videos using programs you're already
familiar with, such as SharePoint, Teams, and Yammer, as well as a browser.
Enterprise search with built-in smart search capabilities and intelligent searching
is included in Microsoft Stream. This makes it simple to develop and publish
material and locate the stuff you want when you require it. If you've been using
Office 365 video before, Microsoft Stream is the successor to Office 365 Video,
and your Office 365 Video accounts will be transferred to Microsoft Stream. If
you've considered uploading your movies to a service outside of your firewall
but are concerned about security, Microsoft Stream can help. Microsoft Stream,
like the rest of the Office 365 suite, is protected by enterprise-grade security.
Because your users have logged in, they have access to videos, and permission
levels may be adjusted on individual films to modify certain users while others
can watch. You may pick who you want to share with using Microsoft Stream,
from a few people on your team to your whole business. Everyone in your
business can participate and profit from video collaboration with Microsoft
Stream, and every video is safe. Microsoft Stream also aids in the organization
of video content into channels and groups, making it easier to locate.
Getting Started With Streams
Go to stream.microsoft.com, sign in using your work or school credentials, or
simply from your Microsoft 365 homepage, go to the Microsoft 365 list of
apps, view all applications, and then pick Stream.

Log in with your account having an enterprise or education subscription.

Stream is NOT available for those using personal or family plans. After you are
logged in, you have a welcome home page.

Trending Videos: A couple of your company's trending videos are shown at the
very top of your home page. These are the most popular videos among your co-
workers, determined by how many times they have watched, liked, or
commented on them.
The Navigation Bar

You can simply explore videos, channels, and groups, new content creation, and
search for content using the navigation bar at the top of every Stream page.
Using the little icons on the left, you may also invite co-workers, get support,
and submit feedback to Microsoft.
Inviting Co-workers

When your co-workers use Microsoft Stream, it truly shines. From the
navigation bar or by clicking the notification, invite your co-workers. By
inviting them, you allow them to see the videos you've previously posted and
offer them the opportunity to create and share their own.

Stream Watchlist
Only if you have videos in your watchlist will this section appear. A watchlist is
a handy method to keep track of videos you wish to revisit. These might be
videos you'd like to view but don't have the time to do so right now or ones you'd
like to watch again. Add any video to your watchlist by clicking the Add to
watchlist button.
Uploading Videos to Stream
Using Microsoft Stream to upload movies is simple, and anyone can do it.
Click the Upload icon with an upper arrow sign at the top of any page. You may
submit numerous videos at once and even surf Microsoft Stream in the
background while your videos are uploading. When it comes to video uploading,
you have a few alternatives. Different default permissions will be placed on the
videos depending on where you start your uploads, but you may easily adjust
them afterward.

Uploading from any Page

To upload from any page on Stream;

Select Create > Upload a video or the upload button from the top
navigation bar in the Microsoft Stream interface.

Uploading from Videos page

Select My content > My videos from the top navigation bar on the
Microsoft Stream interface.
Files from your computer or device may be dragged and dropped, or
select the files and upload them.
Channels and Groups

Channels are a fantastic method to categorize and organize material. You may
quickly follow a channel to keep up with new videos published or bookmark
them. This section of the home page allows you to see new videos posted to a
channel and easily identify the channel you follow if you are a subscriber. To
unfollow a channel that you are no longer interested in, click Following.
Stream's Groups, however, are based on Office 365 Groups. When you
establish a group in Stream, it generates a new Office 365 Group with an email
address, calendar, and site used throughout Office 365. If your business already
uses Office 365 Groups in Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, Yammer, Planner, and
other places, you can immediately start utilizing them in Stream. Groups are
specially created to restrict video permissions, as channels are just more for
classifying videos into sections and authors. Groups do more about restricting
those who can view your video.

Adding Videos to Groups and Channels

Video may be added to groups and channels.
Find a video in Stream by locating anywhere they are or searching
them. You will find the video if you have access to them. Click
Add to group/channel after clicking the more options icon.
 Using the 'Shared with' search box, locate the groups or channels
you wish to add.
Click Add after clicking the group or channel.
NOTE: Not all videos can be shared, and you don't have permission to share to
all groups. For channels, you can only share channels you have created yourself.
And for groups, you can only share to groups you have permission to share and
can only locate videos from groups that have been made available for your
viewing.
Live Streaming With Stream
Using Microsoft Stream, you can create live events for your whole company.
You may plan, arrange, and execute live events for various purposes, including
company-wide meetings, leadership updates, and more. Producers may filter and
manage the information that is presented to an audience at live events.

You may build, plan, and operate live events with a single bitrate RTMP or
RTMPS feed from an encoder, and Microsoft will handle all of the transcodings
for adaptive bitrate delivery to your viewers. You don't need to bother about the
technical jargon, except adjust things like your video resolution.
You may make the live event available to the whole organization or limit access
to select groups, just like any other video in Stream. This gives Stream users a
complete creating and viewing experience.

The video will be accessible on-demand after the event, including sophisticated
features such as:
Closed captions and speech-to-text
You can then also rapidly discover important points in a video by
using transcript search and timecodes.
Generally, wherever your audience, team, or community is located, you can
create a live event on Stream, Microsoft Teams, or Yammer. Attendees may
engage in real-time with high-definition (HD) video and interactive
conversation, or they can watch the event recording afterward with strong AI
capabilities that unlock the material. You can utilize Stream to offer
professionally produced, studio-quality events thanks to its seamless interaction
with Microsoft 365.
Creating Live Events
Hint: For your optimum experience, Microsoft always recommends configuring
your video, community, and user permissions at least 24 hours before the event.
Adding users, modifying video permissions, and moving a community from
private to the public are all examples of this. Certain updates in Microsoft
Stream, Microsoft Teams, and Microsoft Yammer might take two (2) hours to
propagate. Allowing at least 24 hours allows for testing and, if necessary,
changes.

Creating Live Events for Streaming

Go to Create > Live event in Microsoft Stream online.

Fill in the name, description, and event time in the details window.
For viewers to see, you may also upload a thumbnail as a poster
picture. As you enter the details, an automated slate will appear to
alert your users about the event before it begins.
For better discoverability, choose the permissions tab and specify
who should access the video and which groups it should be
displayed.
Additional settings can be set in the Options window if desired.
After the switch from 'live' to 'on demand,' most choices will occur
after the event is finished.

Select the Save option. Those with access will see the event page in
the attendee view if you choose to Publish Now, but they will be
shown the automatically generated slate before you go live.
You can see what the automatically generated slate looks like on the
left of the live event created.
To share the URL, you must first publish. If you didn't publish
your event, the system would automatically publish it when you're
ready to go live, and you'll have to start it manually. Users may
locate the event via the Stream portal's browse, search, and group
pages after publication.
Stream Your Created Event Live
The RTMP server ingests URL may be found in the encoder
configuration page once you save your live event. Choose an
encoder from the drop-down menu, or set it manually.

On the producer controls, pick Start setup to set up your encoder.

Starting the setup process may take some time.

Copy the server ingest URL into your encoder to start feeding the
live encoder feed to Microsoft Stream after the setup is complete.
It's critical to set up your encoder correctly and define both audio
and video playback. Check the encoder's configuration requirements
to make sure it's set up appropriately.
You should notice the producer preview update once you start
pushing from the encoder to the server ingest point.
Members in the audience will not see this until the live event
begins; they will instead view the automatically created slate.
Select Start Event after you're happy with your setup and can see
the preview. If you haven't already published your event, Stream
will do it for you when you start it.

Audience members can see the event once it begins.

If you intended to test before the event, you could also choose to
disconnect at this point, which will return you to where you started
setup.
On the producer controls, pick End event after you're done with
your event. This brings the event to a close and makes the footage
accessible for video-on-demand right away.
Before you stop your encoder, make sure the event in Stream is
finished. Audience members will notice an issue if you perform it in
reverse order.
 CHAPTER FIVE
OUTLOOK: CONTROLLING YOUR INBOX
We all use emails, don't we? Email is one of the most time-consuming activities
that individuals engage in daily, regardless of the industry in which they work. In
the average person's workweek, they spend 28 percent of their time reading,
composing, and responding to emails (as well as looking through them).
Most times, emails are not handled properly, and as a result, individuals find
themselves with a bloated inbox that only appears to grow larger with each
passing week. It is common for messages to become buried, and users might
spend hours sorting through relevant and critical information from less critical.
Outlook in Microsoft 365 provides users with a plethora of tools to enhance the
way they manage email to increase productivity; but, to reap the full benefits of
these features, you must understand how to utilize them.
If you've been seeking methods to make email less of a time-sinker and more
productive, you may consider moving to Outlook. You don't need to open
another email address, more on that in the content.
It is available in different forms; you can either use it from the list of Microsoft
Office Desktop applications or use Outlook on the web, which essentially
functions like any other email accessible through a web browser either on a PC
or mobile and, of course, also has the mobile application installable on the app
store of each device. Hence, the tools you need to be your most productive and
connected self–at home, on the road, and everywhere in between are available
for your emailing life using Microsoft Outlook.
Getting Started With Outlook

How the Outlook Inbox homepage looks like

Outlook is pretty much the same thing regardless of the platform you're using it
from (Desktop, web, or mobile), and your settings on any device are synced
across all your device.
Your first step will certainly be getting an account working on Outlook, and you
need an email account to follow up on your messages. Microsoft has made
Outlook broad enough to accommodate your need.
First thing, in the primary tabs, click File and click the Add Account button.
A box, as shown above, shows up. Here, you have the option of using any email
address of your choice. Hence, if you have a working email address you have
been using for a while, you don't need to create another outlook email address;
you can sign in using your email address and verify your password. Once you
type in your email address, click Connect.
If you are connecting from Microsoft 365, your Microsoft account (email
address and password) is connected by default. You can, however, add any
account you want using the step outlined above. Hence, with outlook, you have
the capacity to manage your inbox, regardless of which email address you're
using (indeed, there is support for most major email clients)
Sending and Replying Messages
Outlook works just like any email system you know; hence, sending and
receiving mails all work as you expect them to.
To send a mail on Outlook,

On the Home tab, click "New Email," this opens up a dialogue box as shown
below;

The dialogue box has a lot of options on its own. Here you can format ALL your
text as you do in normal documents (including bolden, italicizing, alignment,
bullets, numberings, etc.);
You then type the recipient's email address in the desired box. If you have the
email address as a contact stored already, click on the To button and select the
contact accordingly.
Type in your message and click Send.
You can also reply to emails and forward emails accordingly.

Sending Emails To Multiple Recipients

Sending emails to multiple recipients is anything but a big deal. Simply type
more than one email in the To field and separate the email addresses with
commas. If you have multiple contacts in your address book you want to send
to, click on To and select as many contacts as possible; Outlook will
automatically add the commas to separate the values for you.
Sending Emails With Attachments
To include an attachment in your messages, go to Home > New Email.
Alternatively, you may choose Reply/Reply All or Forward for an existing
email.
When you open up the email ending dialogue box as seen below:
Click Attach file, then select an option from the menu that appears; you can
attach different types of files:
Recent Items - click the arrow to get to a file or image you recently
saved or interacted with. These files may be kept locally on a computer
or stored on a network server inside an organization.
Attach Item > Outlook Item - this will allow you to attach an email
message.
Attach Item > Business Card - This option allows you to attach an
electronic business card to your message.
Attach Item > Calendar - this option allows you to input a calendar
with a certain date range and other information.
Browse Web Locations - choose files from OneDrive, SharePoint sites,
or Group Files that you have previously visited using the Browse Web
Locations feature.
Browse This PC - this option allows you to pick a file from your local
computer, whether a document, picture, video, etc.
Helpful hint: When adding a file saved in OneDrive or SharePoint, you
may choose to share the file as a link or attach the file as a copy. Change
Permissions for online documents by selecting Change Permissions
from the context menu.
Receiving Attachments: When you receive an attachment, you
should read it carefully and determine if you know the message's
source. Decide on whether to preview or open the attachment.
When you're finished, choose Return to message.
Schedule Message Delivery
Automation is key. You should start with email if you want to expand your
business in a more intelligent and timely manner. Automation helps you
schedule messages to send even when you are not available around to trigger the
message.
When you automate your email marketing, you have a better chance of reaching
out to your potential customers at the right moment and building engagement,
which will help you close more transactions. A study once revealed that an
automated email campaign has a 70.5 percent higher open rate and a 152 percent
higher click-through rate than a manual email campaign. This is because of
sending an email at the exact right time to a specific known audience.
When it comes to scheduling email delivery, Outlook presents you with two
different alternatives to consider. When you send an email, you may choose to
delay the delivery of that particular email, or you can use rules to delay the
delivery of all of the emails you send by having them stored for a certain length
of time in Outlook.
Email Scheduling:
When creating a new email, and the dialogue send email box has been
opened;
Go to the Options tab, click the Delay Delivery option to postpone
delivery (this can be found in the More Options group)
 Select Delivery Options, and then select the "Do Not Deliver Before"
option. Next to the Do Not Deliver Before option, insert the date and
time of the delivery in the appropriate fields.

