When using Microsoft Office, one of the biggest challenges is to view all your recently accessed documents in one place. It can be a Word document you were working on or a presentation you accessed on your email. On top of that, finding applications when you need them takes a bit of effort. Microsoft introduced the Office App in Windows 10 in February, and it is one of the most underused apps. I am going to talk about the features and how useful it is.
Office App in Windows 10
If you have Office installed, I am sure all you would have done is accessed the respective apps. What many of us missed is Office 365 installation also added an Office App. Yes, that’s what it is called —Office. We will discuss the following topics in this post:
- Dashboard
- Instant access to files
- Business Features
- Drawbacks.
The Office app works with any Office 365 subscription, Office 2019, Office 2016, and Office Online.
1] Dashboard with quick access to Office Apps
Once you launch the app, it will give you a dashboard view. The top portion gives you one-click access to Office applications and services, including Skydrive, Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Skype, Calendar, and People. All in one place.
If any of the apps are not listed, you can click on the “Explore all your apps” under the menu to view the complete list.
Also, on the top, you should see your profile picture. It is the Microsoft account connected to the Office application. You can click on it to get access to links for account settings.
2] Instantly access Office files that belong to you
The dashboard gives you quick access to all the Office documents that belong to you. Right under the application list, you have access to Recent, Pinned, and Shared. The whole arrangement makes accessing files a lot easier. The amount of time you would have spent in opening different applications and searching for them will be saved.
What about creating a new file? The top application line also includes the Start New button, which can create any file for which you have access to your subscription. Those who keep all the files in OneDrive can use the upload and open option.
If any of the apps is not installed on your computer, it will open it in the web version on Office Online; else, it will open it in the local installation.
3] Business Features of Office App Windows 10
The Office is also popular among Business users, and there are several capabilities that IT Administrators may choose to enable.
- Organization branding
- Access to third-party apps using AAD through the Office app
- Microsoft Search so users can use one search experience to find documents and people across the organization.
That said, there is one drawback. The application doesn’t work as expected if you have trouble with the internet. Your account information, recent, pinned, and shared files go missing in the absence of the internet. Its annoying.
Office App in Windows 10 also offers tips, tricks, and suggestions in many places. You can notice them on the dashboard when you click All apps and so on.
If you are new to Office or want to try something new, I would strongly suggest to try them.
Let us know if you like using the Office app in Windows 10.
