While there are many benefits for using a product like Microsoft’s Office 365, there are many features that users are unaware of or don’t know how to use. Microsoft is constantly adding new features and updating the product.
Here are 5 Office 365 Management Tips and Tricks:
1. CoAuthoring
Allowing multiple people to edit documents in Word, PowerPoint or Excel is beneficial in a working environment and saves the user from emailing attachments to several people at once. It is available real-time and allows each co-author to see what others are working on so there aren’t conflicts as you edit. The edits are available to see immediately, which provides efficiency for the team.
2. De-Clutter your inbox
Your inbox is a complete headache if it becomes cluttered with spam, marketing or unwanted email. Microsoft 365 offers a feature called “Clutter” which teaches your inbox to de-clutter itself. Once “Clutter” is turned on, it begins learning your work style and will move less important items out of your way, keeping them separate until you want to read them.
3. The Ignore Button
Reply-all conversations can be annoying and distracting, and worst of all can clutter your inbox. By using the “Ignore” feature, all future reply-all messages will be automatically deposited into your deleted items folder. If you need to retrieve the conversation later, you can simply go into the deleted items folder and click on “Stop Ignoring Conversation” and all messages will be returned to your inbox.
4. Excel’s Quick Analysis and Flash Fill
Analyzing data after tediously collecting and organizing it in Excel used to be a bit of a chore. Now, with the “Quick Analysis” button, you can instantly create line charts, column charts or sparklines. In Microsoft 365, you also have the ability to apply a table style, create PivotTables and insert totals. Your options change depending on the type of data in your workbook.
Excel also has a new feature called “Flash Fill” which allows for quickly reformatting columns. Excel will sense the reformatted columns as you begin to adjust them and display a newly reformatted list. It then allows the user to click to accept the new format saving the user valuable time.
5. PDF editing
PDF files are often shared, but in order to edit you must convert the file. Microsoft 365 simplifies this process with the click of a button and deals with any possible formatting issues. It also allows the user to save a file or portion of a file as a PDF if necessary.
Learning to use Microsoft 365 efficiently will create a better overall experience with the product. New features are constantly being added and staying informed will increase productivity and usefulness.