You can also play around with the other options to set the expiry time of a
message where the receiver will no longer access the message.
Click Close. You can now proceed to send your email, and it will be
delivered in the time you have specified. After you have sent the email,
it will remain in the Outbox folder until it is delivered to the intended
recipient.
And if you decide that you want to send this delayed email/message earlier or
immediately, you may do so by following the procedures outlined below:

Open the Outbox Folder on your computer. Select the message that you
scheduled to send later.
Repeat the same procedure till you get to the Delivery Options.
To send your email instantly, clear the "Do Not Deliver Before" option.
Alternatively, you may amend the "Do Not Deliver Before" checkbox
with the revised delivery date and time, then click Close to save your
changes.
To submit your email as soon as possible, use the Send button.
Organize Your Inbox: Using Folders and Categories
What You Should Know About Folders and Categories
Folders and Categories are important in learning how to organize emails in
Outlook. These are the primary tools that you will employ to get your inbox
under better control.
Folders
Outlook Folders: Folders appear to the left of your Inbox, under your email
address (this is also called the Navigation Pane). There are two sorts of folders:
Default Folders: The default folders that come with your Microsoft
Outlook program are standard, the standard folders you know in
emailing. The most common are drafts, Sent Mail, Deleted Items,
Trash, Spam, and other default folders.
Personal Folders: Create extra folders to organize and prioritize your
incoming communications. It is critical not to establish an excessive
number of folders since this may cause you to become disoriented as to
which folder to select.
Categories
Color coding your messages is possible with the help of categories. Examples
include assigning the color red to communications that require immediate
attention, the color green to messages that require immediate action, the color
purple to meetings, and so on; it's all your choice. Colour coding may also be
used in other ways. You'll want to come up with a system that works for you.
Organizing your inbox using color-coded categories makes it easier to glance
through your messages and determine what to do with each one.
Using Folders
Using folders in Outlook is a rather simple process. Here are some of the
fundamentals of working with folders:
Create a new folder.
To create a folder in Microsoft Outlook, select the Folder tab from the Ribbon
menu. Then select the New Folder option. The following is displayed in the
Create New Folder dialog box:

In the Name area, type the name of the new folder you've created. When you are
finished, click on the folder where you wish to put the new folder, that is under
which section you want it to be; you may put it under Inbox if you plan to put
specific incoming emails in that folder or put it under Drafts if you plan to
put mails you are working on, click OK.
You have the option of creating a subfolder beneath an existing folder. Just
remember, don't over-create folders, or they'll excess, and the organization's
purpose will be lost.
Rename a Folder
After a folder creation, you have the option of changing its name. By clicking on
the folder you wish to rename, you will be able to change its name. In the Folder
tab, select the Rename Folder, type your new folder name and press the Enter
key.

Transfer a Message into a Folder.

Following the creation of numerous folders is where they become useful, and
you will be able to begin adding messages into them. To access your messages,
return to your main inbox to see the message you want to move. Messages may
be selected by clicking on them and then dragged and dropped into the folder of
your choosing.
Going into the folder, the message you just moved will be seated in the folder.

Delete a Folder from your computer.

You may discover that you do not desire a folder that you have established.
When this occurs, you may erase the folder from your computer. To pick the
folder, you want to remove, click on it in the Navigation panel (on the left) and
then click on the specific folder: To delete the folder, click the Delete icon on
the same Home Ribbon. (It has the appearance of an X.) The folder has been
removed from the system.
Caution: If you delete a folder, all of the messages contained within that folder
will be destroyed as well.
Using Categories
Renaming Categories: By default, the categories are organized
according to their hue. Renaming a category may be accomplished
by clicking on the down arrow to the right of the Categorize option
on the Home Ribbon. Select All Categories from the drop-down
menu that appears. The Colour Categories dialog box displays,
which contains the following information:

Click on the Rename button on each color and rename the ones you need; the
rest are left as they are.
Remove A Category
It's possible that after you've personalized your categories, you'll discover that
you're not utilizing them all. If this occurs, you can remove the category that was
previously utilized. The same dialogue box in the previous; just press delete in
this case.

Assign a Category to a Message

As soon as you've finished customizing your categories, you can begin applying
them to messages in your inbox. To apply a category to a message, first, click on
the message you want to categorize. Select the Categorize option in the Home
tab:

Select the category that you wish to apply to the chosen message by clicking on
it. The message is assigned to the appropriate category. In your inbox, the
category color will be shown as a square to the right of the message sender's
name. It appears immediately after the sender's name in the body of the message
itself. Here's an example of an inbox where categories have been applied to all
the emails:

When you categorize your emails, you can know at a glance what you should do
with each email message. A message can be assigned to more than one
category.
 Remove or Change Category
The category of communication may change over time. You have the option of
removing or changing a category from a message. Here's what you should do:
click on the message to remove a category from a message. Select the
Categorize option. To change a category from an email, choose a new category
from the options. Click the Clear All Categories option to remove all categories
entirely.
Email Archive and Delete
Many times, we store far too many emails, which can result in a cluttered inbox.
You may archive or remove outdated messages from your Outlook inbox to keep
it more organized.
It's vital to note that while both are archiving and deleting emails remove
messages from your inbox, there is a significant difference:
Archive: This function sends a message to the Archive folder. The
Archive folder is meant for older mails that you want to keep for
future reference or reference. When you archive an email, you will
be able to recover it at a later time readily.
Delete: This function sends a message to the Deleted Items folder
in Windows (it looks like a trash can). It may be impossible to
recover a message if the Deleted Items folder has been completely
cleared. When it comes to emails, the delete button is often
designated for those that you do not expect to require in the future.
Regardless of how you go about it, deleting emails from your inbox will free up
space in your inbox. It's critical to understand how to utilize each of the
following tools to arrange your inbox correctly:
Delete Messages
It's simple to get rid of an old email. Simply click on the specific email to choose
it:
In the Ribbon, click the Delete symbol to delete the selected item (it looks like
an X). The message will be archived and transferred to the Deleted Item folder
(the trash folder).
To permanently delete a message from your inbox, enter the Deleted Items
folder by clicking on it in your email's navigation bar. (It appears as a trash can
in the Navigation Pane on the left side of the screen.) To choose the message,
click on it once more. To permanently erase the message you have selected, click
on the Delete icon. Messages are deleted permanently, however, from Trash,
after some days in the Deleted Items folder.
Archive Messages Manually
It's as simple as deleting an email.
In the Ribbon, click the Archive symbol, just beside the Delete symbol. The
message will be archived and transferred to the Archive folder.
If you haven't previously utilized the Outlook Archive function, you'll be told to
create an archive folder. To create an archive folder, use the Create archive
folder button shown on your screen and name it the Archive folder. Outlook
creates your folder and sends your message there.
Using Outlook Search and Filter

It is possible to search your email for a single word or phrase. However, Outlook
has several built-in searches that can help you search more precisely. They are
called Filters.
The Search Ribbon, as seen above, doesn't appear immediately. To bring it up,
click the Search Box on top of your messages. The Search Ribbon then pops
up.
Readily, you can see options to refine your search and make the search base
narrower to aid you in achieving your search result earlier. For example, you can
click the "From" option to ensure only messages from a particular sender are
searched. Clicking 'From' lets you type the sender's name or email address. A
similar process applies to others. In another instance, you can select Categorize
to choose the message category you want to search. You can also click the
Search Tools and go for Advanced Search options
Using Outlook from Anywhere
As said already, needful reiterating, you can track your emails anywhere, and
your progress is synced on any device you use. Since there can be
synchronization issues that your internet connection can cause, firewall issues,
and similar issues, if all is put in place, synchronization works just fine.
Note: If you start to use Outlook on a new device with an old email address,
your former messages will take some time to be synced on your device. You
don't have to intervene. However, the syncing will work on its own; just make
sure you have a working internet connection.
All set, you can use it on the go, on your PC, Mac, or mobile.
 CHAPTER SIX
GET ORGANIZED WITH ONENOTE
OneNote is similar to a digital version of a notebook that you keep close to for
rapid note-taking opportunities. In addition to capturing ideas, it may be used to
remind you of forthcoming activities, manage your to-do lists, and do other
things.
What makes Microsoft OneNote ideal is that it is such a versatile tool that you
can use it to do a variety of things
Consider Microsoft OneNote instead of reaching for Microsoft Word or the
Notepad app to take your notes randomly. OneNote is a jam-packed note-taking
app with features that help you collaborate more effectively and save time!
OneNote is a digital note-taking application and productivity tool that is, of
course, a part of your Microsoft 365 subscription; it is available on all
subscriptions. Take notes, record audio, grab screenshots, and do a variety of
other things using the app.
OneNote is accessible as a desktop application for Windows, a Mac application
for iOS, a Chrome extension for Android, and a web application for Windows.
The synchronization between devices and versions is flawless, even though each
has slightly different capabilities.
Users can work offline, except for the web app, and then sync their work later.
OneNote and OneNote for Windows are available to Windows users.
The announcement was made at Ignite 2019 that Microsoft had altered its
intention to discontinue OneNote in favor of OneNote for Windows 10 hence the
reason both apps are still available. OneNote for Windows comes by default with
Windows 10.
A OneNote Notebook is provided by default with new SharePoint Online sites,
Office 365 groups, and teams in Microsoft Teams.
OneNote is a note-taker, just like the physical note you can imagine. It makes
your life easier whether you're in charge of taking minutes at meetings, working
on software development notes, a sixth-grade teacher assigning collaborative
class assignments, or a parent putting together a shopping list. Users may capture
text, photos, and files quickly and easily using Microsoft OneNote, even while
on the go. The app also makes it easier to collaborate with other apps in the
Office Suite, whether on your desktop computer or through a mobile device.
What are the benefits of using Microsoft OneNote?
OneNote makes it simple to collect and organize your ideas, making it easier to
work or study more successfully as a result. If you're wondering why you really
should be Microsoft OneNote, here are some of the benefits:

Excellent for project management and organization

OneNote's organizational capabilities make it an excellent tool for project
management.
Instead of creating piles of documents for each meeting, such as an agenda,
tasks, notes, progress reports, and other meeting details, OneNote allows you to
save all information in one location. What's even better is that because OneNote
allows you to organize your notes, your project management process will go
more smoothly and efficiently.

Collaboration in Real-Time and On the Go

If you open your OneNote file to share it with your team or co-workers, they will
be able to see and collaborate on your documents immediately. Furthermore, you
can password-protect the notebook, either partially or wholly, for susceptible
notes that include highly sensitive materials.
Taking Better and More Timely Notes in Meetings
Many folks are perplexed as to how to use OneNote for professional purposes. It
doesn't have a single answer; it does practically everything you'd expect from a
note-taking tool while still keeping you well-organized. Microsoft OneNote is
one of the most effective and adaptable products available today. In addition to
the different document types allowed, the software is compatible with a variety
of other file kinds, which is particularly handy during meetings. The app allows
you to scribble down quick notes, schedule forthcoming meetings, check your
agenda, and even upload the audio you recorded during the meeting.
Great User Interface
Similarly, if you are familiar with the interfaces of Microsoft Office applications
such as Excel, Word, and PowerPoint, you will be comfortable with the interface
of OneNote as well.
Editing in the Cloud
Like those created with other MC Office tools, OneNote documents may be
modified online using any web browser. You do not need to download any files
or have the app installed on your device to participate. Hence, if you are not with
your device where you have OneNote installed, you can still take your notes
with any device available by logging on to OneNote through a browser on the
web.
Take Your Organization to Another Level With
OneNote
Talking of taking notes, which is one of the best practices for anyone organized,
OneNote is handy in a variety of situations, including whether studying or
working. However, to get the most out of this tool, you can use OneNote hacks
that have been tried and tested.
Make a digital copy of everything you read.
One of the best practices of OneNote that is highly recommended is to
digitize what you have read to refer back to it later. When reading
books, newspapers, and periodicals, most individuals like to make notes
and underline passages that they find interesting. This might be
particularly difficult when it comes to internet sources.
However, it is possible to copy and paste documents into your OneNote
and then edit them, adding bullet points where necessary, highlighting
essential passages, and saving the source link wherever you like.
Organize and reorganize regularly.
At some point, if you are continually adding notes and creating new
notebooks, you may find it challenging to locate what you are looking
for. That is why it is essential to arrange your notes regularly.
Additionally, you may find yourself needing to refer to the notes you
stored in a new note from time to time. In such circumstances, try to
reorganize the material and locate relevant content aligned with the new
organization.
The use of tags to prioritize and categorize notes is yet another excellent
method of organizing OneNote notes. Tags can be used to aid with
future searches. Select a tag from the drop-down menu after selecting
the line of text you wish to tag. It's that simple. A single note can have
numerous tags associated with it, which is also possible.
 Archive, Rather Than Delete Completed Tasks
You never know when you might come across old content or notes that
you saved. Instead of deleting the old notes, create an "Archive" folder
in OneNote and place them in that folder instead. If you require further
organizing within your archive folder, you can create sections and
categories within it.
OneNote will still be able to crawl those files and deliver you the
information you require in this manner, and you will not lose any
information. To locate your notes, simply conduct a search across all of
your notebooks for them. This saves you immensely from the regret of
rash deletion.
Go over all of your notes and see what you can find.
One of the most fundamental OneNote best practices is to make use of
the search function. Microsoft OneNote includes a built-in search
feature that makes it easy to find your notes no matter where they are. If
you want to search through your OneNote and find what you're
searching for, select the magnifying glass or press Ctrl + F on your
keyboard. Then enter a search term or phrase in the box provided.
OneNote Search can help you find texts that have been typed and note
that have been handwritten, it can even go further to help you find
words that are represented by pictures, and you can also narrow down
the search results.

OneNote can be used for teamwork.

Because OneNote's tagging and search functionality is an excellent tool
for use as a team functionality. Making your OneNote notebook
available on OneDrive is a good practice to allow other people to access
your OneNote notebook if you intend to share one with others.
First, it is necessary to migrate your notebook from your computer to
OneDrive if you have already made it on your computer. The fact that
information is currently stored on OneDrive does not imply that others
will access it. To share your work with others, you have to share it to
make it available to them. When a OneNote document is shared from
OneNote or SharePoint, it becomes available to view and edit offline.
To share, go to File tab>Sharing options, get a link to share with
others; you can also edit the permissions.
Make sure your [sensitive] notes are password-protected.
Password protection in OneNote is intended to keep your private notes
secret from prying eyes, and it does exactly that. OneNote offers
password protection and privacy for all of your information, whether it's
school notes or work duties. It also has a password protection feature for
blog content and personal information.
When a section of a OneNote notebook is password-protected, all the
pages inside that section are also password-protected.
Using OneNote
Using the OneNote application is very easy. As said already, being used to the
Office environment in Word and Excel is enough to find your way around most
of its features.
You can Create Notebooks, as well as add Sections to your notebook. Each
section can have its Pages, and the turn pages can have their Subpages. Add the
required content to any of those pages, whether text or multimedia or draw or
sketch your note. You can also capture screenshots and save them in your
notebook. OneNote Clipper is also a browser extension that allows you to take
notes directly from web pages.
Overall, if it's about note-taking, the Microsoft OneNote program is probably the
best tool for taking notes and keeping them organized. Using the product
effectively will provide you with many benefits that will immediately impact
your daily life, organization, and productivity.
 CHAPTER SEVEN
POWERFUL STORYTELLING: SWAY AND

POWERPOINT
A great and compelling story can elevate a mediocre presentation to the level of
an outstanding one. Why? Because stories have the ability to infuse meaning
into our words in a way that a plethora of other rhetorical flourishes simply
cannot. From the moment we learn to talk, we are immersed in stories, listening
to and telling them. Even as adults, stories have the ability to remain in our
heads, creating lasting impressions long after we first hear them. Their presence
humanizes us, allowing us to comprehend better people we've never met and
things we've never encountered.
Whether you're speaking at a corporate meeting, a community event, or a family
wedding, you can tell a compelling story that will resonate with your listeners.
Not only is it widely believed that effective storytelling outperforms all other
types of communication, but there is also scientific data to support this belief. As
a result of receiving information from a PowerPoint presentation, the language
portion of our brain, which is responsible for decoding words into meaning, is
active.
When we listen to a narrative, though, a lot more takes place than that; for the
power of telling a good story, storytelling can be utilized to impart knowledge
and connect with the people in their immediate environment.
Microsoft 365 has tools that can make you use storytelling to take charge of
your audience, but first off, what are tips that can give you great and compelling
storytelling.
Fundamentals of Telling Compelling Stories
Maintain Simplicity
This is a fundamental rule of effective storytelling: less is more. Avoid using
complex or comprehensive language, as well as adjectives and nouns that are
difficult to understand. Using straightforward language is the most effective
method of activating brain regions that aid in our ability to relate to the events of
a story. Keep in mind that you are not attempting to impress others but rather to
communicate a personal experience.
Always keep the audience in mind when writing
The audience must be able to relate to the story for it to be effective. For the
firm's CEO, talking about their experience on a yacht would not be a smart
approach to engage with front-line employees. This would almost certainly have
the opposite impact, separating them from their audience. The telling of a
heartfelt narrative about going fishing with a family member or grandchild
would be far more successful because it would be something that many in the
audience could relate to...
Take advantage of the opportunity to share something about yourself
Talking too much about oneself (directly) might be perceived as self-serving by
others, which can turn others off. Without appearing pretentious, skilled
storytellers may blend information about themselves that they want the audience
to know without being self-absorbed. Past experiences of hardships,
disappointments, and overcoming obstacles that the storyteller has faced are
good sources for connecting with the audience because everyone has gone
through these things in their lives at one point or another. To appear more
human, the storyteller must appear more like an ordinary member of the
audience.
Don't put too much stock in your abilities
Speakers who can make their audiences laugh are particularly well-liked by
them. Allow yourself to be open and vulnerable. Every one of us has done
something that was simply embarrassing and ridiculous. The audience will
respond (passionately) if you share these experiences with them.
Describe the Setting
As you begin to tell your story, the first thing you should do is set up the
narrative context. Introduce your story by providing the background. Provide
any crucial information that your audience will require to comprehend your story
to do this; only essential information should be included. Leave the rest out, and
try to be as concise as you can.
Include Climaxes
Stories certainly need to have a climax where the reader is thrilled to know
where the reason you are sharing the story hits precisely. Essentially, the climax
is the point at which your action is building up to. It should be concise and
unambiguous, generally consisting of only a few lines of action or dialogue in
total.

Connect everything
The conclusion is where you interpret the meaning of the narrative and make a
connection between it and the topics you're talking about. Take a look at this
conclusion from a presentation.
"As a result, always ensure that you plan to be successful. It is
important not to give in to the doubters, even at the eleventh hour. Don't
limit yourself to little thinking–think big!"
You could be concerned that your stories aren't engaging enough to keep readers'
attention. You might believe that no one is interested in your well-being. You
might believe that you lack the necessary skills to establish genuine connections
with your audience. You'd be mistaken, though. A compelling tale may enhance
any message, and there is no story that is too tiny to impact the audience.
Digital Storytelling
Digital storytelling is, at its most fundamental level, the process of conveying
stories through computer-based tools. This practice includes digital
documentaries, computer-based narratives, digital essays, electronic memoirs,
and interactive storytelling.
However, they are all based on the idea of combining the art of storytelling with
a variety of multimedia elements such as graphics, audio, video, and Web
publishing to create something unique and compelling.
Like traditional storytelling, most digital stories are devoted to one subject or
point of view and are told from that perspective. As the name implies, digital
stories, on the other hand, typically comprise a combination of computer-
generated graphics, text, recorded audio narration, video clips, or musical
accompaniment. Although the length of digital stories might vary, most of the
stories used in education are recommended to be between 2 and 10 minutes in
length on average. From personal narratives to historical events, from
investigating one's neighborhood to the quest for life in other parts of the
cosmos, and almost anything in between, digital storytelling can cover a wide
range of subjects.
John Seely Brown, a researcher, and consultant in digital culture, described
digital storytelling this way: They can create interpretive videos quickly and
easily and create soundtracks to accompany the information. They "shape" or
"condition" the context in which the content is presented.

Microsoft 365 has two main tools for digital storytelling;

The very popular Microsoft PowerPoint;
Microsoft Sway.
There are quite some formats available for telling digital stories. These formats
exist in which people can communicate their experiences to the rest of the world,
including the following:
 Data visualization;
Virtual reality;
Slideshows;
Lists;
Video recordings;
Photo stories,
Animated infographics, etc.
Starting from the second, let's take a brief look at digital storytelling with
Microsoft Sway, well, basically put, Sway.
Digital Storytelling with Sway
Microsoft Sway is a mobile and adaptive digital storytelling tool that allows
students and educators to concentrate on the content rather than the structure of
their stories.
It is essentially a free application under the Office 365 umbrella, which tells a
story by combining text, photos, video, and other embedded content.
Sway can be linked to a QR code for simple sharing, or a Sway can be inserted
into a OneNote Class Notebook page for a collaborative learning experience.
In addition to being viewed and duplicated as a template, a Sway may be tracked
by the person who created it to track the frequency with which their Sway has
been (is being) viewed.
As usual, you will need a Microsoft Account to use Sway, and you probably
have one already. Remember, it is one account for everything.
Worthy of note, Sway can be accessed for free by visiting sway.office.com or
via a Microsoft 365 Business Subscription (it will show up the list of apps),
which includes administrative controls, the ability to limit sharing of your sway
to a specific people (say, your organization) and to connect to school-provided
OneDrive.
Sway homepage website.
Click the user icon at the top right to sign in to your Microsoft Account to get
started with Sway, or select the Get Started button on the page.

It is possible to start from scratch, use content from an existing file, or use a
topic to build a new Sway.
On the Welcome to Sway page, choose one of the options listed
below:
Create New - this option allows you to start over from the beginning
and do your stuff.
Start from a topic - choose a topic, and Sway will generate
boilerplate content for you. Enter your topic in the Enter a topic
box, and then click on Create outline to begin the process.
Note: If Sway cannot locate sufficient public data for a topic, Sway
will propose related topics. Choose the most relevant topic and then
click on the Create Outline button.
Start from a document - this option allows you to import content
from an existing file. Select the file by navigating to it and selecting
it, and then select Open.
Cards
A Sway is made up of some cards that are merged to form a single
storyline.
Cards are containers that hold text, images, and other data in a
variety of photos and videos
The user can combine cards into groups.
A storyline is thence made up of a collection of cards.
The Storyline

The storyline is where you will type, insert, modify, and format the content used
to create the story you are creating.
The following are some storyline fundamentals:
Adding "cards" to the content arranges the information in
sequential order.
Text, photos, movies, and even Office documents can be stored in
each card depending on the type of content you wish to display.
You can rearrange the cards easily to suit your needs and the order
you want them to be.
You can add different elements to Sway, from backgrounds, images, video, photo
collections, etc.
Changing Your Sway's Design
Select Styles under the Design tab on the menu bar.
Choose the theme that you wish to use.
In the Styles pane, click Customize to make changes to a specific
aspect of the presently applied theme, such as the color scheme, font
selections, or the prominence of animation.
You can apply a random design to your Sway at any moment by
selecting Remix! in the Styles window. This can be done at any
time. Select Remix! As many times as necessary until you find a
design that meets your preferences.
Changing Your Sway's Layout
Go to the Design tab.
In the Styles pane, you may choose whether your information
should scroll vertically, horizontally, or seem as if it were a
presentation.
Previewing Your Sway

It is possible to see how your Sway will appear to others when you
preview it before distributing it.
Select Play from the top menu bar to fully experience your Sway
(including any interactivity options that you've added).
By selecting the Design option, you may get a preview of your
work in progress at any time.
Share Your Sway
You can share your Sway with different options.
You can either create a link that you can share with others and restrict the
privacy of your sharing to only your organization (available only on the
Business subscription) or make it public to every Tom, Dick, and Harry who
searches via search engines like google. Another embeddable link can be created
too.
Sway Free Vs. Sway Subscription
As said already, Sway can be accessed default by going through the Sway
website and can also be used from the tools under a Microsoft 365 Business
Subscription.

The above outlines the differences between using the free Sway and using the
subscription-based edition.
Tracking Sway Reading Analytics

Simply go to My Sways options.

Click the Analytics option.
You can improve the engagement of your readers by seeing the in-
depth viewing analyses of each sway you have created.
Things like total views, average time spent, average completion,
and read ratio include how the users read it, whether by glancing,
quick read, deep read.
Creating Animated Videos with PowerPoint
A most underused yet very remarkable feature in PowerPoint is its ability to
make professional-quality films in next to no time! Most make the majority of
their video content using the other dedicated videomaking app, which is the best
for large-scale video making, especially if you have the necessary skills and
license. However, if you're looking for the most low-code, simple, accessible
video-making program, PowerPoint is almost the clear winner!
Why would you want to create a video in the first
place?
In the proper hands, videos can be a powerful tool for communicating your
message more fascinatingly and engagingly. In a fraction of the time it takes to
write a report.
You can take advantage of every opportunity to make videos to inculcate them
into reports, video tutorials, project highlights, or video embedments.
As said, it's simple to use. Here's how.
Create Slides
The first step is to design our PowerPoint presentation slides. Like how you
would build a PowerPoint slide show, it is a good idea to structure your movie
with a title slide, a body slide, and a conclusion slide.
When it comes to video design, less is frequently more. A basic slide with a
bright background and a single image or significant statement is typically more
effective than trying to jam in as many details as possible on the same slideshow.
Addition of Animations
This is the point at which the magic of the whole animated video begins to
happen!
If you're familiar with PowerPoint, you're probably aware of the option to
include animations in slides. You've probably misused certain features like the
"Swivel" or the "Grow & Turn" at some point. However, if appropriately
applied, animations may add stunning effects to your videos while creating a
genuine feeling of flow.
Key things to note while animating:
Add entrance motion for your essential items on your slide by
selecting them and dragging them to the Animation ribbon. I enjoy
working with the float-in and zoom effects!
Open the Animation Pane and make any necessary adjustments to
 the animation transitions. Set the first animation to Start with the
Previous animation. When the slide is displayed, the animation
begins as soon as it is activated. Make sure that the "Start After
Previous" animation is selected for all other elements.
Make a few adjustments to the delay and duration of your
animations to achieve a greater sense of flow throughout our video.
Depending on your preference, examine the animations either from
the presenter's view or directly from the animation window.
Use your imagination when creating the animations - experiment
with different transitions, color schemes, and the layering of
different objects!
Add Videos
Yes, you think this is about creating videos, which is correct. But PowerPoint
allows us to import existing videos, such as logo animations; we may also record
a screen recording straight within the program. To add to the video we're
creating, and the video will be played at the point of the slide it's been put.
To insert a video from our computer, we can either record our screen (which is
useful when creating video tutorials) or select a video from our computer and
insert it. The insert video option is seen in the Insert tab.

Insert Music
You may not have a voice-over for the video you're creating (or even if you do!).
However, music can help to elevate your video to the next level, I think.
Many royalty-free music sites are available, or if you're lucky, you can have a
good DJ who can produce some original backing music for your video!
To include audio, do this:
Adding the audio: Click the Insert tab and select Media. We want
Audio and the Audio on my PC option.
 Editing the audio: Select Playback from the menu bar, and just as
we did for the video, we can clip the audio, fade in and out, and
adjust the level as needed.
Adjust Playback speed: Choose Audio Options from the Playback
menu, then change the start from "Automatically" to "On Click."
Also, check the box for "Play Across Slides" to ensure that the
changes are applied to all slides simultaneously. This helps make a
smooth video where the audio plays all along.
It is recommended that you edit your audio and add a fade out of 3
to 5 seconds once you have determined the duration of your movie.
This makes your video appear much more professional, and it also
serves to signal to your viewers that the video is coming to a close.

Export Your Finished Work

As soon as you've finished creating your PowerPoint slides, be sure to check
them over for errors, and then you can then proceed to export them! At least, the
whole point of everything has been to create videos.
To export your video:
Review: Make your way to the File tab, then to the Export and
Create Video menus. Here we can see a preview of our timings and
then change the default time on each slide if necessary.
TIP: You may need to change the number of seconds spent on each
slide option to achieve a smooth transition between them (the
default for each slide is 5 seconds)
Video exportation: Choose the video resolution and then click on
'Create Video,' which will save the video as a .WMV file. Please
remember that while saving as an.MP4, some slide transition
problems have been observed, so the. WMV format is preferable.
Your video is then saved to your preferred location.
 CHAPTER EIGHT
MICROSOFT PLANNER: PLAN LIKE A PRO
Thinking about the organization of your teams and being on top of your projects,
Microsoft Planner is an Add-in from Microsoft 365. Once it is included with
your Microsoft 365 subscription, it is simple to use, fully integrated with all of
your other Office products, and completely free to use as long as it is included in
your subscription.
Office 365 Planner is essentially Microsoft's approach of ensuring that its
subscribers don't have to rely on third-party tools for project management. The
planner is a very lightweight add-in for Office 365, but as one of many good
Add-ins for Office 365, it is continually evolving with added improvement from
the first time it started.
In this user guide, we will again guide you through the basics of using Microsoft
Planner while giving you lots of tips on what is in for you on Microsoft
Planner; using it isn't complicated.
Streamlining collaboration and managing small team workloads and projects
visually, a task management application with a streamlined interface. Because all
tasks and progress are visible to all team members, this easy platform within
Microsoft Teams allows your team, your project, and you to stay organized, on-
task, and collaboratively collaborate on a project.
Do you find it challenging to keep track of responsibilities at your place of
business? Are members of your team(s) experiencing difficulties in
communication or collaboration? Microsoft Planner is a great tool to use in this
situation.
This convenient Office 365 tool is ideal for facilitating an agile workflow. All of
this can be done within a single app: your teams may plan ahead of time,
organize their work in real-time, assign tasks, collaborate, establish deadlines,
and upload or share information.
Do you need to keep track of your progress? You can see it all right there on
your dashboard, and you'll receive frequent updates via email notifications. To
further assist you in staying organized, each plan in Planner automatically
generates a new Office 365 group for you.
To-Do, Planner, Task Apps
While Planner helps you work in team collaboration and handle your plans, the
Microsoft To-Do app allows you as an individual to create a list of all your jobs
and organize them by importance so that you can concentrate on the essential
ones. It includes a My Day list to keep track of your daily duties, as well as the
ability to build extra lists to manage your work, projects, groceries, and other
activities. The Task App is where they all come together.
Your chores from To-Do and Outlook are brought together with your team tasks
from Planner in the Tasks app in Microsoft Teams so that you may more
effectively check them off your lists. Use the one-of-a-kind List view to update
several tasks simultaneously and quickly locate and edit them. Work on To Do
and Planner items in the Tasks app, in addition to the Teams channels, chats,
and applications that you're already familiar with from Chapter 4.
Worthy of Note, Microsoft Planner is available with all plans except the
Microsoft Family plans (hence, you have access to Microsoft Planner on
Business, Enterprise, and Education)
To access planner, visit task.office.com and sign in with your Microsoft 365
account, essentially your Microsoft account. You will receive an error message if
you don't have an active Microsoft 365 subscription. Of course, you can access
Planner from the list of apps on your Microsoft 365 navigation.
Using Microsoft Planner

Above is what the planner homepage looks like, a quick look at using Microsoft
Planner.
Planner launches in what is referred to as the "Planner Hub," which displays
the plans you have generated or added to by other people in the past. If you are
using a Microsoft 365 Family Subscription, you'll only ever see plans that
you've written yourself in the Planner Hub if you are using Planner.
As said already, Planner for team collaboration is only fully available with the
other subscriptions.

Because you haven't created any plans yet, the Planner Hub will be completely
blank at first glance. To begin creating a plan, select "New Plan" from the main
menu on the left.

Fill in the name for your plan in the blank space and whether it should be made
public (this does not mean that everyone in the world can see it, it means
everyone inside of your company can view it) or Private, then click "Create
Plan."
The planner will develop a new plan for you. By selecting "Add Task," you
may begin to populate it with tasks.

The new task panel will appear on the screen. Enter the task's name, a due date,
and the person responsible for it (assigning a task to someone is more beneficial
for organizations than personal subscriptions). To create the task, click the "Add
Task" button on the toolbar.
Your just created task will display in the "Add Task" window after you submit
it.
As for why the "Add task" window is still active, it is so that you can add a large
number of jobs in rapid succession without having to keep clicking on "Add
Task." If you move your mouse away from the "Add Task" window, it will
disappear immediately.
To begin working on your new task, simply click on it. The Task window will
appear, displaying a plethora of options for entering information.

The main Task window displays the current task.

There are possibilities to add a status, a priority, a due date, notes, checklists,
attachments, and other information, among other things. To the right of the item,
you can give labels to your tasks to color-code them.

Wondering the use of colour-codes? We'll explain.

One of the most typical methods in the planner is to use a different color ink for
each category. For instance, you may want to use one color for work, another for
leisure, another for family, and so on. As a result, you will tell quickly and
easily what types of activities you are involved in throughout the day.
One thing to note is that there is no "Save" button on the page. You can close a
task by clicking on the "X" in the top-right corner after you've modified; all
changes are saved (instantly) once you close a task.
Once you've completed a task, change the Progress status to "Completed," and
the task will be filtered out of your bucket so that it's no longer visible.

Having a lengthy list of tasks is excellent, but managing the work through
several lists would be even better. Planner uses the notion of "Buckets" to
organize and manage those tasks. A new plan contains only one "Bucket," which
is labeled "To Do."
The default "To Do" bucket contains all the items on your list.

You can create as many buckets as you want by selecting "Add New Bucket."
You can create buckets according to your choice, as many as you want, for a
higher form of classification. For example, a "Sales Plans" bucket can be added,
probably containing sales-related tasks, etc.
Dragging and dropping tasks from one bucket to another is as simple as dragging
and dropping them. You can shift tasks between any buckets as many times as
you like, whether open or closed.
Even though Planner includes numerous other important features, combining
tasks and buckets is the primary functionality. The Planner project
management tool has been used by many and has a good track record of success
—not difficult to use or customize, but it may be a good thing depending on your
requirements.

If you're searching for a straightforward to-do list tool that provides a visual
representation of your tasks—and you have a Microsoft 365 subscription—
Planner might be the solution you're looking for.
Integrating With Teams
A planner is an excellent app that can be integrated with Microsoft Teams. As
known already, Microsoft Teams allows the integration of many apps that can
enhance and optimize the teamwork functionalities within the team. You can
organize your tasks by adding one or more Planner tabs to a team channel if
you're using Microsoft Teams to collaborate with others. Once you have created
your plan, you may work on it from within Teams or in Planner for online (the
same Planner website) and remove or delete it. You can also receive
notifications in Teams when a task is assigned to you in Planner.
Integrating Planner in Teams is super easy.
From within the Channel, select the "+" sign in the tabs.
Choose the Planner app.

Then you can proceed to use all the known methods as discussed
above to create new plans or work on an existing plan.
You can use the Chart to see the progress of all tasks.
To-Do and Task App
Accessing the Microsoft To-Do and Task App helps take fuller control of your
personal and shared activities. Both can be accessed via todo.microsoft.com
(albeit limited without a subscription) or within the Microsoft 356 list of apps or
through Microsoft Teams.
Task Apps brings your plans from To-Do and your shared plans from Planner
together to give you a full list of all you need to do.
Containing two major sections, the:
My tasks include plans from your To-Do app and tasks that have
been assigned to you from Planner.
NOTE: The To-Do app is available for free for everyone with or
without a subscription for everyone with a Microsoft account and can be
seen on mobile app stores as well. However, the functionalities are
limited. The To-Do plus Task app is fully available with a Business,
Education, or Enterprise subscription. Tasks can also be integrated into
Teams (refer to how to add Apps to Teams) and can be used.
Shared plans: Plans that have been added to the Teams and Groups
you belong to. And if Tasks is used within Teams, it contains all
tasks that the team has created while those explicitly assigned are
under the My Tasks.
Getting Feedbacks Using Planner
Microsoft Planner is a very significant way to get feedback from members of
your team.
With the ability to create plans for groups and assign them to either single or
multiple users, it is possible to receive feedback from your team members'
progress consistently.
Checklists can be created within your scheduled plans that you have assigned to
people, and you can receive feedback on how far they have done in assigned
tasks as they remove items off the checklist as parts of the tasks they have
completed.
They can also include comments that can make you aware of challenges they
face in the assigned tasks and can also return responses, all within the same app.
This and more can be made possible using the Microsoft Planner.
 CHAPTER NINE
MICROSOFT 365 ADMIN CENTRE
Almost all cloud services that allow you to manage numerous users have an
administration interface separate from the rest of the service. It is classified as a
SaaS (software as a service) product and comes with its administration center
called the Microsoft Office 365 Admin Centre. You can manage user accounts
and mails in this administration center. It may also be used to configure the
Office 365 cloud environment and monitor statistics, among other things. You'll
learn about this admin center in this section.
Microsoft 365 Admin Centre – Getting Started
The Microsoft Office 365 admin center can be accessed using a web-based
interface, accessed with a web browser. When using the Microsoft 365 admin
center, it is now easy to integrate with other Microsoft services.
To get to admin, go to https://login.microsoftonline.com/
Click Next once you have entered your administrator account name, for
example, [email protected], and your password.
Most times, the admin login for Microsoft 365 is advised to include multi-factor
authentication (more on that later). If you have enabled this feature, you will be
prompted for a confirmation code before proceeding.
You can see all of the options you may manage as an administrator after logging
in.

After logging in, connections to online apps in Microsoft 365 are all visible,
such as Word, Teams, SharePoint Online, and so on, as well as other apps
included in your subscription. To access the Microsoft Office 365 administration
center, click the "Admin" icon in the list of apps. You don't have administrative
permissions for Office 365 in your company if you don't see the "Admin"
symbol. However, if you purchased a business subscription on your own, you
will automatically have administrator privileges assigned to your Microsoft 365
account.
If you are used to the https://admin.microsoft.com login, it still works and
redirects you accordingly back to the login page.
The Microsoft 365 admin center is only available for organization accounts
subscribed to the business subscription plan. Separate home users who have
their accounts and subscription plans cannot access the Microsoft 365 admin
center.
Navigating the Admin Centre
As soon as you log into the Microsoft 365 admin center, you will notice three
primary panels and options in the middle of the window.

Numbered 1,2,3 as in the image above:

The top navigation bar contains the usual commands as the normal
Microsoft 365 homepage, from the list of apps, notifications,
settings, etc.
The left navigation panel is where you work on users, groups,
roles, etc.
The admin center panel is where core admin roles like security are
handled.
There's nothing more to explain in the top navigation bar, and we'd look at
working as an administrator from the components of the left navigation panel
and admin center panel.
Users
The management of user accounts is the most typical activity performed by
administrators.
This section has four subsections that allow you to manage Office 365 user
accounts for employees or students.

Active Users: Here, you see a detailed list (table) of all users, along
with their licensing statutes. Also available are the options to create
new users, modify existing users, add additional users, and activate
or disable multi-factor authentication. Administrators can manage
Microsoft 365 users (including the addition, editing, deletion, and
exporting of users), reset passwords, assign or remove user licenses,
and utilize filters to select only the people who are required (which
is helpful if you have a large number of Office 365 users for your
domain). Active users can be sorted according to their columns. For
example, clicking Username will sort users according to their
usernames.
You can choose which columns you want to be displayed for users:
display name | username | licenses | sign-in status | synchronization status |
Choose Columns
The last option is clicked when you decide which columns you want to
be displayed on your page.
Contacts and Guest Users. These choices are used to create email
contacts for external users.
Deleted Users: You can view a list of removed users and restore
any users on the list if necessary.

To Create A User:
Click Active Users;
Select if you want to add just a Single User, Guest User or if you
want to add Multiple Users by clicking the Add User (with a "+"
sign) drop-down options.

Basics: Fill in the customary fields in the following step.

Depending on the subscription you're on, choose the user Product
License.
You have the option of giving the user certain administrator
privileges as you deem fit or just proceeding without adding any
privileges.
Review the user and finish up.
Groups
It is also a common practice amongst administrators to group users into different
groups based on the need. You can use the Group Option to achieve this. Groups,
security groups, distribution lists, and shared mailboxes, etc. To better manage
Microsoft 365 users under your administration, it is beneficial to manage them
together as a group rather than managing each person individually. Similar to the
Users classification, you can find a list of your groups (your active groups) and
deleted groups.
Creating Groups
Under the Groups section, click Groups;

Click Add a group

Select Office 365 as the group type and then Next.
Type a name for the group and, if desired, a description on the
Basics page.
Proceed to typing a unique email address for the group, selecting a
privacy option, and deciding whether or not to add Microsoft Teams
to the Edit settings page.
On the Owners page, enter the name of one or more persons in
charge of the group's management. Any group owner will have the
ability to remove emails from the Group inbox. Other Group
members will not be able to delete emails from the inbox.
Proceed to 'Create group' after reading your choices and making
any necessary modifications.

Add a Member to A Group

Go to the Active Groups page.
Select a group by clicking on its name.
Select View all and manage members from the Members tab in
the details pane, then Add members.
You may add a member by searching for or selecting their name.
 Select the Save option.

Add Group To A Member

Go to the Active Users page.
Choose a user to add a group to them.
Select Manage Groups from the Account tab in the information
pane.
Find or choose the name of the group you'd want to join.
Select the Save option.

Remove A Member From A Group

When you delete a member from a private group, the user is barred
from the group for 5 minutes.
Go to the Active groups' page.
Please select a group by clicking on its name.
Select View all and manage members from the Members tab in
the details pane.
Select the X next to the member you wish to delete.
Choose Save.

Make A Member A Group Owner

Go to the Active group's page.
Please select a group by clicking on its name.
Select View all and manage owners from the Members tab in the
info window.
Select the Add Owners option.
Check the box next to the member's name that you want to add.
Save.

Remove Owner Status From A Member

Go to the Active group's page.
Please select a group by clicking on its name.
Select View all and manage owners from the Members tab in the
info window.
Select the X next to the name of the owner.
Save.
Roles
Other users can be assigned different administrative roles in Microsoft 365 using
your firm's global Office 365 admin center (administrators). Using this strategy
may be beneficial if your organization has many users and you wish to delegate
some authority to other administrators who should be focused on certain tasks
such as Exchange administration, licensing management, or SharePoint
management.
The Roles page contains a comprehensive list of all the Office 365
administrative roles. Read the descriptions supplied for each role to determine
which role should be assigned to which individuals.
Configuring Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Much emphasis needs to be made on doubling up security, and the two-factor
authentication is one route to that, including it here is for a good reason. The risk
of our personal information being stolen is real—quite some bigger companies
have been hacked. Hence, anybody can—and the security benefits of two-factor
authentication are powerful and simple to apply. Microsoft 365, like other major
online service providers, offers two-factor authentication (also known as 2FA or
multi-factor authentication). Of course, just as wearing a seatbelt while driving
on the highway does not make you 100% secure from a vehicle accident, two-
factor authentication will not make you 100% safe from hackers. However,
given the high ratio of risk reduction to discomfort, going the additional mile
should be common sense.
Setting Up Multi-Factor Authentication for Your
Users

Click Users, then Active Users.

Click Multi-Factor Authentication.
A table containing all the users in the organization is shown; by
default, their MFA status will be Disabled.
Select any user you want by ticking their checkbox(es); note that
you can select more than one user, then click Enable.
The user will be requested to register for MFA and to pick and test the extra
verification method the next time they login in after you have activated the
MFA for them.
View Usage Reports
View a thorough analysis of how people within your organization interact with
Microsoft 365 applications for a given period. You may keep track of which
programs are the most popular among users and compare the dynamics
throughout a given period (7, 30, 90, or 180 days).

Reports can assist you in identifying which users in your organization do not
utilize Microsoft 365 services and may not require the license that has been
assigned to them, as well as which users use a service heavily and are about to
exceed quotas (for OneDrive, for example). Reports are available in different
formats and useful charts that show improvements and decline of users over their
activities in the organization.
Settings

Settings are an essential part of the admin center. Manage global Office 365
application settings, including authentication, email, calendar, external sharing,
password policy, Azure Active Directory integration, and more. You may alter
the password expiration date, release preferences, and calendar settings, among
other things. The settings page contains a lot of configurations for your admin
center.
Working With Add-Ins
With Add-ins, the possibility of building solutions that expand Office programs
and interact with information in Office documents is possible by the Office Add-
ins platform, with many of them available. With Office Add-ins, you may
expand and interact with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Project, and
Outlook using web technologies like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

The image above shows examples of Add-ins, with lots of them available.
The administrator can deploy add-ins to users from the admin center.
The 'Centralized Deployment' function inside the Microsoft 365 admin center
is by far the best way to deploy Office Add-ins for Microsoft 365. You may use
this functionality to distribute Add-Ins to your users across all devices and
platforms. There are no prerequisites for this to operate on a local level. If it is
compatible, it is highly advised you choose this deployment technique.
Centralized Deployment may not be accessible in previous Office versions;
therefore, you'll need to investigate alternate deployment options.
The following are some of the advantages of centralized deployment:
A global administrator can assign an add-in to a single user, a
group of users, or the entire company.
The add-in is automatically downloaded when the necessary Office
 application is launched. If the add-in supports add-in commands, it
will immediately appear on the Office application's ribbon.
If an admin disables or deletes an add-in, or a user is removed from
Azure Active Directory or a group to which the add-in is assigned,
the add-in is no longer visible to the user.
Go to Microsoft 365 Admin Centre > 'Settings' > 'Add-ins' or 'Integrated
applications' > + Deploy Add-in to access 'Centralized Deployment.' In the
Microsoft 365 admin center, you can learn more about how to implement Office
Add-ins.
Deployment
Microsoft's centralized Office add-in deployment system allows you to deliver
Office add-ins to a specific set of users or the whole enterprise. The usage of
security groups to designate which users will get the add-ins and which users
will not get the add-ins is a frequent (and recommended) strategy.
Compatibility
Your Office application must be a recent version for Centralized Deployment to
operate as it is incompatible with some former versions. The table below shows
the minimum Office version necessary for Centralized Deployment to function
across the various platforms
For Windows, MSI Office 2013 and 2016 are not supported; you are not
likely to experience this if you are up-to-date with your Microsoft 365
version. MSI Office 2019 (all versions) is supported.
On Mac, version 15.34 and later are supported.
Please note that you should determine whether or not your tenant is ready for
'Centralized Deployment.' Microsoft also provides a compatibility checker for
that.
When deploying
When assigning an add-in to users and groups, there are a few things to keep in
mind.
An add-in can be assigned to everyone or select users and groups by global
admins and Exchange admins. Each option has its own set of consequences:
Everyone: This option distributes the add-in to all users in the company.
This option should only be used for add-ins that are universal to your
company.
Users: If you want to deploy an add-in to a new user after assigning it to
an individual user, you must first add the new user.
Groups: Users who are joined to the group are automatically given the
add-in if you designate it to a group. When a user is removed from a
group, the add-in is disabled for that user. In either situation, the
administrator is not compelled to take any more action.
Just me: When you attach an add-in to only yourself, it is just allocated
to your account, which is great for testing.
To deploy:
 Go to the Settings > Add-ins page in the admin center or go to
Settings > Integrated applications > Add-ins if you don't see the
Add-in Page.
At the top of the screen, pick Deploy Add-in, and then Next.
Choose an option and follow the prompts.
Make your add-in selection if you selected the option to add an add-
in from the Office Store.
You may sort the list of available add-ons by suggested for you,
Rating, or Name. The Office Store only has free add-ins. Paid add-
ons are not currently supported. To proceed, accept the terms and
conditions after selecting an add-in.
Users will receive updates and upgrades automatically if they
choose the Office Store option.
To choose who the add-in is deployed to, go to the next page and
pick Everyone, Specific users/groups, or just me as explained
already. To discover certain people or groups, utilize the Search
box.
See Add-in states for further information on other states that apply
to an add-in.
Proceed to Deploy.
When the add-in is installed, a green tick appears. To test the add-in,
follow the instructions on the website.
To see the add-in symbol on the app ribbon, users may need to
reopen Office. It might take up to 24 hours for Outlook add-ins to
display on app ribbons.
Select Next when you're done. If you've only given yourself access
to the add-in, you may change who has access to it to provide it to
other people.

Follow the steps to announce the add-in deployment to other members of your
organization if you've already done so. Informing users and groups that the
deployed add-in is available is a bright idea. Sending an email that explains
when and how to utilize the add-in is a good idea. Include or link the Help
information or FAQs that may be useful to users with issues regarding the add-
in.
The best solution for your company is determined by its setup. We do, however,
urge that you make assignments in groups. Instead of assigning individual users
each time, you might find it easier to handle add-ins as an administrator by
creating groups and regulating the membership of those groups. In rare cases,
you may wish to limit access to a limited group of users by manually assigning
individuals to specific roles.

Conclusion
Microsoft 365 admin center provides administrators with the ability to access all
admin centers from a single point of access - administrators may open the
Exchange Online admin center, SharePoint Online admin center, OneDrive
admin center, and so on – all from the same place. With admin roles, an Office
365 company administrator can assign some administrative responsibilities to
other users. Administrators will find the Microsoft 365 admin center to be quite
flexible and user-friendly in general.
 CHAPTER TEN
MICROSOFT EXCEL: ORGANIZE YOUR DATA,

NUMBER, AND FORMULAS

Launched in 1985, and now over the years, Excel has been a household name.
Excel is a spreadsheet program that may be used to store, organize, and analyze
data. The spreadsheet tool developed by Microsoft is included in the Microsoft
365 suite of products. An introduction to the fundamentals of Microsoft Excel is
provided here.
Excel is one of the most significant products that Microsoft has to offer in terms
of functionality. Excel is a spreadsheet tool included in the Microsoft 365
(formerly known as Office 365) suite of products.
During the past few years, Microsoft has phased out the sale of single Office
programs such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. As seen in Chapter 2, Excel is
only accessible as part of a Microsoft 365 subscription but available right from
the least plans, the Personal and Family Plans. In addition to Microsoft 365
Personal and Microsoft 365 Family plans, there are many variants of Microsoft
365 Business and Microsoft 365 Enterprise plans available to choose from. They
generally include the entire suite of Office applications and OneDrive cloud
storage, though the prices and specific features included vary depending on the
model.
Excel has a seemingly endless array of features and capabilities. Excel is not just
a tool for storing and organizing information into cells and sheets. Still, it is also
a "what if" machine, capable of performing a wide range of computations and
calculations using the information stored in those cells and sheets.
Suppose you are new to Microsoft Excel, or you need to brush up on using it. In
that case, you'll learn all you need to know to get started with Excel, from how to
conduct simple calculations to creating pivot tables to setting unique print
regions and customizing your workspace.
Navigating Excel and Creating Your Spreadsheet

When you start Excel, it does not automatically create a new blank page for
you to work on. The Excel Home page will appear instead, and you will have the
option to open an existing spreadsheet or select a template from the menu.
Excel displays spreadsheets that you have recently used, pinned, or that have
been shared with you so that you may access them quickly and easily. If there
are any spreadsheets that you use frequently, you can pin them to the Home
Screen to easier access later.
If you don't want to use an existing template (which mostly is the case), select
"Blank workbook" as your option.
The Excel main screen comes up, and we will take a quick tour to review some
of the most frequently used vocabulary.
A workbook is a term used to refer to an Excel document. It is possible to have
many worksheets in a workbook. A workbook opens with a single worksheet by
default, but it can include more than one worksheet if necessary. It is possible to
add extra worksheets to a workbook by clicking on the plus "+" sign at the
bottom of the screen, and you may switch between them by clicking on the tabs.
Each sheet can be given a unique name (by double-clicking in a tab and typing a
new name), and worksheets can be intricately linked to one another. When
Sheet1 performs a calculation, it can make use of the data saved on Sheet2.
Additionally, at the bottom of the screen, on the right side, you'll find
icons that allow you to adjust the view - for example, you can get print previews
of the spreadsheet and use the zoom slider to change the size of the spreadsheet
on your computer's display.
You will find everything you need to use Excel on the ribbon at the top of the
page, as well as the controls at the bottom of the page.
In every worksheet, the cells are all organized in a grid format. Cells are
distinguished by their X and Y coordinates, denoted by the letters A1 and C33,
respectively. If you use Excel, you're unlikely to run out of cells because the
program can handle a maximum of 1,048,576 rows and 16,384 columns.
The ribbon, located at the top of the page, contains the most important controls
in Excel. Organizing the ribbon is done using tabs (such as Home, Insert, Draw,
Formulas, and Data), with the most significant elements for each category
displayed on the ribbon for that tab. Some procedures can also be carried out by
selecting them from the right-click menu (right-click on a cell or range of cells to
see the available options).
Formatting and Selecting Cells in Excel
Lots of tips for formatting cells will be shared here. However, these tips will
make you aware of what is possible in the formatting of Microsoft Excel cells.
With this, and the explanations given, you can format your cell and anyone not
so clear, and you can type of process in the Tell me what you want to do
search-box located close to the organizing ribbon mentioned above already.
A lot of the functionality of Excel is comparable to that of Word, particularly
when it comes to formatting and organizing the information of cells. To gain
access to a variety of popular formatting tools, such as bold, italic, underline,
and other font size options, select the "Home" tab from the ribbon. Text and cell
backgrounds can also be shaded and colored with different colors.
Note strongly that Microsoft Excel considers a cell to be an indivisible unit of
measurement. As a result, you will have the same font size, bolding, and text
color throughout the entire cell because you will not be able to style distinct
numbers, letters, or sentences within a cell differently.
By dragging the right edge of a cell, you can adjust the width of the cell. The
mouse should be placed over the line that divides the cells in a column's header
at the top of the spreadsheet if certain cells in a column have text that continues
beyond the end of the cell.
For example, and is covered by content in the cell to the right. Then click and
drag it to the right to resize the full column of information. Another option is to
format the cell so that the text wraps around the edges of the cell rather than
adjusting the cell's width to ensure that the text is visible. You can also try to
merge two cells into one, which can be useful when creating a table that has both
text and numbers.
You may also set the column to automatically snap to the width of the most
comprehensive cell in the row. Double-click the cell in the header after
positioning the mouse over the right edge of the cell. The column should alter in
size - either larger or smaller - to the greatest fit for the column. Is it necessary
to relocate a column from one location in the spreadsheet to another? You can do
so. Click the top of the column and drag it as you wish.
There are varieties of other typical formatting activities with Excel, such as
eliminating blank rows to improve the appearance of your spreadsheet and
hiding rows containing data you require but do not wish to display. Adding
new rows to a spreadsheet between rows of existing data is similarly a simple
process, and you can even "freeze" a row so that it always remains visible on
the screen even if you scroll through the remainder of the sheet.
Quickly, type any of these tips in bold in the Tell me what you want to do box,
and you'll be directed accordingly.
With a quick note, you can delete the content in any multiple cells of your
choice by selecting all the cells and pressing the Delete key on your keyboard.
Excel is beyond creating cells, rows, and columns. It is an effective tool for
your data manipulation. It can help you compute thousands and thousands of
data by just inputting them and placing certain rules to add, subtract, multiply,
divide, or do any other arithmetic operation on them. You can also deploy
powerful tools such as graphs, smart arts, and things to represent your data
visually. In Excel, more than a dozen different types of charts may be made more
or less automatically by selecting a range of values and then selecting a chart
from the ribbon. You can make use of all these by going further to master your
way through the Microsoft Excel application.
Using Excel Autofill
Excel's autofill feature is available mostly not known its users. You can use
Excel's autofill tool to help you enter data more quickly. It is possible to
automatically use the AutoFill command to lengthen a predictable sequence
(e.g., 1, 2, 3; days of the week; hours of the day). Additionally, you can use this
for formulas —create the formula once and then use the AutoFill feature to
propagate it to the remaining cells. When it comes to saving time when filling
out spreadsheets, Excel Autofill functions are the most effective method. The
majority of individuals are unaware that they can automate many tasks that they
currently perform manually in Excel. In this section, we'd show you, in brief,
how to use the Microsoft Excel Autofill feature.
Using the default Fill Handle to AutoFill

The Fill Handle, which appears when the mouse hovers over the bottom right
corner of a selected cell, is the most efficient method of auto-filling in Excel.
Select the cell(s) containing the information you provided, drag the Fill Handle
to select the cells (right across rows or downwards across columns) to be auto-
filled, and then release the mouse button to complete the process. You can auto-
fill many ways, ranging from filling the same values to filling according to a
given sequence.
Using the Same Data to Autofill Cells in a Worksheet
Column

Press Ctrl + D to autofill nearby cells with the value you entered in the first cell,
then pick all the cells, including the cell containing the value you want to
autofill with the value you entered in the first cell.
You can use the default fill handle as well, with the mouse still hovered over the
cell until the Fill Handle appears (bottom right of the cell); drag the Fill Handle
to select and fill the rest of the cells.
Can I have non-adjacent cells or cell ranges auto-filled? YES! First, select
the cells by holding the Ctrl key, selecting the multiple cells wherever they are.
Enter the value to be copied and press the Ctrl + Enter key combination. The
value is filled into all cells, regardless of where they are.
Autofill Dates in Excel
The autofill function in Excel is frequently used to fill in dates automatically.
Note first that the default date mode of Excel is MM/DD/YYYY.

If you want to use sequential dates, the default, simply input the first date and
drag with the Fill Handle to select and autofill the rest of the cells.
Adding non-sequential dates to a table is made simple by entering the dates in
the first two cells. Then select both cells drag the Fill Handle across the table to
complete the autofill. It will autofill the rest based on the rule between the first
two cells.
Alternatively, enter the beginning date, press and hold the right mouse button,
then drag the Fill Handle (note that you are holding the right mouse, not the
left mouse now to display options) to choose the cells that need to be filled to
complete the table. Then, from the shown menu that appears, select "Series"
(not "Fill Series"), input the desired Step Value, and click OK. With this, you
can fill in the dates according to the number of days you want.
AutoFill a Linear Series
In getting to the next number in a linear sequence of numbers, the same constant
is added to each of the previous numbers. Excel makes it simple to fill a linear
series automatically. After entering the first two numbers, select both cells and
drag the Fill Handle up or down or to the left or right to autofill more cells. It
will fill according to the difference between the first two.
Growth Series AutoFill

The following number is always found by multiplying the previous value by a

constant whenever a growth series is used. To autofill a growth series, enter the
first two numbers, select these cells, and drag the Fill Handle with the right
mouse button pressed. Then, from the option that appears, pick "Growth
Trend."
Don't like the Fill Handle? Enter the first number, select it and the cells to
autofill, bring up the Series Dialog Box (Fill) from the Editing section of the
ribbon, click "Growth," and enter your "Step Value."
AutoFill Days and Weekdays
Excel can fill in the days of the week automatically! Fill in the first day and then
drag the Fill Handle to select the cells that will be auto-filled for subsequent
days.

If the days are not consecutive, enter the first two days and drag with the Fill
Handle to fill the remaining days according to the same pattern. Thus, if you
input Monday and Wednesday as the first two, the series will continue Friday,
then Sunday, and so on.
To fill in the weekdays, start with the first day and then press the right mouse
button and drag the Fill Handle to pick the cells to be filled. Then select "Fill
Weekdays" from the drop-down list that appears.
AutoFill Months and Years
Excel can also fill in the months of the year and the years automatically. If you
wish to fill many cells with sequential values of months, enter the initial value
(first month) and drag the Fill Handle to pick the cells you want to fill.

Two use non-sequential months, Enter the first two values, select both cells, and
drag with the Fill Handle to create non-sequential months using the rule of the
difference between the first two months provided. The same thing can be done
for auto-filling years, with years inputted instead.
AutoFill Times
To have values auto-filled one hour apart, as is the default, enter the first time
(or date/time) and drag with the Fill Handle to select and autofill additional cells
in the same row (or columns). (Hint: while typing times, for excel to recognize
it as 'time,' put a space after AM or PM, hence, 8:00 AM not 8:00 AM, a 24-
hour clock can be typed normally)

You can use the Fill Handle to autofill times or dates and times that are not
sequential if you enter the first two times in the two cells, select both cells, and
drag the Fill Handle to fill according to the rule in the first two times inputted.
Converting PDFs to Editable Excel Formats
It's not uncommon to convert a PDF file into something you can edit when you
can't locate the root file again. Microsoft has included the essential tools to assist
with converting PDF files to Excel in this package. This is in addition to the
generation and reading of native documents that are supported. You can convert
PDF to XLS (Excel's default file format) by simply utilizing Microsoft Office,
and no other external tool is required.
To be more exact, we will be using a combination of Microsoft Word and
Microsoft Excel to guide us through the PDF to XLS conversion process. You
have this already since having Microsoft Excel automatically means you
have Microsoft Word as the Excel suite isn't sold (separately) as seen from
our subscription packages. Without further ado, here is how to do it.
PDF to Excel conversion in Microsoft Office
Open the target PDF file in Microsoft Word by double-clicking it.
From the "File" menu, select "Open," then "Browse," and then,
from the resultant dialog box, open the required PDF file and select
the "Open" button to initiate the process.
By clicking on the "OK" button in the dialog box that appears, you
can allow PDF conversion to take place. This dialog box will ask
you to allow it to convert the PDF into an editable Word format. If
the converted Word document is displayed in protected view, click
the Enable Editing button to allow you to make changes to it.
Save the new Microsoft Word document as a web page instead of
saving it as a document. Save your work by selecting "Save As"
from the "File" menu and then "Browse" for the location where you
want to save it. Give the file a suitable name in the resulting dialog
box, select "Web page (*.htm;*.html)" from the "Save as type:"
drop-down option, then click the "Save" button to save the file.
Open the web page file saved in Microsoft Excel: Open MS
Excel, navigate to the "File" menu and select the "Open" option.
Then, in File Explorer, "Browse" for the web page you just saved
earlier. Click on it and then click on the "Open" button once you've
located it. If you receive an indication that the file is being used or
locked for editing by another user, click the "Notify" button on the
pop-up that appears.
View and Save Your New File in Excel: The webpage file will be
opened in Excel for you, and you will have the option to either view
the file or save it in the XLS, XLSX, or CSV format from there.
Simply following those few and straightforward procedures will result in
converting your PDF file into an Excel format equivalent, saving you the trouble
of searching for cumbersome and robust third-party apps on the market. Some
apps do this in one-click online, but this saves you the stress of any third-party
application.
 CHAPTER ELEVEN
MICROSOFT FORMS
With Microsoft Forms, you can build shareable surveys, quizzes, and polls in
minutes, tests for students and co-workers, and you can share them with others.
Forms keep track of participant replies, allowing you to see real-time results and
statistics for your survey. Only Microsoft 365 Education users formally had
access to Forms but are now fully available to all Family, Business, and
Enterprise subscribers. It was originally designed to meet the demands of
educators, but it has a wide range of applications for individuals and businesses
as well as educators. It can be used effectively too as it has lots of benefits.
Microsoft has also made Forms available to everyone who has a Microsoft
Account on their computer.
Microsoft Forms Pro was recently launched by the company with further
company branding, integration with Dynamics 365, and possibilities of process
automation are all available with this upgraded version of the application.
However, we'll focus on Microsoft Forms (or just put, Forms), the standard
version of Forms available in Microsoft 365.
Using the Forms, you can design aesthetically appealing forms that give an
excellent user experience – especially when using mobile devices.
It has some exciting uses:
It is possible to design multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank text quizzes
that grade themselves automatically if you are a trainer or an instructor.
You may find out what your co-workers think about certain topics or
collect organized feedback on collaborative initiatives and activities
using polls and surveys.
When creating polls or quizzes, you can use visual elements like
photographs and video and then create questions based on the content of
those visual elements.
 In some cases, branching questions may be used to personalize a form
depending on how a user answers questions; in others, they may be used
to create a tale and help respondents choose their paths.
It is possible to build math tests that use mathematical symbols by
utilizing Forms.
It's simple to distribute polls and quizzes, and you have the option of
restricting access to those within your organization (whether you work
for a firm or attend a school) or making it available to everyone who has
a link to the poll or quiz form.
Users can share form templates, making it simple for co-workers or
teachers to build identical forms that follow the same theme and style as
the original form.
The results of your polls or quizzes are displayed in real-time, and you
have the option to export the data to Excel for more in-depth analysis or
incorporation into other content.
Overall, Forms is a fantastic tool for you, as long as you have a Microsoft 365
subscription.
Using Forms
You can either access Forms from forms.office.com or locate it through your list
of apps on your Microsoft 365 Home Page to select the Forms app. If Forms
isn't visible, select search for it from the Microsoft Search, and it will be featured
there.

Forms can be created using templates, which can be found at the top of the page.
And of course, you have the option of creating a new form or a new quiz on the
Forms page. There may be additional templates available, and if you select
"More templates," you will be presented with approximately a dozen template
alternatives.
You may have already made one or more forms. If so, you'll find them below the
templates, where you can view a list of your most recent forms and any that
you've pinned to the page for easy access. To access all of your previous forms,
select "All My Forms."
Creating a New Form
To create a survey or poll, select "New Form" from the menu bar.
Select "Untitled form" and give your form a name and a description
by clicking "Edit form." You can also upload a picture to the top
of the form by selecting it from the image button on the right.
Select "Add new."

The type of entry you wish to generate for your form can be found
in the pop-out menu that appears. It can take the shape of a
multiple-choice question with buttons, a fill-in-the-blank text input
where the user types their response, a star rating entry, a date entry,
and other types of data entry.
After selecting the entry option, complete the form with all of the
required information. For example, you may enter the question and
response selections. You have the option of allowing several
responses and indicating whether or not an answer to the current
question is "Required" (otherwise, all questions are optional, and
users can submit the form without answering every entry).
Additional options are provided by a toolbar located at the top of
each question (the four symbols on the top right). The icons are
quite self-explanatory; the first is the copy icon, which duplicates a
question if you want to add a similar question without starting from
scratch. The second deletes the entire question, and the remaining
two up-down arrows change the order of the questions as you wish.
Click "Add new" to continue adding elements to your form until it
is filled out, after which you can move on to previewing and sharing
it with others.
Creating a New Quiz
Select "New Quiz"
Select "Untitled quiz" and enter a title and description for the quiz.
You can also upload an image to the top of the quiz by clicking on
the image option to the right of the quiz.
Select "Add new."
From the pop-out menu, select the type of entry you wish to make
from the list. You have pretty much the same options as you would
if you were creating a standard form.

This is where this is much different from a form now. Fill out the
form with all of the essential information. However, because this is
a quiz, you have a few more options to consider. The "Choice" and
"Text" questions both have the possibility of having accurate
responses.
Hover your cursor over the correct answer choice and then click the
check to the right to indicate which answer is correct to a Choice
question.
If you want to give a text answer, click "Add answer" under the
question and type the precise answer that the user must type for it to be
considered correct. You have the option of adding several right answers
as well. The correct answer will not be revealed to the user while taking
the quiz - Forms do this to score the quiz for you automatically.
Each question can be assigned a point value.
Continue to add items to your quiz until it is complete, after which
you may preview and share it with others.
Creating a Branching Form
One of the most powerful features of Microsoft Forms is the ability to construct
branching forms. This means that your poll, survey, or quiz can interactively
vary the questions that a user sees based on the answers they choose (this is
generally only useful for multiple questions, of course). A highly dynamic and
personalized experience can be created using this technique. It is, nevertheless, a
straightforward process to put together.
During the editing process of a question, click the three dots in the
lower right corner of the question. Select "Add branching" from the
drop-down menu that appears.

Select the question to which you want to branch out on the

Branching Options screen for each of the choices you made in step
one. Examples include: a user can be taken to the next question
immediately after selecting the first choice. After selecting the
second option, the second option can bypass that question and move
directly to the next one.
Continue selecting branching alternatives for the remaining
questions in the form until you have finished. A "dead end"
question, for example, would send you straight to the end of your
form, while others would progress from question to question in a
normal fashion, as shown in the example below.

Once you've finished fine-tuning your branching options, click

"Back" to return to the main form submission page.
Previewing and Sharing Your Form
Before distributing your form, you may wish to preview it to ensure
it appears and functions as you want. Click on "Preview" in the
toolbar at the top of the page to see a preview of your form. You can
now finish the quiz and review the results to ensure that they are
ready to be shared with others.
To send the completed form to your intended audience, select
"Send" from your toolbar at the top of the page. Choose how you
want to share it from the drop-down menu that appears on the right
side of the page.
If you are a member of an organization, you can use the dropdown
menu to decide whether it may be shared with anybody or whether
it can only be shared with people within your company. If you are a
single user, on the other hand, the form will always have the
possibility of being available for everyone to use.
Select the way of sharing that suits your needs.

LINK: Copy this link and distribute it in any manner you see fit (email,
text, etc.).
QR code: Make a copy of and distribute the QR code. It can be accessed
by anyone who receives it by scanning the code with the camera on their
mobile device to open the form.
Code for embedding: This HTML snippet can be pasted into a webpage
for use.
Email: This will open your email client with the link to the form already
included in the body of the message.
Getting Your Responses for Reports
After you have shared your form with others, you are expected to have responses
in your form as they begin to fill your form; the results will be gathered
automatically, allowing you to analyze the information at your leisure.
Locate and click on your form in Microsoft Forms to open it.
Look for the tabs "Questions" and "Responses" at the top of the
page, which should be labeled as such. The number of results you
have received is displayed on the Responses tab.
Select "Responses" on the right side of the tabs.

Above, you find a detailed summary of all results in this section,

including graphs (like the pie chart seen above) that indicate the
distribution of answers for multiple-choice questions.
For every question, select "More Details" to obtain further
information about the responses, such as the whole set of answers
provided for that particular question. See the example below:
Select the "Open in Excel" option to export the replies to a
spreadsheet. Your browser will download an Excel file, which you
can then open in Excel or save to your computer's hard drive by
clicking the file name. More on this quickly.
Graphing Your Responses and Report
We just saw how your data could be saved in an Excel format. This allows you
to do more detailed analyses of your responses. Depending on how you handle
your form, the created Excel file can be auto-updated as responses as added by
users.
If you merely use a form from forms.office.com, an offline Excel worksheet is
created, stored on your PC; you will need to export again for the latest file if you
have new respondents.
However, if your form is created on OneDrive (by creating your form after
signing in to Microsoft 365 and selecting apps) or if you created on Excel for the
Web (signing in Excel for the web and creating the form from the workbook
from Insert > Forms > New Form). The Excel sheet is automatically updated as
responses are added.
The graphs generated themselves on the response page are capable of being
interacted with. Exporting the data to Excel allows us to create our graphs using
the information and get more power and report with our responses.

Your exported data to excel always looks in the form given above.
The workbook contains columns that contain the information of each question in
your form and rows that contain the responses to those questions. Among the
information displayed in the first five columns are the respondent ID, the start
and completion timings for each response, as well as the names and email
addresses of each respondent. The choices made by that responder are displayed
in the following columns.

You can then select any desired range of the data within the exported file, click
the Insert tab in Excel, and under the Charts section, represent your data as a
chart of your choice.
 CHAPTER TWELVE
MICROSOFT 365 TIPS AND TRICKS
We should all love Microsoft 365, don't we? It's a pretty robust package and
gives many possibilities to increase productivity and take it to another level.
More often than not, people don't even get to exhaust all of Microsoft 365's
benefits – that we mean that literally. Certain tips and tricks can help you
discover more; some benefits you don't know are included in the Microsoft 365
package. It's easy to become a huge fan that uses Microsoft 365 for most of
your activities when you realize how powerful it is.
Find below some tips in using Microsoft 365:
Take advantage of productivity across all your devices.
A subscription to Microsoft 365 can keep focused and in touch from any location
by using the service. Mobile phones and tablets are frequently compatible with
Microsoft 365, allowing users to edit documents, see visuals, and participate in
presentations, among other things.
When you are away from the workplace, apps like Teams and most other apps in
Microsoft 365 allow you to stay connected. In addition, if the organization
purchases a Business subscription for Microsoft 365, customers will have full
access to all of the accessible apps in the suite.
Workflow is efficient since you can always work with your mobile device to
reach your PC.
Maintain synchronization
Each change is noted and recorded in a separate file. Users of Microsoft 365
benefit from the ability to coordinate and sync ongoing projects.
When working as a team, different employees have a variety of responsibilities
and their ideas about how to resolve problems. This could result in
misinterpretation and confusion when it comes to document updates.
However, with Microsoft 365, every file is automatically tagged with the most
recent update information and stored, ensuring that the entire team is informed
of all ongoing editing and project modifications.
Have a record of your subscriptions.
Keeping track of your Microsoft 365 subscription is an essential component of
the management team. If a person leaves their employment, the license for
Microsoft Office 365 should be transferred to the new employee who will take
their place. It will save money if this current subscription is transferred to new
employees.
Remember that if you make a mistake and need to reactivate an account, you
can do so within 30 days after making a mistake.
Find out about keyboard shortcuts
Microsoft provides a comprehensive list of all keyboard shortcuts for their apps,
which can be highly beneficial for those who use their packages.
Employees with restricted mobility and the visually impaired may find shortcuts
particularly useful because they do not require a mouse to complete their tasks.
Apart from restrictions, some things are just faster to navigate with the keyboard
than with the mouse.
Protect critical files by including expiry links and passwords
Another piece of advice for Office 365 users is to include expiry links and
passwords in their documents. It is beneficial to include an expiry link in your
file to protect and share secret information with team members.
The use of expiry links allows you to include a date and time in the link that
you're sharing, with the implication that the link will no longer be available once
the stated period has passed.
When sharing a confidential file, you can include a password in the link,
ensuring that it is only viewable by those granted permission to do so.

Easily save attachments to OneDrive

Email attachments can be downloaded straight to OneDrive instead of being
saved to a folder on your computer's hard drive with ease. This function saves
time and makes it simple to remember where your files are stored by displaying
the location of each file.
You have the option of saving any or all of the attachments to emails for future
reference.
One of the primary advantages of using OneDrive is that you'll be able to send
these documents as Cloud attachments to other people.
Even after sending an email, you can call it back
An email may be sent to the incorrect recipient by mistake. Finding out that
there's a way to recall the email to alter or delete it will be a huge relief for
everyone. You may even have sent incorrect content to the right recipient, and
you want to edit it as far as they have not read your message.
To retrieve an email sent in error, first access the sent folder and then the email
that has to be retrieved. Select the move option and then click on the Action
button to begin the process. Select the Recall This Message option. This also
gives you the option of deleting the message from the recipient's inbox and
making short modifications to the message to replace it.
Make use of Smart Lookup
Do you need to rapidly check the spelling of a word or phrase, confirm a fact, or
look for context while working with core Office applications, whether the
desktop or web versions? Smart Lookup will allow you to remain focused on
your task. Smart Lookup enables you to find the information you require in a
matter of seconds.
To begin, enable the Smart Lookup feature by following these steps:
Click the Tell Me option at the top of the screen and type in Smart Lookup to
begin.
You can now select a word or phrase, right-click, and select Smart Lookup from
the drop-down menu.

Restore instead of trying to Replace

Have you ever spent hours working on a spreadsheet, presentation, or document
only to discover that you have mistakenly deleted the contents? Microsoft 365
gives you the ability to recover your most recent saved copy (as well as up to 25
prior copies), saving you valuable time and energy. View and restore files stored
in SharePoint or OneDrive by selecting File > Info and then View. You can
view previous versions of content and restore past content if needed.
Use Email Focus
Do you feel overwhelmed by so many emails in your Outlook inbox?
The Focused Inbox feature is one of the most effective methods of filtering your
inbox messages. Redirecting and reordering your inbox puts actionable items at
the forefront of your attention, allowing you to handle emails more efficiently.
Outlook organizes your emails into two folders: Focused and Other, which you
can access from any computer. The emails that you consider to be the most
important are stored away in your Focused box. Focused emails take precedence
over emails sent to the "Other" box, which means emails submitted to the
"Other" box are still accessible. By right-clicking on an email message and
selecting "Move to Focused" or "Move to Other," you can move emails from one
box to another.
Make use of Tags to names
Microsoft now allows users to identify certain team members with specific tags
as an alternative to sending the same message to every group member. To send a
message to all managers, for example, the head of a warehouse can pick the
@manager to send the message to all managers in the warehouse. People might
be grouped based on common characteristics, roles, projects, geographical
locations, and other factors.
Record Team meetings and Group Phone Calls
The ability to record meetings and group conversations in Microsoft Teams is
now available to all users; with this, users can review conversations from
meetings, especially when the pace of the meeting is high and they are unable to
note everything. You can record audio, video, and screen-sharing activities,
which can be helpful during extended presentations or when vital material is
addressed. Users, on the other hand, must have access to Microsoft Stream.
Focus on increasing Security
The latest Microsoft 365 platform has specialized capabilities that are designed
to address the increased security demands. Many of these features, such as multi-
factor authentication, have been included as security measures (MRI).
It provides additional security layers for your data, such as passwords in addition
to biometrics or a retina scan and password, among other things, to protect it.
It is possible to monitor and improve the security of identities, data, applications,
devices, and Microsoft 365 infrastructure from a single centralized dashboard.
You will get points if you configure the necessary security settings and complete
security-related duties such as viewing reports.
You may be required to address the recommendations when dealing with a third-
party program or software package.
Common Issues with Microsoft 365
Sign-in Issues with Microsoft 365
When users cannot sign in to the Microsoft 365 portal, there are two possible
explanations for this problem: an incorrect password or the service that handles
log-ins is not supported. Don't be concerned! This is a simple error that may be
corrected.
As many of you are aware, your Microsoft account is required to use the
Microsoft 365 subscriptions. As a result, your Microsoft 365 ID and password
must be the same as your Microsoft 3655 account ID and password. Make
certain that you are entering the correct login information for your account. If the
problem persists, go to the Microsoft 3655 log-in portal and click on the Can't
access my account link to get help. The password reset guide will walk you
through the process of verifying and changing your current password.

Problems with synchronization

A Microsoft 365 synchronization problem occurs when you open any Microsoft
365 programs, such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. Normally, it is expected that
any recently added files should display in every application every time you open
them; however, if this does not occur, there is a problem with synchronization in
Microsoft 365.
Although it infrequently occurs with the desktop version, mobile users are
frequently confronted with this issue. In such situations, you should close the
app and re-open it as soon as possible. However, if the problem persists, it
indicates that the file has never been synchronized with OneDrive, which
indicates that your PC is not properly connected to the Internet. As a result,
locate the synchronization problem, check your Internet connection first, and
then look for any files. If all problems persist, upload the updated version
directly to OneDrive from where you last edited it.
Having difficulty obtaining assistance
When we purchase a service or plan, we expect the vendor to provide us with
complete technical assistance at all times. However, with Microsoft 365,
consumers do not receive the level of assistance that they desire. We are not
implying that Microsoft does not give help; rather, we state that Microsoft does
not have a support infrastructure capable of dealing with every support request.
In other words, if you have a question with Microsoft 365, you will have to wait
many days before receiving a satisfactory response.
The only other option is to seek assistance from an external IT support service
provider or to make use of third-party technology to resolve your problems.
Microsoft issues with the Safari web browser
When working with Microsoft 365 on a Mac, it is possible to run into certain
difficulties. In most cases, this is due to a function built into the Safari web
browser called Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP). To resolve the problem,
you must do the following:
Open Safari, go to Preferences > Privacy
Uncheck the Prevent cross-site tracking checkbox.
Move to teams.microsoft.com
Updating Issues
Keeping your Microsoft products up to date is arguably the safest approach to
ensure a trouble-free work experience at your organization. Improved security
measures, malware protection, and bug fixes are all provided by Microsoft 365
updates for your company. These updates also attempt to remedy any known
Office 365 problems as much as possible. So, if those updates aren't installed
automatically, something isn't quite right with the system. You will need to check
manually. To do so, launch one of the Microsoft 365 programs and navigate to
File > Account > Update Options > Update Now from the menu bar. If the
updates were not installed automatically, you would be required to do the
installation manually. If it isn't still updating, there could be other issues.
The most straightforward is an issue with a connection to the Internet or a
firewall preventing network connections from being established. Also, given that
the most recent Microsoft 365 updates are only compatible with Windows 10
and Microsoft has discontinued support for Windows 7 and Windows 8, the
current version of Microsoft 365 may be incompatible with your operating
system.
Migration From and To Microsoft 365
While all other known faults with Microsoft 365 can be rectified rather quickly,
making the migration to Microsoft 365 is one of the terrifying experiences for
consumers. Users encounter several challenges while moving to or from
Microsoft 365, including the following:
Migrating all forms of data, including Exchange data, SharePoint data,
OneDrive data, IMAP data, and so on, is possible.
It was challenging to complete the migration by hand.
Technical specialists are required for the migration process.
The necessity of selective migration
The uncertainty in forecasting migration time and feasibility is a
problem.
Finding a reliable and competent Office 365 migration tool is essential.
Non-technical individuals will find it nearly hard to complete the transfer
process in Microsoft 365 because of these constraints. Hence, you should seek
technical support if you want to migrate.
Activation Issues
The following error message may be displayed when a user attempts to activate
Microsoft Office via Microsoft 365: "We are unable to connect right now. Please
check your network and try again later." Or "Sorry, we can't connect to your
account. Please try again later."
Solution - To solve the problem as mentioned earlier, try some of the following
suggestions:
The Microsoft 365 Support and Recovery Assistant can be used to
resolve the activation problem.
Under Microsoft 365 Settings, make sure you have the right license.
 To activate the Microsoft Office application, remove the existing product
key from the computer.
Check for proxy servers and firewalls that are preventing access.

All the above are the most popular issues users face. Other issues may pop up,
and you may need to seek technical assistance or sometimes, a very brief search
through the internet can help you resolve it quicker than you thought. Always
make sure you include the specific error message you are receiving while
seeking help.
 CONCLUSION
Productivity is almost everything nowadays. With so much to do, and that
without exaggeration, a tool that can help you lead a more productive life is one
to use – Microsoft 365 is certainly one of such tools.
We may have seen how much it can cost us when we get hooked on the web of
work and get overwhelmed by the workload. However, we may run into cases
like this less often if we use the tools available in this Microsoft 365 package to
aid our productivity and efficiency to work.

You can track everything you do by syncing across all your devices, and you can
take notes at the point of need, with any device available, and find your notes
anytime even if you are with another of your devices, you can plan like a pro,
effectively.
Talk about potent tools to aid your teamwork as well. Wherever you are – home,
work, or school, you can improve your productivity with Microsoft 365, this
user guide has set you on the right path to starting to benefit from it, and it can
get only better with use.